Blog Post
The 10 Best Eco Lodges and Jungle Resorts in Mexico (2026)
Places
October 5, 2026
Ashley Park
Key takeaways
Best overall: Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita, for its independently documented forest conservation, all-inclusive stays and 15-tent scale.
Best verified sustainability outside the Pacific: Chablé Yucatán, winner of The World's 50 Best Hotels' 2026 Eco Hotel Award.
Most remote jungle setting: Xinalani, reachable only by boat from Puerto Vallarta.
Best for families: Cuixmala and One&Only Mandarina. Naviva is adults-only.
Check the proof: only a few properties here carry third-party sustainability audits. The rest describe their own practices, and each entry says which is which.
Mexico's eco lodges and jungle resorts, ranked for 2026
"Eco lodge" in Mexico covers everything from a family-run palapa on a hillside to a resort whose forest preservation has been measured by landscape architects. Their sustainability claims vary just as widely.
This list ranks 10 places that put you in the jungle, forest or a protected coastline, from the Pacific coast of Nayarit and Jalisco to the Yucatán Peninsula. We weighed four things: the setting, whether a property's environmental claims have been checked by someone other than the property, the quality of the stay itself, and how honest the trade-offs are. Every entry lists its location, setting, best use, what's included and one real downside.
1. Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort: best overall eco resort in Mexico
Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort sits on the Punta Mita peninsula in Nayarit, about 45 minutes from Puerto Vallarta's airport. It opened in December 2022 as Four Seasons' first adults-only tented resort in the Americas, and it has stayed small on purpose: 15 tented bungalows on 48 acres of tropical forest, with never more than 30 guests on the property. Luxury Frontiers designed the tents and EDSA handled the landscape. Each bungalow has a private plunge pool, a soaking tub and an outdoor shower, and is positioned for privacy within the forest.
It leads this list because an outside party has documented its conservation work. A Landscape Performance Series case study found that construction preserved 97% of the site's existing tropical forest. An estimated 1,800 trees left standing sequester about 43.2 tons of carbon dioxide a year, and permeable paving cuts surface runoff by 15%. The resort reused the roads and cisterns left over from an earlier, unbuilt resort plan, and a solar-powered hydropanel system pulls an estimated 62 gallons of drinking water a day out of the humid air. In March 2025 Forbes Travel Guide gave Naviva its Responsible Hospitality VERIFIED status, an independent sustainability verification.
Stays are fully all-inclusive and cover every meal, premium wines and spirits, one 90-minute spa journey per guest per stay, and the daily program, which runs from a temazcal ceremony in the House of Heat (led by a curandero) to nocturnal forest bathing. Cocina Copal cooks over open fire. Condé Nast Traveler put Naviva on its 2023 Hot List and its 2026 Gold List, and in June 2026 included it in its inaugural Triple Crown awards, which honor properties recognized on the Hot List, the Gold List and the Readers' Choice Awards.
Location: Punta Mita, Nayarit. About 45 minutes by car from Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR).
Setting: 15 tented bungalows on 48 forested acres above a private beach.
Best for: Couples who want deep privacy and documented conservation work, with Four Seasons service and an open-fire kitchen.
What's included: Fully all-inclusive, from meals and premium drinks to a spa journey for each guest.
Downside: The 575-foot beach below the tents is rocky and isn't meant for swimming. Guests swim at the beaches of Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, a five-minute ride away. The site is built into a hill, so expect steps and slopes, though staff drive guests around by golf cart.
2. Chablé Yucatán: best for cenotes and Maya forest
Chablé Yucatán occupies a former henequen estate in Chocholá, about a 30-minute drive from Mérida, with 40 casitas and two villas spread through the Maya forest, each with its own pool. The spa is built around a natural cenote. In September 2026 the hotel placed ninth on The World's 50 Best Hotels, which also named it Best Hotel in North America for the third year running and gave it the 2026 Eco Hotel Award. The award citation lists what earned it: there's no buffet, kitchen waste is composted, four organic gardens hold 73 traditional Maya raised beds, and solar supplied more than a quarter of the hotel's energy in 2025. As of October 2026 it also holds two MICHELIN Keys.
Location: Chocholá, Yucatán. About a 30-minute drive from Mérida, whose international airport (MID) is the nearest.
Setting: Restored hacienda casitas in Maya forest, with a cenote spa.
Best for: Travelers who want the Yucatán's cenotes and archaeology from a base whose sustainability practices have been independently recognized.
What's included: Breakfast. Airport transfers are booked separately.
Downside: It's a 30-minute drive from the city, so seeing more of the Yucatán means booking transfers or tours.
3. Xinalani: best boat-access jungle retreat
Xinalani sits on a jungle hillside above a private beach in Quimixto, about 12 miles south of Puerto Vallarta, and there's no road to it. Guests take a 45-minute boat from Marina Vallarta. Its 33 rooms, from shared palapas to casitas and suites, are built with three walls and the fourth side open to the jungle, and beds are hung with mosquito nets. Stays include three meals a day and a daily yoga class, and there are six yoga studios and a temazcal on the property. It's geared to adults but accepts children 12 and older. MICHELIN gave it three Keys, the guide's highest hotel distinction, in 2025 and again in 2026. Its sustainability claims, such as recycling all water for irrigation, are the hotel's own, with no outside certification behind them.
