*Besides Cape Town.

hola amigos! i have officially decided puerto escondido is the best beach town, like, in the world.

it was actually my main draw in coming to mexico for the fall because i have heard good things (mainly that it’s beautiful and a surf town with a thriving digital nomad community) so after a few pitstops along the way (tulum, playa del carmen & cozumel, isla mujeres, holbox, oaxaca, san jose del pacifico, then a quick stop at zipolite and mazunte)… i arrived!

i was honestly nervous it wouldn’t live up to my expectations because i wasn’t overly thrilled with tulum and i just wanted a place that checks off all my boxes, you know?

oh, it checked them.

puerto escondido is sososo beautiful. it’s just jungle-covered rolling mountains and the most mesmerizing waves crashing against the sandy shores. sunsets are the vibiest vibe here and i caught some magical sunrises as well (you know how my internal clock doesn’t like to let me sleep past 6). it feels off-the-beaten path because there are sandy streets, you can stay right off the beach at an affordable cost (my fave private room was about $30 CAD/night, and dorms are cheaper). the people here are so goodlooking i was honestly uncomfy. the girls, guys, everyone was tanned and had bodies chiselled by the waves and a glowing energy cause why wouldn’t you glow when you’re in paradise? but also if you know me you know i have a type and it’s not not latin surf boys. anyway moving on.

getting here

i took a colectivo from oaxaca to san jose del pacifico (3 hours) and then drove with friends to zipolite (3 more hours) which is a chilled out nudie beach. lotsa nudies. it’s a teeny town that is beautiful and definitely worth a visit, same with mazunte. from there you can taxi or colectivo to puerto.

Let’s Get Oriented

puerto escondido has a few areas to know:

centro

the centre is hectic but it has some good restaurants, i didn’t spend much time here but drove through to get to carrizalillo beach, which is a beautiful surf beach but also hella crowded. go there for sunset though!! also go to the cliffs at Mirador Las Tortugas for sunset, so stunning. Las Juquileñas was a fun authentic mexican meal in centro.

zicatela

this is the main area i stayed in at Selina hostel, which is an absolute dream. it’s major hammock goals from the top level and the view from the rooftop bar (where they sell prosecco !!) is just ridiculous. it’s also super social, has 2 pools, and a lot of digi nomads come here to work and use wifi during the day which is a fun and inspiring/motivating vibe. i met the best people here and we had the best time shout out shiv, lizzie, diogo, jake, alfonso, patty ilysm.

to eat/drink:

anything on the beach in zicatela is todo bien for me - coste for seafood, satvia for whatevs. the restaurants look out onto the waves and are so beautiful and perfect for sunset
spirulina is so healthy and delicious
selina has the best baguette for breakfast. it is straight outta the oven and so warm and fresh you guys. it’s from amarisa cafe, which is also next to chaak in La Punta (i’ll get into that)
los moldas were the BEST cheap authentic tacos and queso chicharron iiiim drooling.
elephant garden has amazing fresh healthy food (well bagels really but it feels healthy and lots of avo/egg/queso combos and juice)
if you want an authentic mexican breakfast, cafe cafecito, which is always full of locals
zicatela is where the parties are at on the weekend. xcaanda for a lively crowd of travellers and locals to reggaeton music, cañabrava for more upscale reggaeton. i had an absolute BLAST at both of these!!!

la punta

this is my VIBE. when i first came to check it out, i walked 2km in the morning heat from zicatela and thought i was walking into no-man’s land through sandy deserted streets with cacti and random goats. then i started to see a cute artisan jewelry store, a beautiful food market, some other boutique shops and realized oh nonono this is the cutest place ever. there are so many trendy restaurants there’s no way i could eat everywhere i wanted to. the beach is such an amazing vibe, always surfers near the point, and everyone comes out at sunset to chill out by themselves or with friends and soak in the fiery skies. la punta at sunset is magic.

i stayed at chaak in a cute cheap private room, lovvved it here because of its location and loved doing yoga on its rooftop. i was also obsessed with sand dollar boutique and shopped till i dropped there!

flouncing on the sandy streets of La Punta

you have to go around the point at the end, it’s a short but steep trek up the rock or you can go wade around in your bathing suit if the tide allows, but it leads to the most incredible beach with massive waves crashing on the cliffs and it is too pretty i can’t talk about it, moving on.

to eat/drink:

punta puerto is my fave beach bar, they have the most ridiculous bacon-wrapped shrimp tacos and i had some yummy zucchinis stuffed with cheese, salsa, and guac
el arbol is a magical food market with a tree in the middle, string lights, and sometimes live music at 9pm, it is … magic. okay. get the tempura cream cheese sushi because it’s unreal, there is also a vietnamese stand, italian, mexico, and dessert stands (the brownies though). the energy is beautiful here. they also have a bar with vino blanco :)
pad thai at lychee was ssooo good, it’s a vibe there too
breakfast at piyoli (so cute, bali vibes, the veggie omelette is delish) or cafe olé
pizza and cocktails at mundaza
peruvian fusion at chicama
sushi at Portezuelo
for drinks it is pretty chill in La Punta, i didn’t really find anywhere to dance but there are still so many restaurants you can go drink at and a super cute swing bar in town

some other things to do in puerto escondido:

go dolphin watching, it’s one of the most incredible wildlife encounters i have ever had. the dolphins glide and jump and frolic alongside the boat and you can jump in with a snorkel to see them underwater. it was ridic. just don’t be hungover like i was, bad idea kellie bad-i-dea.

surfing! i didn’t go here (i feel like i’m over surfing every 6 months) but lots of people do, at carizalillo and la punta, they have board rentals and surf lessons widely available. zicatela waves are only for advanced surfers but they’re fun to watch :)

go release the baby turtles into the sea. i’ve done this a few times and it is always a precious experience, this one was on a long beautiful stretch of beach at sunset