Puerto Escondido.

I have been to Puerto Escondido several times over the past 15 years. Here are a few of the reasons why I keep returning to this Mexican beach town.

Nice and diverse beaches.

The town beach with the local fishermen.

Puerto Escondido has some nice beaches. And they are quite diverse. The most famous one is Zicatela beach, where you have a massive surf. That makes it popular with surfers worldwide. The little town beach right next to Zicatela is shallow and secluded though. It has a nice local scene with fishermen mending their nets next to the people enjoying the beach. A little north of town you have some small secluded bays with some very nice beaches with calm waters. All the beaches in Puerto Escondido have beach bars and restaurants, but not in an over done way. I personally love to walk along beaches and then sometimes stop for a drink and a snack at a beach bar and the way they are made in Puerto Escondido is just the way I like beach bars. They are there when I need them, but they are nice and low key and do not ruin the nice beaches. I have seen quite a few beaches around the world where big constructions right on the beach have destroyed the good vibe, but this is not the case in Puerto Escondido.

Walking from Zicatela beach in to town.

My kinda beach place.

Mexican lunch with a view.

Tourist town the way I like it.

Puerto Escondido is a tourist town. I don’t mind tourist towns as such though. I just like them to be  pleasant tourist towns. A place where I can see locals being part of the scene. Having their own little small businesses that you can shop at and support. I am a tourist myself and do not mind other tourists. I prefer the tourist towns where I feel that the locals are being part of the scene and where they profit from the tourism too.

It’s a tourist town, but I like it.

Puerto Escondido is still a Mexican place. I find that both some of the big resort beaches, but also a few smaller backpacker beaches in Mexico have effectively become  Gringo hangouts, where you barely meet other Mexicans than those who serve you food and beer. But Puerto Escondido is still a big enough town in itself to have a real local vibe. It’s also a popular place for Mexicans to holiday. This is just the way I think a good beach town should be.

There is a small airport at Puerto Escondido, where you have flights to and from Mexico City and Oaxaca. But there are no big international charter flights. And that keeps away the all inclusive nightmares that you see in some other beach towns in both Mexico and other beach towns around the world. The place is well connected with busses from all over Mexico. so it’s not like it is hard to get there. But not being a massive transport hub keeps some of the local charm I think.

Beach life in Mexico.

That was a few reasons why I like Puerto Escondido. You should go there and check it out one day. You might find me walking along the beach or sitting in a beach bar. Cause I will be back 🙂

A few kilometers down the road from Puerto Escondido you have Mazunte beach, which is also a nice and laid back place. I have a blogpost about that beach in this link.

Fishermen on the beach in Puerto Escondido.