LA TICLA, MICHOACAN
La Ticla, for me, was nothing other than paradise. It should be that way for anyone who is just surfing their way through Mexico dirtbagging it. It is a small, well... very small, village inside of the large state of Michoacan. Disclaimer on safety in Michoacan is below. It's a surf town and literally nothing else. It has been a surf destination for many years, but it doesn't feel like it has changed all that much as a result. It's very hard to get to, which is probably a factor in that. It's located deep into central Mexico and far from any major airport or tourist destination. You won't just happen upon La Ticla, if you are going there you are doing so very intentionally. La Ticla is a town that is full of borderline homeless surfers; people living on the fringe of society in tents, hammocks, cars, vans and some in the small selection of small cabanas and hotel rooms that are available in the area. It's just a community of traveling surfers. Changing every day. With people from all over the world sharing this space, and these waves. Some people come for a few days as they are touring the central coast of Mexico, and others stay for months and come back year after year to enjoy the surf season here. Out in front of the camp sites, that are not much more than a thatched roof palapa, you have an amazing wave. It's a very long breaking right hand wave lat comes off of a point and a higher performance left breaking off the point at the top. It's got something for everyone. When it gets big, and it does while holding the size, it will start to barrel. It has something for everyone, and sometimes will even work almost all day long. When you aren't surfing, you are just relaxing in a hammock with your friends in between sessions. You can really have as many of those as you want per day. At night everyone will come down to watch the amazing sunsets, have some beers, maybe a bonfire and then it's usually an early night to sleep here. Surfing, napping, chilling, eating delicious quesadillas and meeting people is really all there is to do here in La Ticla. MICHOACAN DISCLAIMER: Michoacan is not considered a safe place in Mexico. I never felt like I was in danger here but it certainly has been dangerous in the past. Be careful, don't be stupid, and you'll be okay. There will be a lot of civilian checkpoints here. In many parts of Michoacan there is no police presence, the local militias have taken back control from them and the cartels. So young men in street clothes, armed, will stop you as you pass through their villages. They are usually very kind, want nothing from you other than to know where you are going. Nothing to be afraid of. (Just a little comment about this state.)
La Ticla is deep into Mexico. If you're making it here then I salute you, it's real Mexico traveling. You're in central Mexico, far from any of the tourist destinations or major airports. The physical location of La Ticala is about an hour and a half by car south of Pascuales, making it at least a 7 hour drive from the nearest big town of Puerto Vallarta. Or Guadalajara. To get there you just take route 200, which is at this point a beautiful and relatively infrequently traveled coastal road with stunning views around each corner. You will eventually just pass right by La Ticla, and there's a sign off the highway alerting you that you are there.
It's a very small town, with one main road into town. As you are driving down the road, the relatively perfect wave should come into view. A view that everyone who has been to La Ticla remembers and knows well. It's just beautiful and exciting. When you reach the end of the main road most of the camping is beach front. To the right you will have the more discount, more dirtbag camping sites. Or the Ghetto as we referred to it when I was living there. To the left is a big hotel, but that's not to say it's fancy or anything. They have a few rooms, own most of the land in front of the southern part of the beach. There are some bungalows, a restaurant, the only place in town with wifi, and a bunch of places to camp and park your rig.
HOSTELS, CAMPING, AND HOTELS (IF ANY)
EATS
It's primarily camping and sleeping in your vehicle here. But you have other options as well. There are some bungalows available to rent for pretty cheap at the big hotel that's right on the beach.
That's mainly where everyone who didn't have a rig set up or who didn't want to camp went.
I will get into a few of the camping options and the hotel, below.
This is where I stayed. It is the closest that you can get to the wave, and the most beautiful campsite in my opinion. People usually come here and park themselves here for a few weeks though so you have to get lucky with finding a spot. It's not more than a few $'s per night and you have access to facilities at the nearby restaurant called El Amparo del Surf. Here you will just pull your car up under a row of palapas and that will be your home. The wave is right out front, and you can check it from your car or tent.
