From Wikitravel

Puerto Escondido is a town in Oaxaca known for its big waves and excellent surfing conditions.

[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. However, the ride from inland is not for the weak of heart (or stomach) - think of narrow mountain roads with hairpin turns that seem to come every 10 seconds. 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 Aeorvega'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 ($2) and 40 pesos ($4) for the airport and Bacocho beach. The local bus is 3 pesos ($0.30)

Budget Rent-A-Car charge hefty rental fees for their fleet of subcompact stick-shift 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, Mazunte 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 Central Surf or Surf 360.

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.

[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.

[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.

[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 always 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.

[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.

• Quinta Lili [2] is a charming small hotel with great sea views in the Carrizalillo area of Puerto Escondido.
• Bungalows Zicatela is 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!
• 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 San Pedro [3] is a bit more up-market, with one-bedroom air-conditioned units, very close to the more-secluded Playa Bacocho.
• Puerto Real Estate, [4]. Real estate & vacation rentals - offers an alternative to hotels with rentals and sales of oceanfront homes, condos and properties.

[edit] Get out

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