Mexico
Lost a ring on a beach in Mexico?
Eight area pages, from Cancún and Cozumel in the Caribbean to Rosarito, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, Acapulco and Huatulco on the Pacific.
A ring, watch or phone left behind on a Mexican beach can still be looked for once you are back home. What decides it is where it went: the coast, the town and the beach first, then the spot on that beach and whether you were on the sand or in the sea at the time.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in Mexico. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Each coast has its own area page on this site, and every one of them names its beaches one by one.
The Caribbean on one side of Mexico, the Pacific on the other
The Caribbean coast of Quintana Roo is known for white sand, turquoise sea and coral reefs. Even within Cancún the water changes from beach to beach, calm on some and with waves that draw the adventurous on others.
The Pacific side starts in Baja California, a peninsula with the Pacific Ocean on one shore and the Sea of Cortés on the other. On the mainland it runs past Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco down to Oaxaca. Both coasts have calm beaches and beaches with waves, often in the same town, so the beach name counts for more than the coast.
Working with Ring Seekers from anywhere in Mexico
One contact for the whole trip
If your trip took in more than one coast, it is still one chat with one person at Ring Seekers, from the first question to the report after the search.
Map pin and photos, passed on whole
Your pin, your photos of the spot and the item, and your own description of the day go to the detectorist as you sent them.
If the chances look thin
Some losses leave a clear place to start and some leave very little. Once we have your account, we tell you which kind yours looks like.
Unsure which area page is yours
Not sure whether your beach counts as Cancún or Cozumel, Los Cabos or Todos Santos? Tell us where you stayed and where you went that day, and we sort out the area.
The cost, spelled out early
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Four stretches of coast, eight area pages
Mexico's beaches are split across eight area pages, each with its own beaches, bays and questions. The four cards below say which page covers which towns, one coast at a time.
Find your coast, then your page
The Caribbean, Cancún to Bacalar
The Riviera Maya runs from Puerto Morelos down to Tulum, and people snorkel on its coral reefs. Farther south, the Grand Costa Maya has the quiet beaches of Mahahual and the Laguna de los Siete Colores at Bacalar. Cancún, Isla Mujeres, Isla Contoy, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, the Sian Ka'an beaches and Holbox are on the Cancún Riviera Maya page, and Cozumel, Mahahual and Bacalar are on the Cozumel, Mahahual and Bacalar page.
Baja California, Rosarito to Los Cabos
Rosarito has waves all year, with spots for beginners and for advanced surfers, and Ensenada, also on the Pacific coast, has a harbor as well as beaches. Both are on the Rosarito and Ensenada page. At the southern tip, Los Cabos has swimmable beaches such as Médano, protected coves such as Palmilla and surf breaks such as Zippers, while the Pacific shore toward Todos Santos gets winter swells that can be daunting. Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo, Cabo Pulmo, La Paz, Isla Espíritu Santo and Todos Santos are on the Los Cabos, La Paz and Todos Santos page.
The central Pacific, Mazatlán to Acapulco
In Mazatlán, Playa Norte runs beside the boardwalk and people run on its sand and swim there, while Playa Brujas, away from the hotel zone, is for surfing. Most Puerto Vallarta beaches are good for swimming, and Sayulita, a fishing village in Riviera Nayarit, is a surf town. Mazatlán has a page to itself, Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta, Sayulita and the Islas Marietas are on the Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit page, and Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo, Acapulco and Manzanillo are on the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Acapulco and Manzanillo page.
The southern Pacific, Oaxaca
Huatulco spreads across nine bays, among them Santa Cruz, Chahué, Tangolunda and San Agustín, with soft sand and warm, clear water. In Puerto Escondido, Carrizalillo and Manzanillo are beaches for free diving, and Zicatela is the surfing beach. Huatulco, Puerto Escondido and Zipolite are on the Oaxaca coast page.
