Pacific Beaches
Adventure and Fun
The beaches of the coast of the state of Oaxaca are among the most beautiful and complete of Mexico, thanks to a tourist infrastructure in the development and a rich cuisine of the Pacific.
Puerto Escondido
Puerto Escondido is the most populated city on the Oaxacan coast and the most important beach destination in the state. It is also the main town of the municipality of San Pedro Mixtepec – District 22.
Its main beach, also called Puerto Escondido, is of beautiful blue waters and white sand, in front of El Adoquin, a cozy space with hotels, restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, bars and other establishments for tourists.
Puerto Escondido is a town of streets and picturesque buildings with several beaches, some very quiet and others of intense waves.
The harbor in which the port is located was called, Hidden Woman’s Bay, by a colonial legend that refers to an indigenous girl kidnapped by the pirate, Andrew Drake, brother of Francis Drake, who managed to escape hiding in that place.
Puerto Escondido Oaxaca tourist places and activities of interest: several beaches, El Adoquin, Botanical Center of the University of the Sea (UMAR), liberation of little turtles, tours of sighting of marine fauna, sport fishing, November Party.
Beaches of Oaxaca Puerto Escondido: Puerto Escondido (main beach), Zicatela, Chacahua, Carrizalillo, Puerto Angelito, Bacocho, Cacalotepec, Marinero, Manzanillo, Puerto Piedra.
Zicatela
Among the Oaxacan beaches, Zicatela is one of the favorite surf spots due to its convenient waves, so much that it receives thousands of surfers every year. In addition, it is one of the favorite of vacationers because of its easy access, level of services and beauty of the landscape.
The beach is shaded by coconut trees and framed by rocky structures, which makes it a beautiful and cozy setting for surf competitions, triathlon swimming events, beauty contests and other events.
The green waters of Playa Zicatela are clean and crystal clear, although dangerous due to its strong waves. For this reason, it is not the best beach in Oaxaca for families with children.
November is the best month of the year to surf because the November Party is celebrated in Puerto Escondido, beach fair with surfing competitions, fishing tournaments, off-road racing, concerts, cultural events and gastronomic samples.
Chacahua Beach
Chacahua Beach is 63 km west of Puerto Escondido, within the Lagunas de Chacahua National Park of 132.7 km2, created in 1937 by the president, Lázaro Cárdenas, being the first tropical ecosystem included among the National Protected Areas.
The park integrates terrestrial spaces, mangroves and lagoons, including Chacahua, Las Salinas, La Pastoria, Poza el Mulato, Poza de los Corraleños and Palizada.
The site was declared a Ramsar Site in 2008, an international convention that groups wetlands of global importance for the preservation of biodiversity.
A visit to Chacahua Beach could coincide with a sea turtle release event, when the baby turtles are sent to the wild after they have been incubated and bred in captivity, for their protection from predators.
The lagoons offer the beautiful spectacle of bioluminescence when plankton microorganisms convert chemical energy into light.
The observation of biodiversity in the lagoons and mangroves is another attraction of the park, including crocodiles in a sanctuary.
Carrizalillo Beach
The shallow and quiet waters make Carrizalillo, in one of the limits of the main inlet of Puerto Escondido, 2 km from the town, one of the most appropriate beaches for families with children and inexperienced swimmers.
To get to the beach you have to go up and down a stone staircase with 200 steps. You can also go to Carrizalillo Beach in a short trip by boat from the main beach of Puerto Escondido.
In Carrizalillo there are aquatic entertainments such as snorkeling and diving, with a place where they rent equipment for these practices.
In beachfront restaurants you can order tropical cocktails, beers, snacks and seafood dishes.
It is an intimate and romantic beach because of its beautiful blue-green waters. Its waters are no longer calm inside.
Puerto Angelito Beach
It is located in a small and beautiful bay of transparent waters half an hour’s walk from the main beach of Puerto Escondido. The rocky promontories and the green vegetation give it a beautiful and hospitable natural frame.
The waters of the beach of Puerto Angelito are of a pleasant warmth during almost the whole year, something used by bathers and snorkeling and diving. The best thing is that you arrive early so that you can get a good place in the sandy area, from where dolphin watching excursions start.
