Like Cabo Blanco, Punta Sal was once a beach favored by the foreign execs at the International Petroleum Company. This long, half-moon beach of pure sand and lapping waves is better for bathing than surfing.

The laid-back atmosphere and remote setting tend to attract more Peruvians than foreigners. There is only one restaurant outside of the resorts, and it is closed during low season. There are few services of any kind.

Getting to Punta Sal

Punta Sal is several kilometers off a lonely stretch of Panamericana between Máncora and Tumbes. Frequent Máncora–Tumbes combis can drop you off at the main turnoff to Punta Sal, Km 1187, which is well marked with signs. Several motocars are usually waiting to bring you down to the beach. Do not do this at night. Club Hotel Punta Sal has a separate entrance farther north at Km 1192.

From the Tumbes airport you can also take a US$2 taxi to Transportes Carrucho, at the intersection of Tumbes and Piura, where US$2 buses leave every half hour for the beaches. Have them drop you at Punta Sal and take a motocar to the beach.