Unspoiled, genuine and rugged.
I took the opportunity to travel with my husband and spend New Years, 2026 at this gem. Travelling with Air Canada Vacations for the first time brought us to our resort, Secrets Huatulco for our 7-day escape from reality.
It’s quite the approach over the Sierra Madre mountain range. Small, isolated villages dot the landscape. The Copalita River cuts through the mountains and is a dominating feature from the air. In order to land, planes have to manipulate their approach to avoid the mountains and the updrafts – we were very curious about the approach that we were taking.
The airport is small and easy to navigate. Upon our arrival, our Air Canada representatives were standing ready to direct us to our bus which promptly brought us to our hotel, a relatively short 20 – 30-minute drive away. Our arrival briefing took place on the bus, which left the rest of our vacation free for sun and relaxation! YAY! Our departure was just as easy with our Air Canada Vacations having a desk at the resort and displaying our departure pick up times for us to easily review.
Huatulco is known for it’s nine bays, each distinct from each other. It’s many beaches are just as varied, some difficult to access, some only accessible by boat. Each one opens up to individual opportunities for great snorkeling, beautiful sand, surrounding cliffs, crystal clear waters, and popular marinas.
Since we were focused on just unwinding, we opted to take only one excursion – the Seven Bay boat tour and I was very much looking forward to exploring the bays. Unfortunately, the waters were so rough we missed out on some of the encounters – even the whales stayed away, despite a desperate attempt by our captain to call them. Whale watching is very popular off the coast of Huatulco. There are even opportunities to access nature walks and encounter reptiles and a myriad of birds with their songs penetrating the silence.
At the entrance to our resort was a bird sanctuary – I loved walking through it, searching or the birds and listening to their song. Magical.
The Secrets is an adult only resort, leading to a quieter experience with entertainment winding down every night at 11:00 pm, but still very lively. Our room was wonderful! We opted for a Privilege Oceanview Private Swim Up room category – I can say with certainty that it’s worth every penny and I’ll find it difficult to go to anything less! There were only nine rooms on our floor, so our pool was very private – and it was so easy to “get to know the neighbours”. Our friendly neighbourhood gatherings really added to an almost perfect vacation. Our room was spacious and very well appointed. We enjoyed the most amazing sunsets right from our deck every night and IF I got up early enough, I’m pretty sure the sunrises were just as spectacular (but I most certainly did not get up early enough…lol). I must say, Secrets Huatulco, like every resort, does take a beating from the weather, and it’s showing some wear and tear. However, the service at this resort is top notch and just can’t be beat. The food is so very delicious, and reservations are not required at any of the nine restaurants. We even took advantage of room service enjoying our pool while enjoying our meal!
We had nightly visitors – kind of scary with the first night’s encounter, I must admit. Then, we looked forward to the foraging visitors! Say hello to our Coatis! We also had racoons stop by often for lunch at one of our favourite restaurants, Castaways, overlooking the bay.
The pool space is expansive! Because the resort is located on a hill, an elevator whisks you down to the pool deck, depending on where your room is located. There’s plenty of chairs and if you need anything from the pool hands, they are very happy to assist you. Secrets Huatulco is located on Conejos Bay, the last of the nine bays. The beach is expansive, the sands have a beautiful golden colour, although access to the beach does mean crossing over some broken coral, so I would recommend water shoes for that walk to the water. Once there, though, you can enjoy the free rentals to kayaks, snorkeling and stand up waterboards and more. It is a hike to the water as the beach is so expansive, but I didn’t hear to many people complain!
New Year’s celebrations were excellent! The staff dressed to the nines, escorted us to our table all prearranged on the expanded pool deck. So much food to enjoy at the buffet and of course, the bubbly was flowing! Because of our excellent room location, we were able to retreat back to our room and watch the fireworks display from our balcony patio – yes, this is indeed how your vacation at New Years!
We took a taxi into town only twice – but the town is just a short drive away, and full of an electric atmosphere! We stopped in to attend Mass at the cathedral, famous for it’s beautiful roof paintings. It may have a roof over it, and a door to close, but the rest of the church is open – many windows with no shutters and no locks. Tourists an locals piling into the church – a beautiful experience to begin the new year with.
As we closed off our vacation, with a drink in our hands, soaking in “our” pool, we vowed to return!
Can you tell, I loved my short vacation here???
When you are ready to visit Huatulco, just let me know! I’ll be happy to share more details with you!