Sea turtles also have their habitat in Puerto Angelito. From December to March the humpback whales approach and are seen by the participants of the sighting tours, which depart from this and other beaches of Oaxaca.
Bacocho Beach
Playa Bacocho is of intense waves and a coastal corner on the outskirts of Puerto Escondido.
At the foot of the beach there are several hotels and accommodations, being an excellent place to settle very close to the port, but in a place away from the hustle and bustle.
Several species of Mexican marine turtles are in a vulnerable situation or at risk of extinction due to human causes.
The turtles are fished to take advantage of their meat and shell. In addition, the eggs that they put on the beaches are predated, which alters the life cycle and the recovery of the populations.
Playa Bacocho is a turtle nesting site where the Tortuguero camp, Vive Mar, operates. It is in charge of identifying and protecting nests and eggs, which take 60 days to hatch.
The young are released in emotional ceremonies in which tourists can participate with environmental concerns.
With just paying a contribution for the support of the camp you can enjoy the experience of helping a turtle to reach the sea.
Playa Marinero
Beach of 200 meters in length characterized by clean waters, moderate waves on the shore and easy access.
Beginners have in Playa Marinero an ideal place to start surfing and snorkeling.
The beach has good services, including accommodation and places to sell food. There are dressing rooms, bathrooms, showers, rent of umbrellas and horses.
The more children can have fun on the shore where the waves are soft. The sunset at Playa Marinero is beautiful and invites you to enjoy it on a horseback ride through the sand.
In Playa Marinero you can photograph the sculpture «La mano en las rocas», an artistic manifestation that is projected towards the Oaxacan sky.
To go to this beach you have to access the coastal road to Puerto Angel and take a signposted detour to the right.
From Playa Marinero you can walk to the southeastern sector of the main beach of Puerto Escondido and Zicatela Beach, which is the favorite spot for surfing in Oaxaca and a sandy beach with varied entertainment activities.
Playa Mazunte
Mazunte is a peaceful Oaxacan coastal town on which the Sierra Madre del Sur almost rushes, producing enchanting contrasts of sea and mountains.
Its beaches were the main centers supplying enormous quantities of turtles that went to the slaughterhouse of San Agustinillo, which during the 70s sacrificed more than 30 thousand specimens a year.
The marine reptiles came again to help the town by developing a stream of ecological tourism, which began with the opening of the Mexican Turtle Center.
Mazunte is still the main spawning site with visitors going to the Living Museum of the Turtle, to learn about these beautiful chelonians.
In the aquarium, several species of Mexican Pacific tortoises are exhibited and there is an extension of the beach to which the animals freely arrive.
Main beaches of Oaxaca Mazunte: Mazunte beach (main beach), Punta Cometa beach, Mermejita beach, San Agustinillo beach, Rinconcito beach, Aragón beach.
Oaxaca tourism beaches of Mazunte: in January the Annual Festival of Mazunte is celebrated, which includes sport fishing tournaments, jazz festival and the Miss Bikini contest.
Playa Mermejita
Isolated and considered a nudist beach of respectable underwater current, with palapas always available and places to spare in the sand. The food they sell is tasty and at low prices.
Mermejita, which until recently was a coastal area, is between San Agustinillo Beach and Chacahua Beach.
At its eastern end there is a promontory called Roca Torón, used as a whale and dolphin spot.
Playa Mermejita is one of the rare spawning sites of the leatherback turtle, also called leatherback turtle, the largest of the sea turtles that can reach 2.3 meters and weigh more than 600 kilograms. Is in danger of extinction.
Punta Cometa
Punta Cometa is a mountainous salient in the Mexican South Pacific with a geographic position that allows to dominate the sea with total visibility. For that reason it was an enclave of indigenous warriors during the pre-Hispanic era.
The pre-Columbian Indians built a wall to which the locals call it, El Corral de Piedra. It was also a bastion of the Spaniards during the viceroyal period and a place of refuge for the pirates and corsairs that ravaged the Pacific coast.
