Puerto Escondido Travel Guide
Puerto was *amazing*. The beaches, the seafood…we didn’t do much but lounge and eat! Perfect place to relax and very remote work friendly if you need to plan a trip.. the entire vibe was “laid back” and that we DID. There seems to be two types of beach vacations in Mexico, the all-inclusive resort and the backpacker small town. I would place PE firmly in the latter category which is great for younger travelers looking to meet new like-minded friends. I honestly don’t think there’s even a single “resort” in the town from what I saw. Lots of hostels, inexpensive airbnb’s and small boutique hotels. If you’re looking to bring your kids it’s definitely still doable but a more structured stay at a resort may be a better fit. If you’re looking to find countless parties and mingle with people in their 20‘s-30’s especially then PE might be a great spot for you!
Puerto Escondido Travel Guide & Interactive Google Map
Make sure you keep a good amount of pesos on you, whatever you may need for day to day-it’s widely “cash only” in Mexico, but especially in these tiny towns. A card may be accepted at a variety of restaurants but expect the service fee to be passed on to you, usually about 5%.
Pro Tip: During our 9 day stay, reserving two airbnbs on opposite sides of town really helped us to see more & get acquainted with each neighborhood. There are tons of beautiful hotels but the places you can find on apps like airbnb, vrbo, vacasa, etc. are so special
Another Pro Tip: It is VERY humid in this part of mexico. So much so that your electronics may be damaged! Pack silica gel packets in a sealed gallon ziplock for your electronics. The stores locally also sell these silica gel packets but I brought my own.
Another another pro tip!: Bring your own sunscreen if you can. I understand this may not be as easy as it sounds but prices are inflated at the beach shops in Puerto. This is pretty standard/expected but is mostly easy to mitigate.
One last pro tip: The taxis are super cheap, but take the 'Colectivos' if you can. These are little trucks that the locals pile into for only 8 pesos each! That's basically $0.41 to go anywhere in PE. They're pickup tricks with a blue canopy, you can't miss em!.
Our favorite beach was Carrizalillo, we went several days. there’s a huge staircase leading you down to it, take breaks if needed-it’s literally a hike! It's not accessibility friendly AT ALL just fyi. The waves are great for surfing, especially as a beginner! Lessons and rentals are available on every beach. I rented a board for an hour and had tons of fun, just make sure to avoid the rocks and you'll be good. There's plenty of food and drink available down there so don't worry about climbing all the way down then being on your own. It gets crowded but it's worth it imo.
Dolphin watching was absolutely a highlight. Anna hadn’t ever seen dolphins outside of a zoo! There’s no shortage of tours to take, but we trusted our gut and went with Chon Cruz who handed us his card on Carazalillo during our first day. There was a taxi waiting for us the morning of, we were out in the water early. Chon did his best to avoid the larger group of tour boats so we were able to see not only dolphins, but some bioluminescent plankton, jellyfish and sea turtles! Big recommend to Chon as the ocean gets pretty crowded with tours and having a little bit of solace was a highlight.
We may not drink, but we did include some of the best reviewed clubs & bars! Puerto Escondido has quite a bustling nightlife scene. One of the more common things I noticed was people inviting us to parties on the beach. There are also lots of flyers/posters up with parties and concerts every weekend.
If you have been to PE or go, let us know! It’s magical there and we hope you are able to experience it soon. We're literally already thinking about our next beach getaway to Mexico although I think this time I might opt for the more fancy/expensive Yucatan beaches as I've never seen the caribbean!
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