This is the second most popular option for camping in the village. It's a campsite that's right along the river in a big grass plot of land. They have facilities, parking spaces available to pull your rig in, and a ton of spots along the river where you can rent or pitch a tent. There's a cool little community vibe that goes on here at the Rio camping as well, and it's a good option.
This is the big hotel that I mention. It's got some room options, and a few bungalows that people will usually rent for cheap with a group of people. But on top of that there is a TON of camping here. Must be space for 100 people. The restaurant here is one of the only places in the town with wifi as well. The food there is good too. You're right on the beach still when you are here, and still super-close to the wave. If you aren't camping or in your car, this is where you want to go. Even if you are camping or in a rig, this is still a good option.
The options to eat in La Ticla are rather limited. but not quite as limited as you might think. You pretty much have a choice between the restaurant at the hotel, and a few different places that serve quesadillas and tacos. But the quesadillas are really amazing. Still some of the best I think I have ever had from a little local spot right up off the beach. There's a few options for these quesadillas to keep yourself going with some minor diversity.
La Ticla is super rural, and most of the restaurants won't be something that you can find on google maps. So some of the restaurants are just linked to where they are located. But once you get here it's pretty easy to figure out. Don't have, and couldn't really find any photos for these places. But their geotag location is linked.
NIGHTLIFE
Sitting around and drinking beers with all the other surfers; maybe the occasional bonfire on the beach. People will usually sit around at the tienda and drink beers for a few hours every night after grabbing dinner. The tienda is the closest thing to a bar that you are going to find in La Ticla. It's surfing, drinking till you're tired, waking up early and doing it all again here. That's pretty much life.
Restaurants
I'm not sure if this place ever had a name; I am sure it does, but it's the best quesadillas in town and is pretty much where everyone went every night. It's just slightly up the hill from the tienda, closest to the beach which you can't miss.
There is another delicious quesadilla place in the central park. We would go here every once in a while to spice things up a bit from our typical trip across the street from the tienda.
This restaurant is in the hotel, and they have pretty good food. Especially breakfast. I usually went here after surfing to grab a breakfast sandwich for 50 pesos. But they have other options like fries and stuff that's good. Wifi too; — if you need it.
A really good taco spot more up into town. It's a good vibe in here. The food is delicious, and she is serving pretty much whatever she has that night to serve. No fuss about it. Definitely a spot to hit.
There's a small restaurant right down by the water, and in the middle of all the camping on the north side of town. The food is fine, and it's just another option to eat — if you want one.
There's a spot right near the skatepark that will do barbecue and more legitimate dinner plates. The food is really good, but it's pretty expensive.
SIGHTS
Nothin'. The wave. There is a skatepark; a little halfpipe that is something cool to do during the day.
SURFING
The surfing is the only reason why anyone who wasn't born here is here. For good reason. It's just a perfect little spot to surf, and it is pretty amenable to all skill levels. Unlike its heavy brother, Pascuales, to the North. When it's not that big it's perfect for getting better at surfing and just getting a bunch of turns in if you surf well. There is a long peeling right that comes from the point to the right of town and a more high performance left that breaks off the point. There are usually less people here, because you have to paddle over or walk over the rocks to get there. Can be tedious. It's also not really worth it unless you are goofy-footed to go over there with such a good right out front already.
There are a few spots you can pick up the wave; out by the point will be the biggest and steepest and usually the most crowded. But it's a point break so you will usually have people picking the wave up all the way down the line as it closes people from deeper out or somehow it got through. Sometimes people sit in front of the river-mount or in front of the palapa beach camping at the north of town to avoid a longer paddle and some of the crowd.
That being said, the crowd can be a factor here. Especially on the weekends you get some locals coming down from some of the larger surrounding cities to surf. But it's not overwhelming, and there are enough waves for everyone.
It's also consistent as hell here. Waves will work all day long and you can surf as many times as you want. There are almost always some waves as well. When it gets big, it gets really fun. — Starts to barrel, and is just amazing to watch and be a part of.