Location: Quimixto, Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco. A 15-minute taxi from Puerto Vallarta airport to the marina, then 45 minutes by boat.
Setting: Open-sided rooms on a jungle slope running down to the sea.
Best for: Yoga and wellness travelers who want to sleep inside the jungle.
What's included: Three meals a day and a daily yoga class.
Downside: The last boat leaves Puerto Vallarta at 5 p.m., and in rough seas boats land at Quimixto, a 10- to 15-minute walk away. Only 13 of the 33 rooms have air conditioning.
4. Cuixmala: best private nature reserve
Cuixmala is a 43-room estate on the Costalegre coast of Jalisco, set inside a private reserve of more than 30,000 acres with five kilometers of coastline. The reserve borders the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve, and zebras, eland and over 270 bird species live on the land. Rooms are split among Casa Cuixmala, casitas and villas. The Cuixmala Ecological Foundation, founded in 1988, runs a sea-turtle program that it says has released about 940,000 hatchlings, and about 80% of what the kitchens serve comes from the estate's own farms.
Location: Costalegre, Jalisco, between Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta. About 1.5 hours from Manzanillo airport (ZLO), or about 3 hours from Puerto Vallarta.
Setting: Estate suites, casitas and villas inside a private reserve on the Pacific.
Best for: Families and nature lovers who want room to roam and quiet beaches.
What's included: Rooms are booked à la carte, with full board available as an option.
Downside: Swimming isn't allowed at the main beach because of currents, so guests swim at the estate's other beaches. It's remote, and the hotel recommends a car for the dirt roads.
5. One&Only Mandarina: best treehouse suites
One&Only Mandarina opened in November 2020 on 80 acres of coastal rainforest near El Monteón, about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta. Its 105 treehouses and clifftop villas each have a plunge pool, and the treehouses stand on stilts among the existing trees. MICHELIN gave it three Keys in 2025 and 2026, and it ranked No. 23 on The World's 50 Best Hotels in 2026. It welcomes families and runs a kids' club, which sets it apart from Naviva and Xinalani above. As an eco pick it's thinner than its awards suggest: the resort says it was planned around the standing forest with environmental specialists on site, but it doesn't name any sustainability certification.
Location: El Monteón, Riviera Nayarit. About an hour north of Puerto Vallarta airport (PVR).
Setting: Treehouse suites raised into coastal rainforest above the Pacific.
Best for: Families and couples who want a treehouse with full resort service.
What's included: Breakfast. It isn't all-inclusive.
Downside: You'll rely on golf carts to get anywhere, and the surf can be rough on some days.
6. Rosewood Mayakoba: best mangrove-and-lagoon resort on the Riviera Maya
Rosewood Mayakoba has 128 suites set among the lagoons and mangroves of the Mayakoba development, 42 miles south of Cancún airport. It's been open since 2008, and many suites sit on the water with their own docks and plunge pools. Rosewood reported Rainforest Alliance certification for the resort in 2019. As of October 2026 it holds two MICHELIN Keys, and it welcomes families.
Location: Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo. About 42 miles from Cancún International Airport (CUN).
Setting: Lagoon-side suites among mangroves near the Caribbean coast.
Best for: Travelers who want a large-resort Caribbean stay with a real natural setting.
What's included: Room only; breakfast is extra.
Downside: It's a full-scale luxury resort, so the eco lodge feel is limited, and meals add up quickly.
7. Verana: best hillside hideaway with no road access
Verana is a set of mostly open-air houses terraced into the jungle above Yelapa Bay, south of Puerto Vallarta, created by a Los Angeles set designer and an interior designer from France. Nine of its 10 houses sit on the hillside; the tenth is a villa by the water. There's no road: guests take a taxi to Boca de Tomatlán, a 30-minute boat ride that's included in the stay, and then walk about 10 minutes uphill while staff carry the bags. A mule can be booked for guests who'd rather ride. Water comes from a mountain spring, and there are no TVs. Meals come on a mandatory full-board plan cooked on site. The sustainability claims are the hotel's own, and it has no certification.
Location: Yelapa, Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco. About 45 minutes by taxi from Puerto Vallarta airport to Boca de Tomatlán, then 30 minutes by boat.
Setting: Open-sided houses on a terraced jungle hillside above the bay.
Best for: Couples who want a long, slow stay with almost no contact with the outside world.
What's included: Boat transfers, plus a mandatory full-board meal plan charged per person per day.
Downside: There's a five-night minimum, flights need to land by about 3 p.m. to make the last boat, and guests must be 16 or older. It closes for part of the rainy season and reopens in mid-October.
8. Genesis Eco Oasis: best simple eco lodge near Maya ruins
Genesis Eco Oasis is eight cabins and apartments in a one-acre jungle garden in Ek Balam, a Maya village a few minutes from the Ek Balam ruins and Cenote X'Canché. Its owner, who lives on site, built it in the early 2000s. The cabins are built from palm thatch, stone, reclaimed wood, adobe and bamboo, water is solar-heated, and the cenote-fed pool runs through a bio-filtration waterfall. Vegetarian, mostly organic home-cooked meals are available on request. The lodge arranges visits with neighboring Maya families, who receive donations directly. None of this is independently certified; it's the lodge's own account.
