9 Best Sights in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca

In a region full of beautiful beaches, Playa Carrizalillo can still take your breath away. The high cliffs that surround it ensure that it's never too crowded. The aquamarine water is clean, clear, and shallow—perfect for swimming and snorkeling, especially around the rocks that frame the beautiful cove. Sometimes there are waves large enough to lure novice surfers. A handful of palm-thatched restaurants offer free use of loungers if you buy food and drinks. The beach is a MX$25 taxi ride from El Adoquin with access to the stairs through an orange archway on the Rinconada. From there it's 167 steps down to the water, but the steep stone staircase is well maintained and there's a handrail to help you along. Amenities: parking (no fee); toilets; food and drink; water sports. Best for: swimming; snorkeling; surfing.

Of Puerto Escondido's seven beaches, Playa Manzanillo, which rings Puerto Angelito, is one of the safest for swimming. It's also one of the best for snorkeling, with a sandy ocean floor (watch for the occasional large rock), some coral formations, and calm, clear water. Locals are working towards Blue Flag eco-certification, so you'll see recycling bins, solar-powered lighting, and eco-toilets. Dogs must be leashed. You can reach this beach on foot (a 15-minute walk west of the Adoquín), by taxi (MX$25), or via a pathway from Playa Angelito. There's a long staircase down to the beach. The beach offers plenty of shade and is lined with casual beach restaurants (Palapa de Carrasco is a top choice) with lounge chairs. Amenities: food and drink; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming; snorkeling.

Rustic beach bungalows, tattooed hipsters, and Aussie surfers toting custom surfboards create a laid-back vibe at La Punta, a hip, golden stretch of sandy beach at the southeastern end of Playa Zicatela. If you plan to walk there midday, take water and wear a hat as the beach is wide and there’s no shade. Once you arrive, a string of palm-fringed beach palapa restaurants offer loungers free with a drink or food purchase. La Punta's surf break is more forgiving than Zicatela’s Mexican Pipeline, so it’s a good spot for beginners to go boogie boarding or learn to surf. But strong undertows and unpredictable wave patterns mean you should still exercise caution when swimming. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; water sports. Best for: walking; surfing; sunset.

Playa Agua Blanca is about 30 minutes east of Puerto Escondido, at Km 172 of the road towards Mazunte. You'll see a sign for Agua Blanca pointing down a winding road. At the end of this road is a pristine beach with soft white sand, big waves, and lots of rocks with tidal pools perfect for children or cautious swimmers to take a dip in. Although this beach is becoming better known outside the local community and the restaurants are becoming more substantial, it's still a quiet spot to relax beneath a palapa and eat oysters picked fresh from the sea. Or enjoy a full lunch at any of the shady comedores that dot the beach. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); toilets. Best for: solitude; walking.

High red cliffs serve as the backdrop for this long, secluded beach west of town. The beach is situated at the bottom of a steep hill ringed by upscale housing and hotel developments and is best reached by taxi. Between July and November, Playa Bacocho is an important turtle-nesting beach, so if you're lucky you may witness the hatching of baby olive ridley sea turtles or a female coming ashore to lay her eggs. In the winter season you can often see dolphins and migrating whales close to shore. Cocos and Villasol beach clubs have restaurant and bar service, swimming pools, showers, and shade; access is MX$60 unless you're a guest of Posada Real or Villasol hotels.

Avoid swimming here. Although the waves aren't fierce, the rip currents are strong, and there are no lifeguards.

none.

solitude; sunset; walking.

This beach abuts Playa Principal; the only thing separating the two is the sometimes malodorous freshwater Laguna de Agua Dulce created where Río Rigadillo meets the ocean. Popular among Mexican families, this beach can be very busy on weekends and during holidays, but the crowds can make for some fun people-watching. Expect to see vendors selling everything from ice cream to hammocks. Skiffs can be hired for fishing and turtle-seeking expeditions or you can hop on a water taxi to nearby beaches. Best bets for resto-bars include Brad's Split Coconut and Arcis near the Calle del Morro entrance. Amenities: lifeguards; food and drink; water sports. Best for: sunset; walking.

Although it's not the cleanest beach in town, Playa Principal is popular with Mexican families, who flock to this strip of medium-coarse beige sand due to its calm waters and proximity to the shops, hotels, and restaurants of Avenida Pérez Gasga. The wide, curved bay meets up with Playa Marinero at the mouth of Río Rigadillo, and while the sand is soft near the shore, it's somewhat hard packed near the palm trees that line the beachfront businesses. It is also a working harbor with a large fleet of traditional fishing boats, so watching the weathered fishermen haul in their catch in the morning is an opportunity to see Mexico at its most authentic. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: sunrise; walking.

This lovely cove is home to both the eponymous beach as well as equally lovely Playa Manzanillo. Taxis will drop you off near the white sand, where the shallow depth of the water gives it a luminous, green-blue tint. Things get quite crowded on holidays and weekends, plus the boats moored close to shore can sometimes shrink the available swimming area and sully the waters. There's a walkway to Playa Manzanillo at the western end of the beach.

While swimming, beware of water taxis and skiffs.

toilets; water sports; food and drink; parking (no fee).

swimming.

One of the world's top surfing beaches, Zicatela has cream-colored sands that are battered by the mighty Mexican Pipeline. In November, international surfing championships are held here (as well as popular bikini contests). The beach is just about always filled with buff, sun-bleached aficionados of both sexes intent on serious surfing. Palapa restaurants on the sand serve refreshments, but Calle del Morro, Zicatela's main street, is also lined with hotels, bars, nightclubs, and slightly more upscale restaurants. The mostly flat beach stretches from the rocks at Playa Marinero all the way to La Punta in the southeast so is good for walking.

Even when the waters appear calm, the undertows and rip currents can be deadly. If you have any doubts about your prowess, settle for watching the surfers.

lifeguards; food and drink; parking (no fee); water sports.

partiers; walking; sunset; surfing.