The name is starting to become ironic. Puerto Escondido, or “hidden port” is no longer on the “best kept secret” list of magical pueblos in Mexico. Once a small surf town without an airport until 1985, Puerto Escondido is now swelling with surfers, expats, digital nomads, local tourism and development. The airport is transitioning to become designated as “international,” a superhighway is being built from Oaxaca City down to the coast, and more and more travelers have heard the whispers: Puerto Escondido is incredible—you have to go, man!
Both domestic and international tourism are on the rise, and for good reason. Puerto has it all—well, nearly. You won’t find a McDonalds or an all-inclusive resort. Through the waves of development, Puerto has somehow retained the charm of a small Mexican surf town. The conversation of Puerto Escondido growing into another Tulum—how Puerto reminds people of Tulum 5 years ago—happens countless times everyday. Walking through the streets of La Punta Zicatela, you’re just as likely to bump into a rooster or goat as you are a French or Australian visitor. You’re just as likely to find a restaurant where your food is cooked over a wood burning fire, as you are a place that serves avocado toast with a well-made latte. It’s a paradox, one that is easy to love.
It’s difficult to describe what makes Puerto Escondido so great. Below, we’ll get into some of the aspects that make Puerto a true treasure for travellers (and we’ll cover some of what’s not so great), but the most simple answer is this image:
Every night at sunset, the whole town goes to the beach, and a volleyball game with locals and expats takes place. Off in the distance you’ll see surfers carving waves, while beyond them a glowing orange sphere drops into the sea, propelling the people of Puerto Escondido into another night of mezcal and music.
Corona Update
If you’re itching to experience that magic of this beautiful Oaxacan beach town first hand, the good news is that you can—and without much difficulty. Mexico has largely stayed open during the pandemic, and currently there are no air travel restrictions for tourism. The U.S.—Mexico land border remains closed to non-essential travel, but flights to Mexico’s more popular destinations are actually ramping up. According to a recent post by TravelPulse, “Americans will still need a passport to travel to Mexico but do NOT require a negative COVID-19 test result to gain entry.” Basically, book a flight, don’t forget your passport and mask, and you’ll be stamped into Mexico for 180 days upon arrival (don’t lose the little card they give you at immigration!).
How to Get Here
Puerto Escondido’s airport is still domestic, so the vast majority of all flights into the city go through the massive capital of Mexico City. Planning a few days in the big city as part of your trip to the coast is a veteran move. From Mexico City, flights into Puerto Escondido will only take around one hour and twenty minutes, and will only cost around $25 to $120. Yes, only $25 if you find a good deal, but paying around $80 is more likely. The four airlines that operate routinely between CDMX and Puerto Escondido are Aeromar, Aeromexico, VivaAerobus, and Volaris.
Coming from Oaxaca City, you can fly direct with Aerotucan for around $50-$100, but the more affordable, and likely more enjoyable option, is to take the 8 hour bus. The road from Oaxaca City cuts through beautiful mountains, small rural towns, and the beautiful rugged terrain of Mexico towards the coast. Taking the bus will also afford you the opportunity to stop in San Jose del Pacifico, a small mountain town covered in clouds, where magic mushrooms grow wild and temazcal ceremonies occur daily. It’s a pine-smelling, hippy-getaway for travellers who want peace from the crowds and a quiet place to breath deep. Be sure to stop for a meal at La Taberna De Los Duendes—an elf themed Italian restaurant with craft beer and homemade pasta.
Costs
Thankfully, Puerto Escondido is still a beach paradise where many Mexican’s come to spend their holidays. Although the amount of tourism is steadily growing, it’s possible to stay, eat, and experience everything Puerto has to offer without breaking your bank. A comfortable nights stay will cost you anywhere between $15-$100, depending on your style of travel. You can find a bed in a well-managed, comfortable hostel for $15 a night, or you can stay in a boutique hotel with every conceivable amenity for closer to $100 a day.
Food also falls into the vast spectrum of Puerto. There’s high-end fine dining, where you can indulge in all of Oaxcaa’s famous flavors for $50 a meal, or you can get a steaming plate full of amazing street tacos for less than $5. On average—say you want to stop at the Fish Shack to get a cold beer and some fresh fish and fried calamari tacos—you’ll spend around 100-150 pesos ($5-$7 USD). Nightlife is fairly inexpensive, as long as you stay away from the fancy cocktail lists. A shot of mezcal and a beer at the right establishment will only cost you around 80 pesos, or $4. You aren’t going to find a lot of artisanal handcrafted beer—but you’ll find delicious cold beer that costs less than $2 a frosty bottle anywhere you go.
With all of the development, there are new Airbnb options opening up monthly, giving groups of friends, couples, and long-term digital nomads a variety of options for extended stays. It’s possible to find a comfortable apartment in the range of $300-$800 a month. Book ahead, as the growing popularity of Puerto makes it difficult to book and change rooms on the fly. Most of the best options are spoken for at least 2-4 weeks in advance, if not 2-4 months.
