Puerto Escondido and around

Though no longer the tranquil hideaway it was thirty years ago, Puerto Escondido still exerts a powerful appeal. With direct flights from Mexico City, long stretches of sandy beach, and an international reputation as the home of the “Mexican Pipeline,” it has firmly established itself as a major destination. Despite the growing crowds, the town has managed to preserve a relaxed and unhurried atmosphere. Small in scale, casual in spirit, and free of the heavy resort feel found in places like Cancún, it still carries the essence of the fishing village it once was.

This becomes especially clear in the early morning, when fishermen return to Playa Principal with boats full of marlin, red snapper, and other fresh catch, a scene that adds wonderful depth to any Mexico food tour. Puerto Escondido offers a wide range of accommodation, most of it simple and affordable, well-suited to long-stay travelers. Its visitors tend to be young and adventurous, with surfing high on the list of reasons to come.

Broadly speaking, Escondido can be divided into four areas. Puerto Escondido itself sprawls across a hill behind the bay, divided by Hwy-200 into a busy Mexican town inland, where few visitors venture except to catch a bus or visit the bank, and the tourist zone behind Playa Principal. Here the central section of the main thoroughfare, Avenida Pérez Gasga, is known as El Adoquín – Spanish for “paving stone”. Closed to traffic at night, it’s packed with shops, bars and restaurants. Most surfers, however, hang out not in Escondido itself but in Zicatela, barely a kilometre to the east, behind the chief surf beach, Playa Zicatela. Where once stood just a few weather-beaten huts, there’s now a thriving community with dozens of hotels and increasingly sophisticated restaurants and bars. Non-surfers and surf groupies have also latched on, and Zicatela is arguably now a bigger destination than Escondido town.

For those seeking the alternative vibe that Zicatela once had, the action has shifted down to La Punta, 3km away at the far end of Playa Zicatela. Here, the sandy streets, wooden shacks, camping spots, and cabañas (though not always the prices) recall a simpler era, an appealing stop for anyone shaping a more bohemian Mexico trip.

In the opposite direction, west of the centre, the rapidly developing neighbourhood of Rinconada offers access to the calmer beaches of Puerto Ángelito and Carrizalillo. It’s quieter and more family-oriented, with several charming boutique hotels that make it a relaxed addition to your itinerary.

Zicatela hosts a huge surf tournament in November, and lesser ones throughout the year. The sea is warm pretty much year round, and the summer rainy season can leave the town oppressively humid, with a vacant, lacklustre air, but this doesn’t deter the hard-core surfers.

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