Clickable Regional Map
Puerto Escondido Rinconada
Puerto Escondido Centro
Marinero and Zicatela north
Zicatela south and the PointA panel of international judges awarded the designation of The Best Coffee In Mexico to Finca Las Nieves, winnder of the 2023 Cup of Excellence Mexico. Finca Las Nieves is a 1,000-acre coffee farm located near Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, at an elevation of 4000 feet.
Community Calendar Events in January 2025 in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.
6 January Dia de Reyes Magos. All over Mexico the Three wise man they come and leave presents toys under The Christmas tree. Also for tradition we eat Rosca de Kings cake w plastic dolls all the bakeries has the original cake. like a game, you cut your slice of cake and if inside is a doll is baby Jesus, is a honor to make another party w Tamales by the 2nd of February and finally the end of Christmas.
Santos Reyes Nopala is 1,20 minutes from Puerto has a special event. Their Church is named after the Reyes Magos Melchor, Gaspar y Baltazar. Three wise mans town. 2 p.m. 10 p.m.
11 and 12 January FISHING TOURNAMENT. DORADO MAHI MAHI. Puerto Angelito Beach. 7 to 3 p.m. music and food.
18 January 2025 LIVE CONCERT BLUES, ROCK , AND SOULD MUSIC DAVID ROTUNDO AND The Caravan BLUES TOUR. Plaza Chepil Rinconada. 8p.m. Tickets w Gina Information and Tips $1500 pesos PP
If you need more information please stop at the Tourist booth in Adoquín in front Hotel Rocamar in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, with Gina.
every Saturday: Gina's walking tours. 8:00am to 10:00am. Make a reservation at the tourist information booth. every Sunday: Gina's Agricultural Tour. 3:30 pm. A visit to the rural Oaxacan coastal area where organic crops are king. See how jamaica and basil are cultivated. Visit tropical orchards and meet local farm families. Make a reservation at the tourist information booth.
Archaeological Tour, Cooking Classes, Cacao nature tour, museum tour: Ask at the tourist information booth.
As with any changing web content, you may need to use your Reload for Refresh button to see the most recent version of this calendar. For further information on many of these events, try Gina, the Information Goddess, at the tourist information booth, (954) 582-1186. Add your event to the Calendar, email tom@tomzap.com
The town of Puerto Escondido was established in 1928 as a port for shipping coffee, although the area has been inhabited by indigenous populations for centuries. In the 1960's it was connected to other coastal towns by Highway 200. Tourists began to discover the town and surfers found its beaches. Its importance as a port diminished as coffee shipments began going by truck instead of boat. The port does continue to support commercial fishing activity.
Today, Puerto Escondido is a home for fishermen, surfers, vacationers, and an ecletic expatriot community. On 10/29/09 Agencia Puerto Escondido was upgraded to Ciudad Puerto Escondido, reflecting its rapid growth and importance to the state of Oaxaca. The large waves of Zicatela beach put it into the top ten surfing destinations. It does not cater to the high end tourist as much as Huatulco to the east. Its sprawling beaches host numerous small to mid-size hotels and restaurants.
There are three main beaches, Playa Principal, Playa Marinero, and Zicatela, close to the main part of town, as well as several other smaller beaches to the west. Playa Principal is the more centrally-located beach. Parallelling the beach is Avenida Perez Gasga, a pedestrian-only street known as the Adoquín. Presiding in the tourist kiosk at the west end of the Adoquín is the legendary Gina the Information Goddess. The Andador Escénico Sea Walk begins at Playa Principal and winds westward along rocky oceanside cliffs. About 2 blocks up the hill from the Adoquín is coastal highway 200 and on the other side of that is the downtown business district where you can find banks, the mercado, etc.
East of Playa Principal is Playa Marinero followed by Playa Zicatela, a long straight beach on the east side of the bay and can be seen from Playa Principal. Zicatela is where the strong waves are that make Puerto Escondido a world class surfing destination.
