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From Wikitravel

Puerto Escondido is a town in Oaxaca known for its big waves and excellent surfing conditions. Has a reputation for being chill and nice, yet this seems undeserved. Fairly cheap, but not much to do beyond surfing. You are probably better off going to Zipolite or other nearby smaller places if you are looking for the "hidden" (=escondido) port.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By bus

Buses serve Puerto Escondido from Oaxaca and Mexico City as well as some nearby cities on the Pacific coast of Mexico e.g. Acapulco, Huatulco, Puerto Angel. Avoid the Express Service if you want to guarantee the most comfortable ride possible. Take the coach for a few more pesos. The bus ride from Mexico City is about 12 hours and goes through Acapulco. From Oaxaca, the bus ride is about 7 hours long.

[edit] By car

Driving to Puerto Escondido is only advisable if you have experience with windy, poorly-maintained mountain roads. That said, it is an exhilarating, scenic drive from any direction. The roads that connect Puerto Escondido to Acapulco and Oaxaca are both narrow, twisty two-lane roads in poor condition, that traverse the sparsely populated Western Sierra Madre. Driving your own car will not save you much time over taking the bus.

[edit] By air

Flying into Puerto Escondido International Airport (PXM) is a much more enjoyable experience. As of April 2007 only Mexicana de Aviación operates a regular flight through its subsidiary Click between Mexico City (MEX) and Puerto Escondido. You can avoid Mexicana's stratospheric fares by flying to Oaxaca (OAX) and then reaching Puerto Escondido with Aerovega's (+52 951 5164982) daily flight. Another alternative is flying into Huatulco (HUX) and taking a taxi to Puerto Escondido (~90 min drive, ~$50-60 USD if you negotiate in advance).

Shared taxis (called colectivos) from the Puerto Escondido airport are cheap - about 35 pesos or $3.50 per person- and reasonably quick. The airport is close to town, but you may have to wait a few minutes as the colectivo driver waits to get a few more passengers, or drops one or two off ahead of you.

[edit] Get around

The fixed price for a taxi in town is 20 pesos and 40 pesos for the airport and Bacocho beach. The local bus is 3 pesos. Night Rates are 30 Pesos beaware some taxis will Charge 40 pesos if you do not specify 30 pesos before the ride.

Budget Rent-A-Car charge hefty rental fees for their fleet of subcompact manual transmission cars. They may also have some minivans available.

• Económica Rent-A-Car [1] is a more reasonable option, renting convertible VW Bugs and motorcycles among other vehicles.

There are lots of great spots to visit if you have a vehicle, such as the nearby lagoon of Chacahua the nudist beach of Zipolite, beach towns like Puerto Angel and Huatulco, all within two hours of Puerto Escondido.

You may be able to hire a cab driver for the day for about 800 pesos ($80).

[edit][add listing] See

Catch some waves on Playa Zicatela - if you don't surf, you should at least make it over to the beach restaurant Los Tios and have a beer on the beach while you watch people surfing in the sunset. Also a good place from which to watch over breakfast when there's a surf competition on.

The Andador is the path around the lighthouse. It is a fun walk, and beautiful, but the surf can be dangerous in spots.

The best and safest beach for swimming is Playa Carizalillo. Take a taxi unless you want a half-hour walk. Carizalillo is small, gorgeous, and not too crowded, 167 steps from street level down to the beach (then back up again). There are some surfers and some boats, but mainly swimmers enjoying the waves.

[edit][add listing] Do

Surf. You can even take lessons if you're a beginner - try one of the friendly surf instructors on Carizalillo beach or Central Surf.

You need to look for the silver surf shop. Negotiate the price and ask for Tarzan (Alejandro/Alex). He may be hung-over but the guy is awesome. He loves his Corona after a day of surfing.

Try an indigenous type of steam-bath known as a temazcal. Sit in a small building with heats that go up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and then either be covered in towels or dunked into cold water.

One of the most exhilerating experiences for non-surfers is the boat trip into the ocean to catch a glimpse of the wildlife; in particular, the turtles and dolphins. A few tour operators run similar trips out into the Pacific in search of the animals. More often than not, you get a glimpse of the turtles and, if you're lucky enough, the tour guide sometimes jumps in and catches hold of one! Unperturbed, the creatures come onto the boat for some photos and free food courtesy of the tour guide. It's kind of surreal, but incredible. Less often, you will get to see the packs of dolhpins arching over the surface. Again, it is an amazing experience and well worth the money (around 300 pesos on average).

Another good ocean-based activity is the regular fishing trips you can go on. For the keen fisherman, this is a dream activity. The waters host vast amounts of species of fish including tuna, marlin and red snapper. It isn't the cheapest (some operators can charge around 1000 pesos) but you can sometimes get a deal that your catch gets cooked at a local restaurant for your eating pleasure in with the cost.

[edit][add listing] Buy

• Puerto Escondido Oasis on the Adoquín pedestrian mall is a gift shop that offers gifts, clothing as well as local and imported home furnishings and accessories.
• Odyboards Surf Shop & Factory The largest selection of new and used surfboards and accessories in Puerto Escondido. Ask for Ody, he's a super friendly guy that can handshape you a wicked custom epoxy surfboard. </buy>

[edit][add listing] Eat

• Carmen's, multiple locations around town. The best breakfasts in town. They bake their own bread and pastries and serve big breakfasts of huevos rancheros and other hearty meals.