Location: Ek Balam, Yucatán. About 2 hours by car from Cancún airport, 3 hours from Mérida, and 30 minutes north of Valladolid.
Setting: Thatched cabins in a one-acre jungle garden inside a Maya village.
Best for: Independent travelers and families who want ruins, cenotes and Maya village life on the doorstep.
What's included: Lodging only; meals are available separately. Stays have a three-night minimum.
Downside: It's simple, and without a car there's nowhere else to eat nearby.
9. Tailwind Jungle Lodge: best small, family-run jungle lodge
Tailwind Jungle Lodge is a handful of palapas and casitas on a jungle hillside above San Pancho in Nayarit, run by the same family since 2005. It's the opposite of a resort: a few open-air rooms in the trees, a short walk from a small surf town on the Riviera Nayarit. The lodge says Sustainable Travel International certified it in 2009, and it hosts small retreats.
Location: San Pancho (San Francisco), Nayarit. About an hour from Puerto Vallarta airport, depending on traffic.
Setting: Palapas and casitas in jungle above the village.
Best for: Independent travelers and small groups who want simple jungle stays near a walkable town.
What's included: Lodging. Stays and retreats are booked directly with the lodge.
Downside: It closes for the rainy season and reopens on October 27. Expect insects and open-air living.
10. Las Nubes de Holbox: best island stay in a protected area
Las Nubes de Holbox sits at the quiet east end of Isla Holbox, inside the Yum Balam protected area off the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula. It has 28 rooms, from Maya-style bungalows to suites, three pools and a beach club, and breakfast is included. The hotel says it runs on solar power, harvests rainwater, avoids single-use plastic and uses special lighting during turtle nesting season; those claims aren't independently certified. It's among the easiest stays on this list with children.
Location: Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo. About 2 hours by road from Cancún airport to Chiquilá, then a ferry of about 30 minutes.
Setting: Beachfront rooms on an island inside a protected area, where people get around by golf cart and bike.
Best for: Families who want flamingos and whale sharks (the official season runs mid-May to mid-September) more than jungle.
What's included: Breakfast.
Downside: There's little jungle here; it's a beach hotel, and guests report heavy mosquitoes.
How to choose an eco lodge or jungle resort in Mexico
Four questions sort most of these properties quickly.
Who checked the sustainability claims? A third-party audit, a published case study or a certification counts for more than a hotel's own description. Naviva and Chablé Yucatán have recent outside verification, and Rosewood Mayakoba reported Rainforest Alliance certification in 2019. Most others self-report.
How much jungle do you actually want? Open-sided rooms like Xinalani's and Tailwind's put you among the insects and the noise. Enclosed tents or casitas with air conditioning, like Naviva's, keep the setting without the exposure.
Adults-only or family? Naviva is adults-only, Verana takes guests 16 and over, and Xinalani accepts children 12 and older. Cuixmala, One&Only Mandarina, Rosewood Mayakoba, Genesis Eco Oasis and Las Nubes de Holbox take children.
What's included? Naviva is fully all-inclusive. Xinalani includes three meals, and Verana has a mandatory full-board plan. The rest include breakfast or no meals, though Cuixmala offers full board as an option.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best eco resort in Mexico?
Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita is our top pick. A Landscape Performance Series case study found its construction preserved 97% of the site's existing tropical forest, and Forbes Travel Guide gave it Responsible Hospitality VERIFIED status in 2025. Chablé Yucatán, winner of The World's 50 Best Hotels' 2026 Eco Hotel Award, is the strongest choice on the Yucatán side.
What is the best jungle resort in Mexico?
For a full-service stay, Naviva in Punta Mita and Chablé Yucatán near Mérida. For the most immersive jungle setting, it's Xinalani, which you can reach only by boat from Puerto Vallarta.
Are there all-inclusive eco resorts in Mexico?
Yes. Naviva is fully all-inclusive, covering all meals, premium drinks, a 90-minute spa journey per guest and its daily program. Xinalani includes three meals a day and a daily yoga class.
Which part of Mexico has jungle?
The Pacific coast of Nayarit and Jalisco has tropical dry and coastal forest running down to the sea, which is where Naviva, Xinalani, One&Only Mandarina and Tailwind sit. The Yucatán Peninsula has low Maya forest dotted with cenotes, and Chiapas holds the Lacandon rainforest.
Are eco lodges in Mexico good for families?
Some are. Cuixmala, One&Only Mandarina, Rosewood Mayakoba, Genesis Eco Oasis and Las Nubes de Holbox all take children. Naviva is adults-only, Verana accepts guests 16 and over, and Xinalani accepts children 12 and older.
When is the best time to visit Mexico's jungle resorts?
November to April is drier and cooler on both coasts. The rainy season runs roughly June to October, and into November on the Yucatán, when the jungle is greenest but humidity, insects and hurricane risk are highest, and some smaller lodges close.