You have to swim underwater to find this hidden beach in Mexico
But the experience is well worth the journey.
There are so many Photoshop hoaxes on Pinterest, you may have stop adding dreamy vacation destinations to your "Bucket List" board. But here's one place that's real and deserves a pin: The Marieta Islands. It's located near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and is called the "Playa del Amor" or "The Beach of Love." Oh la la.
Even though the island looks like the most romantic destination you could find, it actually has a rather sad origin. During World War I, the Mexican government used their islands as target practice for bombs and this hole above the beach is the result of those controlled bombings.
You might notice that there's a lot of land surrounding the beach — so how do you actually get to this wonder? You have to swim underwater through a short tunnel that connects to the hidden beach.
Inside, the water is warm and the sand is soft. The beach is also surrounded by coral reefs that are just begging you to snorkel the day away.
Even though the sun seeping into this photo is gorgeous, we'd love to see what this unique beach looks like at night, too. We have to imagine the stars are incredible.
Not sure it's worth the swim? Someone visited the beach and filmed a video of their experience, which only further proves we all need to see this place in person for ourselves.
Lauren is a senior editor at Hearst. She was previously the senior editor at WomansDay.com and the home editor at GoodHousekeeping.com and HouseBeautiful.com. Her book club, ramen, and jean jackets are a few of her favorite things.
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