Travel Guide Puerto Escondito

Puerto Escondido "Hidden Port" is a city in the Oaxaca (pronounced "wah-hah-kha") region of Mexico. As you would guess it is known for its many ports and also is known for its world class surfing. "Puerto" (as I will refer to it for the rest of the entry) is blessed with several amazing beaches all with unique characteristics.

The airport runs mainly flights from Mexico city so I suggest traveling to the Mexico City Airport (MEX) and taking a plane down from there. Mexico is _very_ large and routes can be very indirect so the drive is pretty much untenable. (11 hours or so)

Airports

• MEX (Mexico City)
• PXM (Puerto Escondito)

Airlines

• Volaris
• Aeromexico
• VivaAerobus

When I visited I took Volaris from Mexico City to the Puerto Escondido Airport. All of the announcements are in spanish, but I was able to find the way by following the crowd.

Puerto Escondido is home to some of the worlds best cuisine. Not only can you get authentic mexican food at every turn, but there are plenty of other types of restaurants to choose from. From chicken wings to sushi -- anyone should feel at home when eating here.

If you watch enough videos about PE you will see a beautiful restaurant above the coast called Espadin. You have to get reservations to eat here so make sure to plan ahead.

Cannot beat the view

A world of colors

Probably the trendiest of restaurants that I visited in puerto. The chic hostess brought us down a sandy light-strung alleyway to a place for two wedged between two other groups at a table top. You order and pay at the same time and they call out your order when it is ready. The turnaround at this restaurant is exceptional.. so it is a must go when it must be quick. I recommend the fish sandwich and the Coconut shrimp! I had to go back it was so good.

An obvious winner

Probably the best food in Rinconada is El Nene. It is pricy like Espadin, but the food is better. The restaurant has a beautiful open floorplan that allows upper deck diners to see the whole restaurant. You should call ahead and reserve a table on the upper floor near the kitchen.

Wonderful open floorplan

A multi-repeat for breakfast in Rinconada was Cafe Nopal. It has a beautiful upstairs and plenty of tables that fill up fast. The coffee is seriously the best I have had that I can remember, and every dish is prepared perfectly. The prices are also great.. this is a must stop for the morning. Even when staying in Zicatela this spot is worth visiting.

The Acai bowl is perfect in the hot weather

This Avocado toast will make even the biggest californian jealous.

Another great spot in Zicatela to have dinner at on the beach. If you love spicy salsa then this is the place for you! Make sure to try the green creamy looking one!

Fantastic beach dining

I suggest the everything

An amazing beach dining restaurant with Argentinian cooking. You can get some really great meat grilled here, but plenty of options for the non-meat lovers of the group

Amazing beach dining

Like a carne asada steak hoagie with an egg!

Generall you can break down Puerto into a few unique spots. Rinconada to the north, Zicatela in the middle, and La Punta to the south. Northeast is Centro -- where most of the commerce happens.

This section of town is outright amazing. The strip is filled with delicious restaurants like Espadin, Turtle Bay, and El Nene. It also has the best beach in Playa Carazalillo.

My favorite beach maybe ever

Perfect sunsets nightly

Not technically Rinconada! but Edeficio Bachocho is just a two minute walk from the Rinconada Strip and is sometimes available at a great price. I stayed here for a week and I warn you there is a noisy gym next door, but overall is worth the price! If you are not a deep sleeper and are normally out during 7am and 10pm then this is the place for you.

Make sure to check out the roof!

This area is the most built up and touristy. It could almost feel like Miami for a few blocks. There is a 24 hour Oxxo there, so if you need some late night snacks you can head over!

I already miss you playa zicatela

Be proud to be made in puerto!

A lovely spot in the gut of Zicatela. A high-class hotel with an infinity pool on the roof with a perfect view of the sunset.

Even the pool has great taste

Paradise is what they should call it. A fantastic beach for surfing, and a dusty strip that has the best food, fashion, and people. Go here immediately!!!!

cove-zilla

There are a multitude of ways to get around PE. Taxis frequent the area, but there are also buses that run. Well, the buses are really just a pick up truck.. but who is counting.

The scooter culture in Puerto is amazing. You can rent a moped for a whole day for 300 mexicon pesos which includes a helmet and sometimes other ammenities.

Fun way to get around town

There are tons of things to do in Puerto Escondido and its surrounding areas. However, for me, the ultimate experience will be the Surfing. Puerto Escondido is home to some of the largest waves in the world.

One thing that I never planned to get so much joy out of when I planned my trip was the street art. Mexico is home to some of the best rogue pieces I have seen in my life inside and outside museums.

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Where you are going to surf in Puerto Escondido will have a lot to do with your skill level. The good news is that you can get from beginner surf to expert level surfing with just a short trip.

Another blessing of Puerto is the ability to see the bioluminescent plankton. Just twenty minutes outside of Rinconada is a boat ride where you can see and swim with the plankton.

We signed up for the tour in Rinconada on the strip and it was about 600 pesos per person. They give you a time to be picked up and put you in a van with other people. They drive out to the lagoon where you board a boat. This is where things really start to get interesting. The ride is mainly dark and the ships use flashlights to signal to each other that they are on the water. After about 20 minutes you will arrive at the base of the lagoon where you will see the algae present. You will be able to dip your hand in the water and see the bloom. It will kind of look like you just made home jelly out of fireflies. It will be a fleeting glow. They don't mind if you jump in and take a swim, but I can't suggest it.

Quick before we destroy them all

Another must-see and hopefully daily affair is the market of zicatela. It is a pleasent open air market lined with restaurants outside, sometimes serenaded by local musical artists.

A wonderful market in the heart of town

The first night we stayed in Puerto we were awaked by a rather large earthquake. If you are not that familiar with them, then they can be rather startling.

Brownouts also occur from time to time. So your hotel may not have electricity from time to time, and the restaurants you are at may not be able to accomodate everything on the menu.

• Bring some local currency

You can go to your bank ahead of time and ask to get some foreign currency. It should be a much more favorable exchange rate than you will see at the airports. Within a day or so it should arrive. You can also use an ATM in the destination country and withdraw local currency directly.

Although the ATM will work it may decline your transactions. Make sure to call ahead to your bank to notify them of your travel. Also I witnessed ATMs being out of cash, and there may not many. So I would double down on bringing enough local currency that it won’t be a problem.

I stayed for 10 days and spent probably 15k-20k pesos. This is between 800$ and 1k$ us dollar. Although the US Dollar is stronger in Mexico, it goes really fast. This includes breakfasts, lunches, dinners, excursions, etc.

• Ultimate Travel Guide
• Bioluminescense