West of Playa Principal are the smaller, isolated beaches, Playa Manzanillo, Puerto Angelito, Playa Carrizalillo, and Playa Coral. The mostly residential neighborhoods in this area are popular with the expatriate population and center around the Rinconada, a divided boulevard with a number of restaurants and shops. West of Puerto Escondido, the coastline gives way to the long straight beach of Playa Bacocho. A Tale of Two Cities An interesting aspect of the area known as Puerto Escondido is that it actually is divided between two counties or municipios so that it is politically two separate cities. This division puts the Zicatela side of town into el Municipio de Santa Maria Colotepec, Pochutla, and the eastern portion of the city into el Municipio de San Pedro Mixtepec, Juquila. To make matters worse, there is disagreement as to the boundaries and legalities of this division that leaves many businesses caught in the middle with the burden of paying taxes to both. For years, there has been talk of making Puerto Escondido a city. The proposed limits of the new city would extend from Punta Zicatela on the east to just beyond the Puerto Escondido airport on the west. The president elect of San Pedro Mixtepec, Abraham Ramírez Silva, ran on a platform pledged to achieve the goal of making Puerto Escondido independent of both counties which currently control the area. Let's see if he can do it. (11/07)
Another manifestation occurs during the annual Fiestas de Noviembre, a complex stream of events that extends through the month of November and into December. Fiesta events are held in both halves of the community with little or no coordination between the two political entities. It all turns into a bit of competition but for festival attendees it just means there are more choices.
See the area beaches from the air with tomzap's Aerial Photos of the Playas. Follow this link to www.mexico-condo.com for some nice aerial photos that show the layout of the area.
Beaches • Playas
Playa Principal is the main beach in town and runs parallel with the adoquín or pedestrian area of town. Restaurants, boating, swimming, snorkeling.
West of the lighthouse is a small cove with beaches Playa Manzanillo and Puerto Angelito. Very calm for swimming and snorkeling but watch out for boats that come and go. There is a restaurant with restrooms at Puerto Angelito. You can get there from Playa Principal by boat or go northwest on highway 200 for 1/2 mile and turn left on Calle Miguel Hidalgo at the old airport. At the billboard turn left again and go down the dirt road to the beach.
Also northwest of town is a pair of small beaches called Playa Carrizalillo. A small stream enters the ocean at the smaller beach and locals wash their clothes here. Good swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving, lots of coral and fish. To get to these beaches, take highway 200 northwest for 1/2 mile, turn left at Avenida Miguel Hidalgo. The area is under development, so it would be best to stop at one of the shops or restaurants and ask directions from here. There are now steps (167 of them) leading down the cliff to the beach.
Playa Bacocho is northwest of town past Playa Carrizalillo. Take highway 200 northwest toward the airport and follow the signs to the Posada Real. This is one of the longest beaches in the area. There is a restaurant. Swimming may be dangerous due to heavy surf and undertow.
Just past the lagoon at the southeast end of Playa Principal is Playa Marinero. Restaurants, swimming, boogie-boarding, and snorkeling, but watch out for currents at the southern end of the beach. To get there, walk down Playa Principal to the southeast or walk down past the end of Avenida Alfonso Pérez Gasga.
One of the world's best surfing beaches is Playa Zicatela, especially during the months of July, August, and September. The 2-mile long beach has several restaurants and hotels. Not good for swimming, extremely dangerous. To get there, walk southeast along Playa Principal or take highway 200 southeast and turn right at Bungalows Villa Marinero onto a paved road which leads to Hotel Santa Fé and continues south along the beach.
Past Zicatela to the east is Playa Barra de Colotepec extending 1-1/4 mile to Río Colotepec. Heavy surf, dangerous for swimmers. Turtles lay their eggs at this long beach and volunteers from the Campamento Tortugas aid in their survival. Turtles, which had been fished to the brink of extinction, are making a comeback.
More beach information and photos on Dennis Miller's web page.
See also, Southern Mexico's Hidden Port, an article by Geri Anderson.
Tidal variation is usually no more than three feet. As far as I can see it is not really a factor for those enjoying the beaches, but in case you are interested, here is a link to tide information for Puerto Angel (42 miles or 67 km east) by David Flater. Fog is extremely rare on the coast of Oaxaca.
A note of caution: There have been reports of incidents of crime taking place on the beaches at night. Avoid remote beach areas at night. Beach lighting has been added.
Accommodations • Alojamientos
|
The high season is December 21 through April 15, with rates usually at least 20% higher. Reservations are recommended for Easter week and Christmas week 6 months to a year in advance. During the remainder of the high season there will normally be many vacancies although some hotels will be full at times. The locations of some hotels are shown on the map of Puerto Escondido. This is only a partial listing. There are many more hotels, especially in the downtown area.
In addition to hotels, you will also find condos, apartments and villas listed. Pricing on these alternative accommodations is often quite reasonable. Rentals of condos, apartments, and villas are also available through local real estate agents, which are also listed below. Information is available on making telephone calls. |
The principal areas for tourist hotels are Zicatela Beach, the long surfing beach in the southeast part of Puerto Escondido, Playa Principal, the more centrally located beachfront area, and the westward residential areas of Rinconada, Carrizalillo, and Bacocho. The downtown section is located across the highway from the Playa Principal area.