Punta Cometa is currently an ecological space of rich biodiversity and great beauty in its mountainous part and in the cliffs, which receive the ravages of the sea.
It is not a place to swim, rather to appreciate the majesty of the ocean and admire the land bathed by the sea that was a sacred hill for the natives.
A road of 2 kilometers leads to the plateau from where you have spectacular views and between November and March is used as a natural observatory of humpback whales.
San Agustinillo Beach
The coastal town of San Agustinillo, in the area where the Sierra Madre del Sur approaches the ocean, was founded in the mid-1960s for the capture and killing of turtles.
After the closure of the slaughterhouse in the 1990s, the population turned to tourism, taking advantage of the beauty and warmth of its small inlets, where accommodations, restaurants and other tourist establishments have been built.
The beaches are of moderate swell and serve as a spawn for the olive ridley, the smallest of the sea turtles that is distinguished by its olive color.
Whales and orcas travel along the coast of San Agustinillo between the end of November and March, on a migratory route from north to south. From the sandy areas, tours depart by boat to see the marine fauna and practice sport fishing.
During the rainy season, from June to October, a small lagoon forms that is another tourist attraction. Also, excursions to practice rafting in the rivers of the sierra.
San Agustinillo is a perfect place if you want a quiet holiday in a placid beach town on the coast of Oaxaca.
Puerto Ángel
Puerto Ángel is a town on the Oaxacan coast of 2,500 inhabitants founded in the mid-nineteenth century during the second period of Benito Juárez, as governor of Oaxaca.
Juarez was born in San Pablo Guelatao (now Guelatao de Juárez) 160 km north of Puerto Angel, and wanted to promote the coffee and wood industries by building a dock in the coastal town.
After being the port with the most cargo movement in Oaxaca, at the end of the 19th century Puerto Ángel began to decline and it would only restart its activity in the years 1970-1980, with the construction of the Federal Highway 200 on the Mexican Pacific coast.
The main activities of Puerto Ángel are tourism and fishing. Its beaches are shaken in the mornings with the arrival of boats of freshly caught fish and seafood.
The tourist activity takes place on the beautiful beaches of the bay in the shape of a horseshoe, lined with hotels and restaurants. The most immediate access beach is El Muelle.
Oaxaca touristic places beaches of Puerto Angel: El Muelle, Estacahuite, Pantheon, Mina del Angel, La Tijera, El Arrocito, Tembo.
Estacahuite Beach
It is one of the best beaches in the area of Puerto Angel that is distinguished by its always warm transparent waters.
It is of golden sand and waters of green and blue tones that is divided into 3 spaces by 2 rocky structures, which are picturesque emblems of the cove.
From the coast you can see dolphins, whales, manta rays and other species of marine fauna, which could be admired more closely by taking a boat trip around the bay.
In the beach there are small hotels and restaurants where they prepare delicious food from the Oaxacan coast, based on fish and seafood.
There are also places to rent snorkeling and diving equipment. In front of the beach there are some coral formations that you can meet doing surface diving.
Playa Estacahuite has rental of beach chairs and umbrellas, lifeguard service and signaling of dangerous areas. It is a place to relax, swim, sunbathe and enjoy peacefully with the whole family.
Arrive at the beach walking 20 minutes west from Puerto Angel.
Zipolite Beach
Zipolite is a coastal town in Oaxaca of just over 1000 inhabitants attached to the municipality of San Pedro Pochutla and located between Mazunte and Puerto Angel, 5.1 km east of the first and 4.4 km west of the second.
He was a pioneer in beach nudism in Mexico and remains the most popular in the country and the only «authorized» for nude in Oaxaca.
Zipolite hosted the Latin American Naturism Meeting in January 2016, an event in which nude representatives from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and other Latin American countries met.
The indigenous voice «zipolite» means «place of the dead» and it is believed that near the main beach there was a sacred place and a cemetery of Indians who were carrying corpses from long distances.
The crescent shaped beach has fine sand and strong waves. It is almost always clear, except in high seasons when more visitors gather. The underwater current is more intense during the rainy period (June-October).
