Table of contents
A short introduction
In the south of Mexico (the coast of the state of Oaxaca – on the Pacific Ocean) you’ll find some of the most beautiful and peaceful beaches, and staying there is relatively cheap. That makes it an ideal destination for a longer rest.
For us, the beaches on the Oaxaca coast were the most beautiful of our whole trip around Mexico.
Puerto Escondido
Puerto Escondido is the most populous town on the Oaxaca coast and one of the main tourist centres in the state. It has several beaches. Playa Zicatela and Playa Carrizalillo are known for their spectacular big waves, while Playa Manzanillo and Playa Angelito are calmer.
A huge plus of this town, besides its many beaches, is that for a tourist resort there are surprisingly few people here (we were there at the end of October 2023). There is also a huge Chedraui supermarket (we hadn’t seen one that big since our stay in the capital), so shopping is no problem at all.
We travelled between the towns by minibus and colectivo – here these are simple pick-up trucks with room for passengers in the back. There is also a special space for luggage, but unfortunately sometimes it’s not enough. Locals get on with crates of fish, cardboard boxes or other things. If someone has nowhere to sit, no problem – even if you’d rather ride on the outside, holding on to just a rail, the main thing is to grab hold of something properly and not fall out. In Puerto Escondido we also thought about renting a car, but we were quoted 1200 MXN (about €65) a day – we decided it was too expensive. As soon as we get into the colectivo, our adventure to truly paradise beaches begins – beaches almost entirely to ourselves, where we rent a secluded bungalow overlooking the tropical greenery.
Everything looks as if it is only just getting ready to receive more tourists – construction of bigger blocks has started, there are small homely eateries instead of typical tourist restaurants and tiny local shops. Let’s hope this not-very-touristy atmosphere lasts as long as possible.
It’s safe here. The climate is tropical. It’s almost always hot. And yet – this time in Acapulco (Guerrero state), about 300 km as the crow flies from Puerto Escondido, Hurricane Otis strikes. In about 12 hours it grew from a tropical storm into a Category 5 hurricane with winds of up to 270 km/h – the strongest ever to make landfall in the history of the eastern Pacific. I followed it in an app showing wind speeds. In Puerto Escondido, where we’re stopping for a few days, the weather has turned – on the day we arrived the waves were huge, a red flag was flying on the beach, and the heavy rain only came late in the evening. In Zipolite, where we go later, it was also supposed to rain, but it cleared up. It’s cloudy, a bit windier and rainier, but the waves are out of this world. There are just no surfers or other tourists, because the weather has scared everyone off. For them it’s something unusual; for us, nothing special. It’s still over 30 degrees, so why not go to the beach?
Mazunte and Zipolite
It’s much quieter in Mazunte and Zipolite, where besides lying on the beach you can do turtle-related activities. In the past turtles were hunted in Mazunte (up to 30,000 were killed a year), which made their population drop drastically. When the government banned turtle hunting, panic broke out in the village. Most of the inhabitants lived off selling turtle eggs and meat. That is why a project was set up to give people work, including the Mexican Turtle Centre, where we could see lots of different species (admission costs 44 MXN/about €2.50). It seemed to us (I hope rightly) that it is a place that gives them proper care and suitable conditions.
For those interested – many local agencies in Mazunte organise trips such as motorboat cruises to watch dolphins, releasing baby turtles into the ocean, or watching bioluminescence (glowing plankton). You can find information about these trips in lots of places – e.g. hotel receptions or beach bars. We didn’t go on any of these trips.
Zipolite was the first nudist beach in Mexico and to this day it is the only official, fully legal one. Because it’s a bit harder to get to, there are far fewer tourists here. So the beach is ideal for those who want to spend some time in peace and quiet.
Zipolite is about 70 km from Puerto Escondido. Be careful when swimming – because of the strong currents it is considered the deadliest beach in the country.
Practical information
- We got to the Pacific on an overnight ADO bus from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido. It cost 762 MXN/about €41 per person, including headphones, one drink and, at long last, a toilet. The journey took a long time, about 10 hours – we drove 500 km the long way round (probably because of better roads?).
- Local companies that are half the price also run to the coast, such as Lineas Unidas (to Zipolite and Puerto Ángel). We found information (from 7 months earlier) that the trip from Oaxaca to Zipolite with this company costs about 360 MXN (about €20), and to Puerto Ángel 330 MXN (about €18).
- From Puerto Escondido we took a minibus with a change to a colectivo. The whole journey cost us about €4.
- On Google Maps the location is called “Colectivo to Mazunte” (a bus stop at Primera Sur 2), but in practice it goes to Pochutla. So you need to get off in San Antonio and wait there for a colectivo. The total cost of getting there is about €4 (55 MXN + 20 MXN).
- In Puerto Escondido we spent two nights in a hostel (about €9 per person per night), and in Zipolite we had three nights in a bungalow among tropical trees, with a hammock in front of the cabin (Villa Escondida, 298 MXN/about €16 per person per night).
