Mexico

One Week in Puerto Escondido, Mexico – My Favourite Mexican Town

After a never ending, cold, dreary Calgary winter (Hello, -40 for over a month!) it was time for a vacation. One perk to living in Calgary is the cheap direct flights to Mexico, so off we went. After some research we decided on Oaxaca State. We could hit up both beaches and mountains, dividing our time between Puerto Escondido and Oaxaca City. But after researching for days, the small city Puerto Escondido still confused me. Puerto Escondido is split up into three extremely large sections, that seemed almost like separate towns.

Luckily, during my visit I managed to clear up some of the confusion I had. So, I’ve written a GUIDE TO PUERTO ESCONDIDO where I’ve included all sorts of useful information for planning your own trip!

I also wrote a guide to some of the BEST RESTAURANTS IN PUERTO ESCONDIDO, so if you’re like me and are obsessed with all things food related, check it out.

 

Puerto Escondido Arrival

We arrived in Puerto Escondido and had booked our first two nights in La Punta, so we could check out the area and then decide where to stay next.

La Punta is a cute little bohemian neighbourhood on the southern end of Puerto Escondido. One sandy road running parallel to the beach hosts the neighbourhood’s handful of restaurants and shops. Small guesthouses and hotels dot the surrounding streets and pathways. Known as the hippy part of La Punta, I doubt it’ll stay that way for much longer. The little town is seeing tons of construction, with people flocking to the area to get away from the commercialization in Zicatela.

We got a taxi to Pantai H, our guesthouse, quickly checked in and hoofed it down to the beach for a sunset cerveza. Lucky timing for us, we had friends who were visiting Puerto Escondido the same time, and were staying just a few blocks away from our guesthouse.

We met up with our friends and hung out on La Punta beach while the sun set, (you may not be able to swim, but the sunset is phenomenal). Once the show was over, we headed out for the real reason everyone goes to Mexico, food. First stop in what would end up being a week long eating fest? Amoki. This lush little restaurant has 4 dollar burritos big enough for two, which we indulged in a few times on the trip.

Up next on our first night in Mexico fiesta? La Punta’s Bikini Bar for pina coladas. Their pina coladas are served in a hollowed out pineapple which is both a) adorable and b) eco-friendly (paper straws y’all). Plus, during happy hour the first pina colada is 80 pesos, and then it’s a 25 peso refill after that. VIVA LA MEXICO.  Plus, you really can’t turn down cute swings at a handmade bar.

 

Beachin’ it at Playa Carrizalillo

We spent the next few days exploring the town and lazing on Puerto Escondido’s numerous beaches. If there’s one thing Puerto Escondido isn’t lacking in, it’s beaches. We spent a day at Playa Carrizalillo, heading down early in the morning before things got too hot. Once we made our way down the 160 steps to the beach, we were greeting by the calm turquoise water and white sand of the small protected bay. Because of it’s shape it’s perfect for beginner surfers, so Tom and Ashley rented boards and worked on their skills, while me and Jason logged some solid sun bathing hours.

In La Punta we stayed at Pantai H Hotel, a cute guesthouse a few blocks off the main street. Pantai H Hotel had an adorable pool, kitchen access, AC and filtered water. Basically, everything you could possibly need to survive in Puerto Escondido. Since the guesthouse only has 5 rooms, we had the pool to ourselves the whole time we were there. We spent two nights there and then moved into our friends’ rental for a couple days.

Once our friends headed back to Canada, we decided to change things up and booked our next stay in Zicatela. There were some restaurants we had saved to try, and since the swimming beaches were nowhere near La Punta, it was a strategic move.

So the next stop in our Puerto Escondido lodging tour? La Playita Beach House – a new hotel from the same owners as Bikini Bar and Palapa Bar. Figured we might as well stay with the trend. Gorgeous pool, cute little guestrooms, and a sweet little lobby area.

 

Tacos, tacos, tacos

From our new lodgings in Zicatela we were within walking distance to a few restaurants on my must try list. This is how we found our favourite little spot, Mama Malu. Such a sweet gem just off the main strip in Zicatela. We actually ate here three times, served by the same lovely ladies each time.

We gorged ourselves on fish and shrimp tacos, guacamole, and my new found favourite, enfrijoladas. Tortillas rolled and stuffed with a variety of fillings, and then topped off with a refried bean sauce. I tried enfrijoladas for the first time at Mama Malu and it was instant obsession.

During our time in Zicatela we didn’t do a whole lot. Actually, we really didn’t do a lot our entire time in Puerto Escondido. The days consisted of laying at the beach, eating tacos, back to the pool for the hottest part of the afternoon, then heading out for sunset and more food. However, while staying in Zicatela we did discover our favourite beach in Puerto Escondido, Playa Manzanillo.

Playa Manzanillo

We walked down to the beach one day and were so happy with what we found. A small beach in a protected cove, the beach is lined with shady palm trees with a few beach cabanas scattered around. It was the perfect spot for laying out under a palm tree and just chilling out. We spent hours there reading and splashing around before heading back to our hotel to cool off in the pool.

We did get away from the beaches for a little bit and ventured into the older central area of Puerto Escondido. One day we took a colectivo to Mercado Benito Juaraz and wandered around the market checking out the stalls of colourful textiles and hand made ceramics before heading to La Parrilla Mixteca for a ridiculous amount of el pastor tacos. After stuffing ourselves with the most amazing tacos, we walked back to our hotel with a quick paleta stop on the way.

There were a few activities offered in Puerto Escondido that we wanted to do, but held off. We wanted to take cooking class and a food tour, but we decided to do both in Oaxaca City.

 

Caitlyn

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Caitlyn

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