Butterfly House, Bahia, Brazil

Good for Big group get-togethers
Sleeps 20
Cost from £6,650 a week

This beachside pousada on Bahia's unspoilt Maraú peninsula can be split into eight villas (from £150), or rented as a magnificent whole for 20. This is the ultimate house for partying groups or adventurous families. With a 50km sandy beach on one side and Camamu Bay the other, remote is the word. The bamboo and reclaimed nut-wood walls and thatched roofs of the villas meld into the jungle while the interiors showcase objets d'art from around the world. There's a palm-shaded pool and a restaurant serving French, Asian and Brazilian fusion cuisine.
• +55 7332 584 113, butterflyhousebahia.com

Casa do Pescador, Paraty, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil

Good for getting away from it all
Sleeps 4
Cost from £1,550 a week

Paraty, equidistant from Rio and São Paulo, is all about deserted beaches and immersion in nature. But it's also a charming 17th-century town of cobbled streets, where vehicles are banned. Casa do Pescador is a rustic, two-bedroom hideaway on the Ilha do Araujo, 10km north of Paraty, with a hammock-strung veranda that would make a great lovers' retreat. The tiny islet is covered in native Atlantic forest and populated by fishermen. The house is secluded in a bird-filled garden near the water's edge, with its own pier and boat, a 150m stroll from tiny Salvador Moreira beach. The shower is gas-powered and there aren't copious luxuries, though there is phone reception if you're desperate.
• +55 21 2225 9476, brazilianbeachhouse.com

Barú Bungalow, Isla Barú, Cartagena, Colombia

Good for exclusivity (your own private beach)
Sleeps 10
Cost from £5,600 a week

A 45-minute ferry ride from tourist-filled Cartagena are the peaceful beaches and lush vegetation of Isla Barú. This upmarket thatched beach shack on the cusp of the Corales del Rosario national park has a vast inside-outside yellow living space and ocean views from the kitchen. The huge deck is surrounded by tropical foliage and the palm-fringed pool is practically on the beach. Barú offers gorgeous expanses of white sand but can get busy with day-trippers; this house circumvents the problem with a private beach. At night, there's nothing but shooting stars, photoluminescence and silence.
• oasiscollections.com/cartagena/property/2168

Le Rustique, José Ignacio, Uruguay

Good for nature lovers
Sleeps 6 (with sofabed)
Cost from $1,380 a week

This is what a beach shack looks like Uruguay style: wood panelling, checked throws and views over the Garzon Lagoon, just outside Jose Ignacio, the country's most understated upmarket spot. Bring your guitar and you can live out the hippy-chic getaway fantasy watching sunsets from the deck.
• no phone, oasiscollections.com/punta/property/2128

Las Palmeras, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Good for playful children (and adults)
Sleeps 6
Cost £760 a week

At this tangerine-coloured home in a former coconut plantation north of pretty Puerto Vallarta, you walk through tropical gardens to a pristine beach for hammock-swinging, sandcastle-building and swimming on a safe shelf beach. Or there's a pool with a shallow end. There are board games, beach toys, boogie boards and buckets, and there's surfboard and kayak hire nearby. A turtle reserve releases baby turtles into the wild here in winter; in summer they return to lay their eggs. Interiors are classic Mexican: tiled floors, crisp linens, and exuberant colours. A cook can be arranged for $30pp a day extra including food (kids $10-20).
• + 1 212 905 6065, kidandcoe.com/destinations/mexico

The Beach Estates, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

Good for surfers
Sleeps 8
Cost from £4,039 a week

These side-by-side ultra-modern beach houses would suit an extended family or house-party group. This is a renowned surfing beach in the quiet southern reaches of the Nicoya peninsula, so total seclusion and wild adventure are the draw here – epic ocean views from the minimalist, open-plan spaces with floor-to-ceiling doors. There are infinity pools, a private chef to whip up the day's lobster catch and Ugo de Castro, the manager, can set up fishing, whale-watching, yoga or surfing classes. Nearby Montezuma has restaurants and shops to potter in.
• no phone, i-escape.com

Beach Front House, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

Good for grown-up backpackers
Sleeps 8 plus 2-4 in extra cottage
Cost £1,096 a week

San Juan del Sur is the hub of Nicaragua's southern Pacific beaches. The once-sleepy fishing village now has nightlife, restaurants and charming streets of 19th-century timber houses, plus a dark-sand beach for satisfying sunset-over-the-Pacific views. This super-spacious beach house with simple, all-white interiors has all the hallmarks of a successful beach-house-party booking, including a one-bedroom cottage on the grounds for an extra $100 a night.
• no phone, flipkey.com/san-juan-del-sur-vacation-rentals/p545142