It has about 1,750 meters of extension and in the arenal there are hotels, restaurants, bars, palapas and other tourist services.
Zipolite Oaxaca Beaches: Zipolite Beach, Playa del Amor.
Beach of Love
It is a small and almost hidden cove surrounded by cliffs and cliffs, at one end of Zipolite Beach. This small beach in the wild is a treasure of crystal clear waters and solitude, perfect if you are looking for virgin beaches in Oaxaca.
Due to its characteristics, especially the privacy provided by the rock structures, it was the first place in Zipolite where the most uninhibited nudists began to remove their clothes.
The sand of Playa del Amor Oaxaca is of medium grain and golden color, an intimate place of 50 meters in length with gentle slope and waves almost always calm or moderate.
Playa del Amor is lovely to live a totally wild experience in a virgin place, without kiosks, chairs, benches, palapas, umbrellas or chairs.
Bahías de Huatulco
Santa María Huatulco is a Oaxacan municipality of the Coast Region with an international airport, which mobilizes more than 800 thousand passengers a year.
The air terminal serves at least 6 national destinations (Mexico City, Oaxaca, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Querétaro and Tijuana) and 11 international destinations.
The main tourist attraction of Huatulco are its 9 bays with fantastic beaches with hotels, restaurants and everything you need to enjoy a holiday at sea.
The bays are Santa Cruz, Conejos, Tangolunda, Chahué, Maguey, El Órgano, Cacaluta, Chachacual and San Agustín. Apart from its beaches, it has great scenarios for ecotourism and adventure entertainment.
Tourist places of Oaxaca beaches of Huatulco: the most frequented of Huatulco are in the bays Conejos, Santa Cruz, Chahué and Cacaluta.
Beaches of Oaxaca Huatulco (other places and activities of interest): Llano Grande waterfalls, Copalitilla Magic Waterfalls, Yeé Lo Beé Butterfly Garden, temazcales, horseback riding, extreme sports (mountain biking, rappelling and zip lines), plaza and temple of Santa María Huatulco
Oaxaca beach of Huatulco with greater international recognition: Chahué Beach (Chahué Bay).
Santa Cruz Bay
It is one of the 9 inlets of Huatulco and one of the most exclusive destinations on the coast of Oaxaca. It has 3 paradisiacal beaches (Punta Santa Cruz, Yerbabuena and La Entrega) and a dock for mooring and sailing, including international cruises.
La caleta, La Entrega, receives its name and is infamous in Mexican history because it was the place where the insurgent and patriot ate, Vicente Guerrero, aboard the ship owned by the Italian sailor, Francisco Picaluga, whom his friend believed. Guerrero was imprisoned in La Entrega and shot shortly afterwards.
Santa Cruz is the town with the largest population in the municipality of Santa María Huatulco and has 3, 4 and 5 star hotels. It also has first class tourist services.
Its beaches of fine sands and crystal clear waters are very well maintained and in the most remote areas of the sandy areas have developed great urbanism.
Santa Cruz is also one of the main nightlife centers in Huatulco, with restaurants, cafes, nightclubs and bars.
Rabbits Bay
It is another of the 9 radas of the Oaxacan municipality of Santa María Huatulco. It has beaches (Conejos Beach, Punta Arena and El Tejoncito) with white sands and gentle waves, perfect for families with children.
In the sandy areas there is a wide variety of entertainment such as horseback riding, underwater sports and excursions around the bay, inlets of Huatulco and along the coast of Oaxaca.
The largest beach is Punta Arena, also a spawning place for sea turtles, while El Tejoncito and Playa Conejos are clear blue waters and beautiful white sand.
Conejos Bay is the first of Huatulco in an east-west direction on the Acapulco – Salina Cruz highway.
On the beaches there are horseback rides, tours of the sand on ATVs, snorkelling, sport fishing and wildlife observation excursions.
In Bahía Conejos there is a camping area where you can spend a night in front of the sea, under the starry vault of Huatulco.
Bahía de Chahué
This bay of Huatulco has 3 beaches: Playa Chahué, (main), Playa Esperanza and Playa Tejón.