Places we cover in Mexico
- Cancún, Quintana Roo
- Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo
- Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo
- Tulum, Quintana Roo
- Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo
- Isla Contoy, Quintana Roo
- Sian Ka'an, Quintana Roo
- Cozumel, Quintana Roo
- Mahahual, Quintana Roo
- Bacalar, Quintana Roo
- Rosarito, Baja California
- Ensenada, Baja California
- Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur
- San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur
- Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur
- La Paz, Baja California Sur
- Isla Espíritu Santo, Baja California Sur
- Todos Santos, Baja California Sur
- Mazatlán, Sinaloa
- Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
- Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit
- Sayulita, Nayarit
- Islas Marietas, Nayarit
- Ixtapa, Guerrero
- Zihuatanejo, Guerrero
- Acapulco, Guerrero
- Manzanillo, Colima
- Huatulco, Oaxaca
- Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca
- Zipolite, Oaxaca
Left behind on a Mexican beach
Wedding day and everyday jewelry
- Engagement rings and wedding bands
- Chains and pendants
- Earrings
- Bracelets and anklets
- Signet and class rings
Tech, keys and frames
- Phones
- Fitness trackers and smartwatches
- Oura rings
- Rental car keys on a metal fob
- Prescription glasses and sunglasses in metal frames
Days that end with a bare finger
- A dive or a snorkel off Cozumel
- A surf lesson at Cerritos or Pescadero
- A run along Playa Norte in Mazatlán
- Snorkeling at Playa Miramar in Manzanillo
- The boat over to La Roqueta from Acapulco
- Free diving at Carrizalillo in Puerto Escondido
How a Mexico search comes together
It runs the same way on every coast. The detectorist is the part that changes.
Start with what happened
Tell us what happened, in your own words and in any order. The town, the beach and the item are the parts we will come back to.
Mark the spot on your map
Open your map app and drop a pin on the spot. Then add photos of the surroundings and a clear picture of the item.
A detectorist for that stretch of coast
We look for a detectorist who can get to that stretch of coast and brief them with everything you sent.
Search day and a full report
When you say yes, a day is set with the detectorist. After the search they report to us, and we pass every detail on to you, found or not.
Questions about Mexico
We stayed in Playa del Carmen, but the bracelet went missing on a day trip to Cozumel. Which page is ours?
The page for where it went missing, so the Cozumel, Mahahual and Bacalar page rather than the Cancún Riviera Maya one. On Cozumel, the restaurants and shops are in the busy center of San Miguel, and the quieter parts of the island are where people dive, so tell us which beach or stop you were at, not only the island.
Our wedding band went somewhere in Cancún's hotel zone. How precise do we need to be?
Precise enough to pick out one beach. The hotel zone beaches differ, calm on some and with waves on others, and the Cancún Riviera Maya page names them one by one. Open the map on your phone, find where you sat, and send us that pin, with a photo looking along the beach if you took one.
Our rental was in Todos Santos. Does it come under Los Cabos?
It does. Todos Santos is on the Los Cabos, La Paz and Todos Santos page. It sits on the Pacific side of the peninsula, where the water is cold and the winter swells can be daunting, rather than on the Sea of Cortés, so say whether you were in the surf or up on the sand when the item went.
My watch came off in the surf at Sayulita. Is that on the Puerto Vallarta page?
Yes. Sayulita is a fishing village and surf town in Riviera Nayarit, covered on the Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit page. Its surf suits everyone from beginners to advanced surfers, so tell us whether you were on a board, swimming or standing in the shallows, and pin where you went into the water.
A phone slipped out of a pocket on one of the beaches along the Costera in Acapulco. What do you need?
The name of the beach, or better still a pin. The Costera Miguel Alemán is the heart of Acapulco's hotel strip and follows the bay, so the road alone covers a lot of sand. Say too whether the phone went into the water with you. Acapulco is on the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Acapulco and Manzanillo page.
Our metal-framed sunglasses went at Playa Manzanillo. There is also a city called Manzanillo, so which page is it?
That depends on which one. Playa Manzanillo in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, is a beach people use for free diving, and it is on the Oaxaca coast page. Manzanillo in Colima is a city whose beaches, such as Miramar and La Audiencia, have fine sand and a gentle slope, and it is on the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Acapulco and Manzanillo page. Either way, send a photo of the frames and a pin.
We drove down for a weekend in Rosarito and Ensenada, and a ring was gone by Sunday. Which town do we give you?
Both towns are on the Rosarito and Ensenada page, so give us the one where you last saw the ring on your hand. Rosarito has several named surf spots, and Ensenada has a harbor, beaches and viewpoints. The name of the spot or beach helps as much as the town.
I only noticed my Oura ring was gone at the airport in Los Cabos. What can I still send?
More than it seems. Scroll back through the trip's photos to the last one where the ring is on your hand, then list the beaches you went to after it. In Los Cabos, say for each one whether it was a calm beach on the bay at Cabo San Lucas, such as Médano, or out on the Pacific shore toward Todos Santos, since the water on the two is very different.
Mexico
Whichever coast it was, the first step is the same
Cancún, Cabo, Puerto Escondido or anywhere between: send a WhatsApp message naming the beach and what is missing, with a map pin for the spot if you have one.