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Vicho
Vicho
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Beaches of Puerto Escondido

  • April 21, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Carrie Hueseman from Santa Cruz, California
Beaches of Puerto Escondido

The "Mexican Pipeline" is the surf break at the main beach in Puerto. This is for experts only! Wave is barrelling in only a couple of feet of water - 10-15 foot waves, very fast. You can drink margaritas and eat enfrijoladas within 50 feet of the surfers and watch it all unfold, along with the sunset afterwards.

From journal Puerto Escondido, Mexico

Editor Pick

Manzanillo/Angelito Cove Beaches

  • May 24, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by El Gallo from Monkey Junction, Newfoundland, Afghanistan
Manzanillo/Angelito Cove Beaches

Manzanillo is just the sweetest little beach. It's actually two beach in one: Playa Angelito is the foreground of both photos, Playa Manzanillo is the far end. Most visitors just call the whole thing Manzanillo...it's only separated by a pile of rocks you can walk through or (highly recommended) swim around with a mask on. The near side is at the bottom of a heart-challenging stone staircase, the far side can be gotten to in a car. Maybe.

The Manzanillo side is more Mexican. A jillion kids in the water, the mamas under palapas preparing their carry-in food, the men swilling beer and shrimp. The last restaurant in the row is recommended. It's built up for a better view and serves fresh oysters cheap. By fresh I mean you snorkle out front and you see bags of them waiting to be pulled in, alive, and served. PETA does nothing to stop this outrage. By cheap I mean like $5 for a dozen halfshells so fresh they cringe when you squeeze a key lime on them. Seriously. You can snorkel this edge, but it's not such fun except in allowing a quick shot out to open sea for a serious diver.

The Angelito side, on the other hand, is more European. This is the place to spot gorgeous Swede and Italian girls clad only in thongs and spray. The restaurants are shackier, no floors, more hammocks. And this is the side for snorkeling. Anybody from beginner to advanced can have fun here. There is a shelf of rock with some coral right up to the sand and the rock shore out to sea is threaded with gaps and tunnels, and places where waves shoot you around rocks and stuff. You can see lots of nice fishies safely or really get nuts, especially where the bay curves out to open water.

The rocks in the middle of the bay, and those dividing the beaches are also lots of fun with a mask and flippers. This is a great family beach, singles beach, diver beach, sunstroke/beer beach. You have to love it. And accessible from downtown by the seaside walkway, up a flight two blocks straight then left and down a flight. Just be careful of motorboats.

From journal Puerto: Pick the Town You Like.

Editor Pick

Carrizalillo Beach

  • May 24, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by El Gallo from Monkey Junction, Newfoundland, Afghanistan
Carrizalillo Beach

Sometimes a picture IS worth a thousand words. If you can look at the attached picture of Carrizalillo beach and not want to be in the picture, then you suck.

But I'll add a few words just for the hell of of it. This is the beach for everybody. Note the dark area of water in the photo center. That's a shelf of coral extending out from the north shore of the bay. Which means some really nice snorkeling among pretty fish. It's a different kind of snorkel spot: waves sweep through it, but it's just deep enough that you won't get dashed on the rocks unless you are truly stupid (or too nuts like me and my broken foot bone). But shallow enough that it's all right there in view, an acre or so of poke-around. Sometimes you can actually do a little body-surfing while looking at reef fish—not bad, huh. (Not particularly recommended, either.)

But Carrizalillo is also situated just right to allow surfing most days without having big, obnoxious waves. A great learning spot. There is a shelf on the south shore too, where most bunny surfing goes on. Which can offer the unusual sight of a surfer whizzing past somebody standing knee-deep in the water—weird. And to hell with surfers, anyway, really. But it's there.

The little palm thatch palapas and umbrellas you see at the bottom of the photo are restaurants, most with hammocks and cold beer in addition to fresh fish, shrimp, and shellfish: perfect for those who have always squirmed to move into a Corona commercial.

The only drawback is that the beach is accessed by a stone stairway. The picture was taken halfway up that stairway. The one you have to climb to go home after a tiring day of surfing, swimming, and sundazing. A small price to pay, actually, but this is not a handicap-accessible location.

