Puerto Escondido, Mazunte and Zipolite

Costa De Oaxaca / Santuario De Tortugas · Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca

Three beach towns on Oaxaca's Pacific coast, each with its own personality, strung along about 70 km of Highway 200. Puerto Escondido is the biggest, a fishing town turned surf capital where Zicatela beach produces the heavy Mexican Pipeline barrel. Mazunte, an hour east, is a small village around a turtle conservation centre and the sunset headland of Punta Cometa. Zipolite, ten minutes further, is Mexico's best-known clothing-optional beach, with a hippie, queer-friendly mood and a strong undertow. The coast has surf, bioluminescent lagoons, turtle releases and cheap beach cabins, but no resort-style infrastructure. Surf and rip currents are serious: Zicatela and Zipolite both have powerful water that drowns strong swimmers every year. Getting here is part of the cost: the winding mountain highway from Oaxaca city takes six to eight hours, so most visitors fly to Puerto Escondido or Huatulco. Expect hot, humid weather, power cuts, sand in every room and an easygoing pace that rewards slow days.

Playa Zicatela, Puerto Escondido, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, 71980, Mexico

Beaches are open access and free - all Mexican beaches are public by law. ⚠⚠ ZIPOLITE HAS SUSTAINED RIP CURRENTS AND A HISTORY OF DROWNINGS, AND ITS LIFEGUARD SERVICE IS A VOLUNTEER CORPS FOUNDED BECAUSE OF THEM - swim only where and when they say, and not at all if you are not a strong swimmer. ⚠ PLAYA ZICATELA IS A HEAVY BEACH BREAK FOR EXPERIENCED SURFERS AND IS NOT A SWIMMING BEACH; Carrizalillo and Puerto Angelito are the sheltered coves. ⚠ ZIPOLITE IS CLOTHING-OPTIONAL - NO PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE NUDE SECTION. The Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga at Mazunte keeps daytime hours and generally closes Mondays. ⚠ TURTLE RELEASES SHOULD BE AT DUSK OR DAWN THROUGH A RECOGNISED CAMP; arribadas at La Escobilla are unpredictable and the beach is protected - go only with a permitted guide. ⚠ BIOLUMINESCENCE AT MANIALTEPEC NEEDS A MOONLESS NIGHT, roughly November to February. ⚠ THE NEW HIGHWAY FROM OAXACA CITY HAS HAD LANDSLIDES AND CLOSURES - check on the day. ⚠ HOURS AND PRICES NOT VERIFIED FOR THIS FILE.

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