Where to Stay
Puerto Escondido is a neighborhood based city. There’s 5 primary options for where to consider staying, and two standouts. This list is ordered from most to least recommended with the first two being a coin toss based on your focus:
Tamarindo
The secret bargain option, nestled between Zicatela’s tourist strip and the bohemian surf neighborhood of La Punta. Tamarindo is rapidly developing, but for now it’s a cheaper option that is extremely well located and has more reliable wifi than La Punta.
La Punta Zicatela
La Punta, named after it’s famous surf break, is the bohemian heartbeat of Puerto. There’s daily volleyball, countless yoga classes and surf lessons, along with an extensive selection of options for where to eat and drink. It’s more lively, but harder to work from than Tamarindo.
Zicatela
Zicatela, home of the famous pipeline and major international surf competitions, it’s also home to a long stretch of beach front restaurants and countless nightlife options, from pool halls to dance clubs. It’s the primary “tourist strip” of Puerto Escondido, and accommodation prices reflect that, although you can find both hostels and hotels.
Centro
The city center of Puerto has a number of hotels, hostels, and accommodation options in the hustle and bustle of “downtown.” This option comes with a lot of wonderful “hole in the wall” food options in walking distance, like 5 peso taquitos or 40 peso Pozole.
Rinconada/Bicocho
These neighborhoods border one another, and make up the “west side” of Puerto Escondido. Rinconada has an amazing street of restaurants and shops while Bicocho’s beach is home of daily baby sea-turtle liberations and Puerto’s one upscale beach club—Villa Sol.
Internet
There had to be a downside of Puerto somewhere in the mix of its strangeness and splendor—and the wifi is it. It’s a daily struggle when it comes to remote work for the digital nomads throughout the neighborhoods, cafes, and home office setups of Puerto Escondido. There are several coworking spaces that have opened up, with Selena and Losodeli being the two most trusted. Zicatela, Rinconada, and Centro generally have better service than La Punta, but some days the wifi goes out in the entire city, and there is no recourse—besides heading to the beach to let the waves calm you.
On average, most days, the Wifi in Puerto’s cafes and restaurants is good enough for asynchronous work (emails, Slack, etc.), but it’s not strong enough to take important video calls. Getting a Telcel SIM card, plugging it full of pesos, and using the “paquetes” option to get 2 hours of unlimited Data, which you can then tether your computer to, is the veteran move that long-time digital nomads of Puerto use daily. That option works for video calls in the comfort of your home. Satellite is another option that is starting to pop up around Puerto, with mixed reviews and growing interest.
The wifi woes are very real—but it’s a town worth the risk, especially if your work gives you a little leeway. Worst case, a last minute flight to Mexico City or Oaxaca is usually less than $100, and the hippie beach town of Mazunte with an independent internet fiberline is only an hour away by taxi.
Highlights
Those who stay more than a month are too busy delighting in the abundance of Puerto’s treasures to be stressed about it’s one glaring blemish. The upsides of Puerto are many, but let’s call out four specifically:
Community
Any given night in Puerto, there is plenty of trouble to get into. You’ll find live music, open mic nights, and people gathered throughout the streets. Hopping from bar to bar, neighborhood to neighborhood, you never know what you’ll stumble upon, but anything feels possible and new connections come easy.
Activities
If you’re the type of traveller who wants to tick all the boxes, who likes to do all the things, you’ll love Puerto Escondido. You can go deep sea fishing, surfing, dolphin and whale watching, hiking, or snorkeling. You can practice yoga, kickboxing, and every type of massage or healing practice conceivable. You can do all of this, and still make it to daily sunset volleyball.
Flavors
Oaxaca is world famous for it’s cacao, cheese, and culinary contributions. Puerto Escondido as a city is a playground of flavors. Whether you order a michelada with all the sauces (beer, ice, clamato, lime, spicy sauce, salted rim) or anything off the menu at one of the many cocteleria style, sand-floor restaurants (ceviche, sashimi, fresh crabs), your head will snap back at the overwhelming fiesta that’s happening in your mouth.
Location
The Oaxacan coast is full of wonders. From Puerto Escondido you can visit the well known surf towns of Mazunte or Zipolite in less than an hour. You can travel 30 minutes and stop in a small ‘pueblo magico,’ like Puerto Suelo or Aguas Blancas, for a beach side seafood feast. You can even check out the glowing phytoplankton in a lagoon just 30 minutes away. You can travel an hour and a half by car, then another 45 minute by boat, to get to Chacahua, home to the friendliest surf break in the world and one of Mexico’s few afro-mexican populations. It’s a must visit if you make it to Puerto for even two weeks.
Puerto is extremely hot most of the year, the wifi doesn’t work, there are no international flights—yet, tourism continues to grow and the secret continues to be whispered between travellers all over the world. The conversation around “will it become the next Tulum” doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Puerto is going to grow, but exactly into what—we’ll all just have to wait and see. There is something undeniably special about Puerto Escondido, and no blog post can do justice revealing that genuine feeling to a reader. You have to buy a flight, pack your bag, and come see the sunset with your own eyes—come feel the magic on your own skin.
written by Travis King for StevenTheNomad.com