There is a moderate-range B&B, Villa Carrizalillo overlooking the bay with a private stairway. For the low rent crowd, it's only a hop, skip, and bikini-top off from Shalom Hostel. One scenic tip I forgot, topless bathing is tolerated on Carrizalillo due to the large influence of Euro-packers. Which means, ladies, you can get a strap-free tan. And dudes, you can get the benefits of a lot of loveliness. Win-win all the way around.

From journal Puerto: Pick the Town You Like.

Editor Pick

The Seaside Walk

  • May 24, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by El Gallo from Monkey Junction, Newfoundland, Afghanistan
The Seaside Walk

"The Seaside Walkway," as I call it, doesn't sound like a big deal, but I consider it a major cool, charming thing about Puerto. It turns a "walk into town" into a photogenic adventure.

For some reason, somebody decided to build a pedestrian footpath from the pier at Playa Principal by the downtown Adoquin to the area between the lighthouse and Manzanillo beach. The result drips charm (and occasionally saltwater) and is a pretty amazing example of post stone-age engineering. The sidewalk-width path is made by connecting crags and boulders with cobblestones cemented together into walks, bridges, steps, overlooks, benches, and ledges. The entire length offers views across to Zicatella beach and out to open ocean. There is one small beach along the walkway, with a path that leads up past an old aqueduct to the road system and busline.

About a mile of scampering along a particularly fun stretch of the sea-stroked, rockbound coast, this is one thing you just have to do in Puerto. Bring your camera. The downtown end is full of families, people fishing, kids jumping off the bridge, and young lovers necking. The other end climbs to the end of Third Street East, where a block straight over and a block to the left leads to Manzanillo beach. Two blocks straight ahead and quarter-mile to the left leads to Carrizalillo. I can't say much more about this other than "look at the pictures" and "do it."

From journal Puerto: Pick the Town You Like.

Editor Pick

Beaches of Puerto Escondido

  • December 12, 2004
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Vicho from Leicester, United Kingdom
Swimmable? Surfable? Sunshinable?

This article is meant to be your guide for finding as quickly as possible what you want among the golden sands and warm waters of Puerto and get it without loosing a minute of your precious time in this hidden paradise.

Searching for a good beach, you might choose the lively Playa Principal (Main Beach). Next to the city centre, this beach is especially nice in the evening and when you may fancy a walk along the coast, as there is a footpath built over the cliffs forming endless bridges with wonderful views. Walking along Playa Principal towards the south, it turns to Playa Marinera just after Lagoon Beach. This spot is still lively, but the currents here can be a bit too strong, but if you are aware of them, you might have fun snorkelling and swimming.

If you want a calmer place where you can swim without fear of currents, the place where waves are just the right size for beginners, then Playa Carrizalillo, glued at the bottom of the cliff, is the answer. The 167 stairs ease your way down to the bay, but they are hard to climb up at the end of the day . . .

If you want extreme experiences, head to the extreme corners of Puerto Escondido. In the very east is Playa Zicatela, the spot elevating Puerto among the top 10 best surfing places in the world. Even Australians come here to measure their forces against the sea powers. Sometime they lose and that’s why there is a lifeguard, who might make you feel more secure while playing and jumping in the huge surfs. If the lifeguard starts disappearing from your sight, it means that the current took you away and that it’s time to get back.

Still not find what you wanted? Another option is Playa Bacocho. It is quite hard to get here by car, but you might come here by climbing the cliffs from Playa Carrizalillo to the west. On your way you will see thousands and thousands of little crabs being thrown on the rocks by the strong waves. That pretty much happens to everybody you can meet here. This beach is deserted. Do you wonder why? Well, it is a very beautiful and long, almost endless, beach with just a few rock formations breaking huge surfs. Just to stand on the shore and listen to all that noise makes you fear going in the water. Surprisingly, some crazy locals manage to get in and dive for mussels. They look scary, perhaps more than the waves, when you meet them out of the water, so I would not recommend you to visit this remote end on your own.

As for the other beaches and safety . . . Don’t leave your valuables unattended while bathing and don’t visit beaches at night unless you look miserable, speak fluent Spanish, and want to buy some drugs. Otherwise you will be attacked and robbed.

From journal Satisfy Your Desires in Puerto Escondido

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