Chahué is one of the 5 Mexican beaches with the international certification «Blue Flag» (Blue Flag), awarded by the UN Program for the Environment (UNEP for its acronym in English).
The other 4 are Playa Delfines (Cancun), El Chileno Beach (Cabo San Lucas), El Palmar Beach (Zihuatanejo) and Nuevo Vallarta North Beach (Banderas Bay).
It has a long boardwalk perfect for a night walk, which ends in a square of fresh sea breeze. The access to the beach is by Chahué Boulevard connecting with the Benito Juárez Boulevard.
The tide of the beaches is variable and sometimes goes up receiving the red flag signage. They are clean beaches, with beautiful transparent waters of blue-green color and surrounded by vegetation. They offer excellent services such as front line restaurants.
Chahue Bay is 1 km from Santa Cruz Bay and is suitable for swimming and snorkeling when the sea is calm.
Cacaluta Bay
Cacaluta is one of the 9 bays of Huatulco. It has two virgin beaches (Cacaluta and Arroyo) of beautiful blue tone and white sands. It is distinguished by the peculiar heart-shaped shape of the sand.
This bay was one of the main locations of the famous Mexican movie «Y tu mamá también». Through the inlet there is a constant circulation of breeze that renews and refreshes the air.
There are two ways to access the Cacaluta Bay: by boat from any of the Huatulco bays and, in general, from the Oaxacan coast. By land, crossing a dirt road walking 20 minutes.
The bay is southeast of Santa Cruz and its two beaches are contiguous, being very easy to go from one to the other. It is part of the Huatulco National Park, a National Protected Area of 11,891 hectares, which has 54% of land spaces and 46% of marine areas.
The most usual way to go to Cacaluta is by sea on tours that cross the bay and by renting boats to spend a day on the beach.
Chachacual Bay
Ensenada with virgin beaches of white and fine sands that are part of the Huatulco National Park.
The Chachacual Bay has two beaches (Paya Chachacual and Playa la India), both of which are quiet.
The 2 beaches are beauties of blue waters and a moderate swell. The access to these virgin sands is only by sea, buying a tour or renting a boat in Santa Cruz or in other coves near Huatulco.
The bay is southwest of Santa Cruz and the boat trip from there is about 10 minutes.
On the beaches of Chachacual Bay you can sunbathe, swim, relax and breathe fresh air, in a place devoid of infrastructures.
You can also walk around and observe the biodiversity. The species of flora closest to the beach are mangrove, ficus and acacias. Further away in the thicket can be seen ceibo trees, tatanil, mulato and macuil.
The predominant fauna are birds such as seagulls, herons, pelicans, turtledoves, chachalacas and andapiés, and mammals such as raccoons, badgers and armadillos.
Maguey Bays and The Organ
These two bays of Huatulco are so close together that they are often referred to as one.
The complete extension is 750 meters and in each inlet there is a beach that bears the same name of the bay: Playa Maguey and Playa El Órgano, wide sandy beaches with calm waters of green and blue color, south of Santa Cruz Bay.
The most common form of transportation is by sea from this coastal town, in a 15-minute trip. The way by land is by the same route to Playa La Entrega (Santa Cruz Bay).
You can go on a short walk to see the bay or spend a longer time paying for transportation from Santa Cruz.
The main entertainment activities in the bays of Maguey and El Órgano are swimming, snorkelling and observation of flora and fauna.
The flora of the place is formed by mangroves, huanacaxtle, guayacanes and macuiles, among other plant species. The terrestrial fauna, by pigeons, quails, chachalacas and vultures.
Chipehua Beach
Chipehua is a fishing village that despite the tourist activity has not lost its elemental spirit. In addition to its paradisiacal beaches, its golden sand dunes give it a desert, open and minimalist atmosphere.
The closest city is the port of Salina Cruz, 35 km northeast, distance that is covered in 25 minutes by the Federal Highway 200. From Salina Cruz buses that make the route to Chipehua.
