La Barra de Navidad, Mexico

Sitting towards the southern end of the Bahía de Navidad, where the beach runs out and curves back round to form a lagoon behind the town, BARRA DE NAVIDAD is easily the more appealing of the communities along the bay. San Patricio-Melaque, around 4km north and at the other end of the same beach, is scruffier, more commercial and has a more transitory feel, but if you can't find a room in Barra, it makes a good second choice, with a considerably wider range of hotels.