What are the best beaches in Michoacan, Mexico?

The question was asked on Quora and Brian Fey answered: As you likely suspect, the idea of "best" depends on what you like.

I love the Michoacan coast! The Michoacan coast used to be quite isolated prior to improvements to highway 37 and highway 200. It used to take 9 hours to get to the coast from Pátzcuaro.

There is a lot to discover for people who want to laze around on the beach under Palapas, swim in bays and lagoons, hang with hippies, birdwatch, surf, explore, or have a fun times with the family.

My experiences: I have driven the entire coast three times during the period of 2005 to 2014. One time I brought all the topographical maps from INEGI for the whole coast, a GPS, and the will to visit every little town and beach I could get into. I was traveling in a vehicle, but the coast is accessible by bus as well. Highway 200 winds a lot and down below there are many more beaches I could not explore easily. Each winter, if I don't go to the Michoacan coast, then I go to nearby Zijuatanejo. Seems like to best time to go to the coast is in January or February. The Best?

Read further at https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-beaches-in-Michoacan-Mexico/answer/Brian-Fey?share=1

The Closest Beaches to San Miguel de Allende

From David member of Life-in-Mexico a Yahoo group:

The closest beaches to San Miguel de Allende are in Michoacan and ride times from SMA to the Pacific is getting shorter. With the completion a few years ago of the Salamanca/Morelia cuota, driving times have been drastically cut. The new Morelia by-pass will be completed sometime after the first of the year. Starting near Lake Cuitzio, the bypass circumvents Morelia, ending as a continuation of the cuota to Uruapan, Lazaro Cardenas, and the Pacific beaches. 
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When most of us think of Michoacan, we think about life at an altitude of 7,200 feet around Lake Patzcuaro. We don’t visualize Michoacan at sea level or the Michoacan coast, but we should. The cool, winter months are the best time to make a splash on the Michoacan beaches.

Beaches of Michoacan

The coastline of Michoacan is 155 miles of the most beautiful areas of Mexico. Dozens of Michoacan beaches are untouched, with vast, amber-colored coastlines. A handful of beaches are hidden by bird estuaries, with some secluded between cliffs and coves. Other beaches are at the mouths of calm rivers, suitable for swimming and sunbathing.

Several beaches require a surfboard. Other beaches require a hammock, while a few only require an appetite. There’s no requirement to be dead at Playa de Los Muertos, but ignore the warnings and you will be from the deadly undertows and ferocious waves.

Highway 200 follows the coastline for easy driving. Buses will drop-off or pick-up passengers anywhere. There are places to spend the day and spend the night.

The closest beach is Playa Azul, outside Lazaro Cardenas. It is the southern edge and the beginning of the coast of Michoacan, with some of the most unspoiled beaches in Mexico. When you go to Playa Azul, don't miss the boat trip on Laguna Pichi, a freshwater Lake about a mile and a half, east of town. The Lake is surrounded by a mangrove forest with Palm trees, and plenty of seafood enramadas.

Some travelers prefer the beaches to the north of Playa Azul, about 30 miles further up the coast to Caleta de Campos. Friends stayed in Hotel Yuritzi in Caleta and thoroughly enjoyed it. Be sure to ask for a room on the second floor. Another friend reported that “Caleta is an unpolluted and unspoiled little town. Sea food is wonderful and inexpensive.”

Playa Maruata is considered the most beautiful beach in Michoacan. This place is so rustic, it is camping, palapas or cabanas, with no hotels. Centro Ecoturistico Maruata has very nice cabanas over-looking the beach.

Please understand we are not talking about Ixtapa or other touristy resorts. We are talking about the beaches of Michoacan, which are primitive, rustic, secluded, unspoiled, golden, deserted and delicious, for those who eat.

Come-on over to the other side of the colonial highlands and drop down from the mountains to an unspoiled, coastal paradise. Enjoy the coast of Michoacan, the closest beaches to San Miguel. If that fits your definition of a beach… …go coastal!

Feliz viaje, David