El Anclote is the area the locals were moved to when the Four Season's Hotel acquired the land in Punta de Mita. El Anclote is a small residential area surrounding lovely white beaches, soft sand and a host of palapa beach bars.

My favorite is the El Dorado, a palapa beach bar in between other palapa beach bars. I love this one because the food is most excellent, the waitstaff attentive, the lounge chairs decent and the beach is heavenly. I usually spend the day with a friend or two, eating, drinking, playing volleyball, sleeping in the sun, snorkeling, swimming, eating more, drinking more, shopping, and relaxing. The price is about 2/3rds of what I pay into town for the same activities, and the beach is 100 times better.

How to get there: Go to BlockBuster Video in the hotel zone. Take a "Punta de Mita" bus, tell the driver "El Anclote", the price should be about 18-20 pesos. The ride will take you around Nuevo and through Bucerias and around the coast until you come to the end of the line. The bus will drive through El Anclote and down the road to the ocean. Here it stops and you get off, the El Dorado is a few places away, so just look for the sign. Walk on down to the palapa, find a loung chair and make yourself at home. I know it will be hard to leave, but the buses stop running before 8:00pm, so plan accordingly. There are condos available in El Anclote, in case you love it so much you want to stay there permanently.

I highly recommend this beach for anyone wanting to get off the beaten path, or for families with children. The water here is very clear, the water shallow for yards, very little waves, and huge portions of beach for building sand castles.

If you go during the winter season when the whales are in the bay, walk down to the fishing co-op and ask for Lupé or Braulio and they will take you out to see the whales for a very good price. As they say, "K-mart-Blue-light-Special" Their boat is a small covered panga, but excellent for getting up close and personal with the whales.