Additional accommodations are available in Mazunte, San Agustinillo, Zipolite, and Puerto Angel, well to the east and Jamiltepec, well to the west.
|
 Rinconada
 Puerto Escondido Centro
 Marinero and Zicatela north
|
Help keep this information current. Email tom@tomzap.com with updates.
Ayúdenme a mantener ésta información al día. Envía tus actualizaciones por e-mail a tom@tomzap.com.
Restaurants • Restaurantes
 Seafood dish from chef's tasting menu at Almoraduz |
See Italian Restaurants in Puerto Escondido, an article by Linda Green and company.
| Help keep this information current. Email tom@tomzap.com with updates. |
Ayúdenme a mantener ésta información al día. Envía tus actualizaciones por
e-mail a tom@tomzap.com.
|
Real Estate • Bienes Raíces
Real estate for rent is listed with the hotels above.
Puerto Escondido is considered one of the top 10 surfing locations in the world with Zicatela the primary beach. The main surfing season is April to October when ground swells in the 6-15 foot range break into hollow tubes. Wipeouts can be punishing for surfers and their boards. This is for experts only. International competitions are held in August and November. Read about surfing Escondido in an article by Christian D. Lyman.
National Surfing Mexico holds in event in May on Playa Zicatela.
One Surfing Competition is held in November during the Fiesta de Noviembre.
The Mexpipe Surfing Competition is held in August.
The World Masters Championship surfing competition is held in Puerto Escondido normally around the second week in August. Read about the 1998 World Masters Championship surfing competition.
Gym: Rockaway's Gym and Fitness Center Playa Zicatela on second floor of hotel. Opened 12/15/2014. Air-conditioned, beautiful equipment. (12/14)
Surfing • Acuaplano
Aerial Photos of Playa Zicatela taken by Tom Penick in 2009 with links to other aerial photos.
Help keep this information current. Email tom@tomzap.com with updates.
Ayúdenme a mantener ésta información al día. Envía tus actualizaciones por
e-mail a tom@tomzap.com.
Scuba Diving • Buceo
Fishing, Tours • Pesca, Excursiones
Help keep this information current. Email tom@tomzap.com with updates.
Ayúdenme a mantener ésta información al día. Envía tus actualizaciones por
e-mail a tom@tomzap.com.
Celebrations • Fiestas
Help keep this information current. Email tom@tomzap.com with updates.
Ayúdenme a mantener ésta información al día. Envía tus actualizaciones por
e-mail a tom@tomzap.com.
Transportation • Transportación
(855) AHA-5384 (toll free in U.S. and Canada). Auto, homeowners, medical insurance for U.S. and Canadian citizens in Mexico. Medical insurance for Mexican citizens traveling outside of Mexico.
Help keep this information current. Email tom@tomzap.com with updates.
Ayúdenme a mantener ésta información al día. Envía tus actualizaciones por
e-mail a tom@tomzap.com.
Medical • Médico
This is an important resource that you, the reader, provide to the community by submitting listings, recommendations, and updates for me to list here, tom@tomzap.com. To find medical specialists, you may have to travel to the city of Oaxaca, see Oaxaca Medical.
(855) AHA-5384 (toll free in U.S. and Canada). Auto, homeowners, medical insurance for U.S. and Canadian citizens in Mexico. Medical insurance for Mexican citizens traveling outside of Mexico.
Help keep this information current. Email tom@tomzap.com with updates.
Ayúdenme a mantener ésta información al día. Envía tus actualizaciones por
e-mail a tom@tomzap.com.
Libraries • Las Bibleotecas
Nearby Points of Interest •
Puntos Interesantes Cercanos
Laguna Chacahua area
Help keep this information current. Email tom@tomzap.com with updates.
Ayúdenme a mantener ésta información al día. Envía tus actualizaciones por e-mail a tom@tomzap.com.
Miscellaneous • Misceláneo
Accountant: Francisco Javier Patino Daleth Business Executives, SC. (954) 582-0831, 954 582 3726, 954 582 2943. info@db-executives.com, dalethbusiness@gmail.co
Help keep this information current. Email tom@tomzap.com with updates.
Ayúdenme a mantener ésta información al día. Envía tus actualizaciones por
e-mail a tom@tomzap.com.
www.tomzap.com
Tom Penick:
tom@tomzap.com