The beach is warm waters and you will only hear sounds of nature. However, Chipehua is much more than swimming and sunbathing. Sandboarding is practiced in its dunes, a fun sport in which you descend through the sand on boards similar to those of snowboarding. There is place to rent these equipment.
Although the waves of Chipehua are not as big as those of Zicatela and other Oaxacan Pacific localities, they reach for a safe and smooth surf, good for beginners.
La Boquilla Beach
The good vibes of the Oaxacan sandy areas are enhanced by La Boquilla, a beach near Puerto Angel with moderate waves, delicious temperatures and soft sands.
It is good for people who like to walk because after parking the car, you have to walk a 3-kilometer mountain trail. You can also go by boat from Zipolite or Puerto Angel.
It is a peaceful beach where you can swim, sunbathe and spend time close to nature. In the nearby coral reefs live little fish of various colors that you can surely see in snorkeling.
The waters of pleasant temperature are of a color between green and turquoise. One of the few infrastructures is an ecological hotel formed by bungalows built on the mountain in front of the beach.
There is a restaurant that serves dishes from the coastal cuisine of Oaxaca and nearby is the mangrove La Ventanilla, with a rich and colorful biodiversity. Another activity on the beach is yoga.
El Venado Beach
Virgin beach with blue waters and golden sands in the Oaxaca municipality of San Jacinto Tlacotepec, 44 km from Puerto Escondido on the Federal Highway 200, perfect for people who meditate.
The Cooperative La Encomienda operates in El Venado, an environmental center dedicated to collecting and incubating turtle eggs, then releasing the baby turtles in an attempt to recover these endangered species off the coast of Oaxaca.
After resting, reading, sunbathing, swimming and enjoying the flavors and aromas of the sea at El Venado Beach, you can talk with the representatives of the Tortuguero camp to learn about the work they do and give them a small contribution.
In El Venado you can also go hiking, surfing, diving and snorkeling, in a small paradise of Oaxaca that you will surely have almost for yourself alone.
Cangrejo Beach
The name of this beach is due to the many crabs on the beach and in the nearby lagoon. It is located in the Oaxacan municipality of Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, very close to the city of Salina Cruz.
The main crab of Playa Cangrejo is the mazunte or moro, although they are no longer seen in the large quantities of before.
It is estimated that the population of these huge blue crabs has decreased in its ¾ parts in the beaches of Oaxaca, mainly due to the indiscriminate captures and the affectations of their habitats.
Playa Cangrejo is of blue waters and its waves are between average and intense. It is a semi-virgin beach with few inhabitants who take care of fishing and cater to tourists.
Horseback riding is one of the favorite activities on the beach since the locals rent the horses.
Pantheon Beach
Beach of clear waters and sand of medium grain and a yellow tone. In its corners and in a small islet a short distance beats the marine fauna, that you can admire carried your equipment of snorkeling and diving or renting it in the beach.
The boat boats of Playa Panteón can always take you out to sea in sport fishing excursions and observation of marine flora and fauna.
The cetacean migration season is between the end of November and March. If you go in those months you will surely be able to admire some humpback whales and killer whales, taking an indelible memory of your vacations in the coast of Oaxaca.
Playa Pantheon has a length of about 200 meters with a sandy area 25 meters wide. It has a gentle slope, moderate waves and crystal clear blue-green waters.
It is located in the west a short distance from Puerto Angel. It receives its name from the nearby cemetery.
La Tijera beach
Considered the best place near Puerto Angel to snorkel and dive. The best way to go is by boat, which depart from Playa Panteón.
By land it is almost 10 km from Puerto Angel and to get there you have to go in the direction of Pochutla to the town of Colorado. At the end of this village, a cobbled road of 1,300 meters leads to the community of El Vigía. From there you have to travel 8.2 km along a path surrounded by unspoilt nature, which reaches the small parking lot of the beach.
The final road is a dirt road and is usually conditioned after the rainy season, which runs from June to October on the coast of Oaxaca. It is best to take off-road vehicles.
The beach is virgin, small and with a spectacular marine fauna, one of the richest and most colorful on the coast of Oaxaca. Do not forget to take your food and hydration because in Playa La Tijera there is no where to buy.
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