Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca
Puerto Escondido is a tropical surf town on Oaxaca’s Pacific coast. Relaxing days on palm lined beaches make way to lively evenings along sandy streets.
A Tropical Escape
There are few better things than the sand between our toes and salt in our hair. We sat on the beach for three days, sunbathing, surfing, drinking tropical cocktails, eating seafood tacos and getting tattoos.
La Punta
La Punta is neighborhood on the far eastern end of Playa Zicaleta. It’s popular with surfers, digital nomads, expats and young travelers. Under the bamboo and palm thatched buildings are shops selling beach attire, tropical jewelry and surf boards. Coffee shops, taquerias and cocktail bars line the neighborhood’s sand covered streets and dirt roads. Posters advertising nightly parties are displayed at hostels and tattoo parlors.
Beaches
Playa Zicaleta. A long tan sand beach stretching across a large expanse of Puerto Escondido’s shoreline.
Playa Punta. The most eastern section of Playa Zicaleta. The beach is a surfers paradise with lessons, board rentals and surfers riding waves from first light until sunset. Tanned and tattooed beach goers relax under umbrellas, walk along the shore and frolic in the ocean waves. Beachfront restaurants rent umbrellas and lounges, serve seafood dishes, tropical cocktails and inexpensive local beers. It’s a popular spot to watch the sunset over the ocean. We were even lucky enough to withness the green flash as the last of the sun dipped below the horizon.
Things to Do
Lounge on the Beach. Visit Punta Puerto on Puntas Beach, an ocean front restaurant and bar with rentable sun lounges and umbrellas. At the time, prices cost 200 pesos for a lounge and umbrella for the full day with no minimum spend. This was significantly less than any of the other spots nearby. Service and drinks were great, the food was a little bland but for the price, it was absolutely worth it.
Take a Surf Lesson. Puerto Escondido is a surfer’s haven with plenty of waves for beginners to experts. I booked a two hour group lesson with Silva Surf School, meeting the instructors at 7am and catching the morning’s first waves as the sun was rising. The instructors were very helpful providing a push to catch waves and pointers on how to “pop up,” balance on the board, ride and safely fall off. They provided a 9ft fiberglass surfboard that glided through the water with plenty stability, making it easy to catch every 3 to 5 foot wave that came in.
Places to Eat & Drink
Armonía Café. A small cafe with smoothie bowls, juices and strong coffees. We stopped in after surfing ordering the açaí bowl, made with mixed berries and banana as well as the spirulina bowl, made with greens and banana.
La Punta Restaurant & Bar. A beachfront restaurant and bar with sun lounges and cold Mexican beers.
La Ola Taquería. A taqueria along a narrow and sandy alleyway leading to the beach with a vast menu of seafood tacos and dishes. We ordered multiple dishes a la carte including the coconut shrimp tacos, fish tacos, tamarind ceviche and octopus tostada!
Fish Shack La Punta. A seafood shack preparing fish tacos, baskets and sandwiches. It’s the perfect lunch spot after spending time on the beach! Come for their fried fish sandwich or shrimp po’boy paired with a Mexican beer.
Helados Palma Negra. A shop serving tropical flavored ice cream and paletas. Try the mango passion fruit, mango tajin or chocolate coconut.
Terraza Los Costenos. A cozy oceanfront terrace nestled between the swaying fronds of verdant palm trees with tiki, tropical and mezcal cocktails. Try the Tropical, a mezcal, rum and passion fruit cocktail or the Tiki Taka, a floral gin and strawberry cocktail.
Bikini Cocktail Bar. A tropical beach shack style bar with bamboo walls, wooden swings for seats and Mexican inspired tiki cocktails. We quickly became regulars here, sampling half the menu. Try the Boo Loo, a mezcal, passion fruit and pineapple cocktail or the Elderfower Tiki, a mezcal, st germain and kombucha cocktail.
Juana Mezcala. A mezcal cocktail bar with shareable bites and nightly live music. To drink, try the Hibiscus Mezcalita or Santa Juana made with mezcal, chartreuse and hoja santa. To share, order the grilled pineapple and shrimp skewers cooked in mezcal or jalapeño poppers.
Where to Stay
Punta Bungalows. A boutique hostel a few streets from the beach with private rooms, a large shared kitchen, an outdoor pool, comfy hammocks and a tropical garden. We loved waking up to scent of the plumeria trees, wearing fallen flowers above our each morning. Reserve on Airbnb.
Getting to Puerto Escondido
We took an ADO Bus from Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido. The ride took 3 hours through mountain roads and tunnels. The closer to the coast, the more verdant the landscape became and winding the roads twisted.
Elsewhere in Oaxaca
Explore our full guide on Oaxaca, Mexico to read about its cuisine, artisan goods, ancient ruins, colonial pueblos and scenic landscapes.
For Next Time…
Explore El Centro. We made the most of our time in the Puntas neighborhood. When we return, we plan to explore the beaches, markets, restaurants, cafes and bars of the city’s central neighborhood.
Playa Zipolote. Mexico’s only official nude beach located an hour and a half down the coast. It’s popular for swimming, surfing and sunbathing. Unlike most nude beaches, it has beachfront bars and restaurants.
Playa Del Amor. A queer friendly nude beach at the east end of Zipolote Beach. We can’t wait to return to Oaxaca’s coast for this alone.