• Cafecito',on Zicatela, has a great club sandwich with fresh avocados.

• El Jardin, on Zicatela, serves good pizzas and salads - and yes, they're safe to eat. These guys use purified water to wash their vegetables, make ice for drinks, etc.

• Mango's, on Zicatela, has some amazing licuados (fruit smoothies) you can enjoy on the beach.
• Los Vaqueros, on the Rinconada has good food and when you need one Hamburguesas.
• Flor de Maria, a hotel has an excellent restaurant although a half liter of the house wine is more expensive than any of the meals. Service is very good.
• Guadua, [2]. 17-23. Great restaurant on he beach. Wonderful food for a good price. The decoration is very tasteful and the staff friendly. Can recommend the fish.  edit
• Pascal, located at Playa Principal (just off Adoquin) is the best restaurant in the area. The French cuisine is given an incredible lift by the extreme freshness of the seafood. An amazing setting, where the seating pours out onto the sand, and a few small changes in the decor make this place amazing. The service is excellent but the food even more so. Try the paella with lobster.

[edit][add listing] Drink

• BarFly, a couple of blocks down the street from Casa Babylon. Dancing till about 2am.
• Casa Babylon is a lovely bar on the main drag off Playa Zicatela. They make really good mojitos and there's sometimes lots of cool beautiful people there.

• La Flayita is a little palm-thatched bar on the beach. Have a coco natural (fresh young coconut) to drink or a pina colada while relaxing in a hammock or bean bag chair. They have lots of magazines in many languages, if you've run out of reading material.
• La Piedra de la Iguana - Good after-hours bar.

• Wipe Out, in El Adoquin. Hip hop and electronic music plays all night.
• Congo´s. Located in the Adoquene 20 meters from Playa Principal. Live music cheap drinks amazing enviroment.  edit

[edit][add listing] Sleep

There are numerous other hotels on Zicatela with great beachfront locations and moderate to downright cheap rates (especially off-season, i.e. spring and early summer). For longer stays (e.g. 1 month or longer), which seem to be common, renting an apartment is also an option - you'll probably want to stay the first few days in one of these hotels while you scout out what's available. Beach Hotel Ines and Hotel Rockaway are a couple of examples, with rooms ranging from about $18 to $70/night off-peak. $70 can get you an air-conditioned double room with a balcony near the front of Ines, looking right over the beach, while $18-$35 can get you simple rooms with a fan and private shower, but not necessarily a full bathroom.

• Bungalows Santa Cruz, Calle Del Morro, ☎ +52 (954) 582 0170, [3]. Good views from this set of rather artificial Mediterranean-styled bungalows, with fully equipped kitchen, large verandas and a swimming pool.  edit

• Bungalows Zicatela. a great hotel on Zicatela beach with moderately priced rooms, two pools and a bar and restaurant. The view is great and the staff are friendly and helpful. Ask for room #13 and get their least expensive room!  edit

• Hotel Casa Blanca, Av. Perez Gasga,, [4]. On the main tourist road with 22 rooms, ranging from single to quintuple occupancy, and has an outdoor pool and restaurant. The hotel provides surfing lessons and ecological tours on request. Free wireless Internet is also available.  edit

• Hostel Shalom, Playa Carallizo. Isreali managed Hostel next to Playa Carillizo, only 200 meters from the beach.  edit

• Mayflower Hotel and Youth Hostel, Andador Libertad. Located Near Playa Pricipal located in Adoquen, this is the oldest hostel in town, fairly average in most ways, but great location near a beach - though often a very packed one. There is a 11pm curfew, so you must be in your room or out of the hostel by then.  edit

• Quinta Carrizalillo, ☎ +52 (954) 582 356, [5]. 11 rooms for families or larger groups. Every room has its own kitchen, where you can prepare your own food  edit

• Sexso Senso, ☎ 00529541093057 (sextosensomex@gmail.com). An amazing little hideaway on the beach. Several options including 3 large private bungalows,which sleeps up to 5 people, each with own shower toilet and sink, and equipped with a fan and mosquito nets. There is also a hotel like dorm room with bunk bed's, and a camping area with tents available for rent. The restaurant on the premises serves traditional Italian food like fresh hand-made pizza and pasta  edit

• Tower Bridge Hostel, Calle Oceano Atlantico (5 minutes from the Benito Juarez market). checkout: 12pm. The Tower Bridge is a chilled place a fair bit outside the town center. Kitchen, pool table, internet, 10 Peso Coronas and cable tv. Ask the owner Steve about surfing lessons or Spanish school which is nearby. Bungalows for 2 people 200 pesos. The facilities are by themselves nice, but have a worn look, and cleanliness and security (no lockers e.g.) is not their strength. Good vibe in the evening when there are others there, the owner (Steve) is a bit of a hassle but the manager (Aaron) is friendly and helpful, albeit weird. $80 (pesos).  edit

[edit] Get out

• You can visit nearby Mazunte, with much less tourism than Puerto Escondido, enjoy quite beaches, see the turtles and practice some real tantra yoga in the Agama Yoga Mexico school [6].

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