One Weekend in Puerto Escondido? Do These 15 Things
I get asked the "What should I do in Puerto" question a lot. Here is my best answer.
Note: Unless otherwise credited in the caption, all photos belong to the author.
1. Drink a coco frio while wandering around La Punta
Cold cocos are still around 30 to 35 pesos at most tiendas in La Punta. You can grab a cold coco anywhere, but my favorite spot is Cocosninfa, a long-standing coco stand run by a lovely woman (Ninfa) near the main entrance to La Punta. Also, if you’re like me and don’t like wasting food, get the meat out of the inside for a little healthy snack! Puedes cortarlo para comer?
2. Walk the steps down to Playa Carrizalillo
It’s 157 steps down to Playa Carrizalillo, but the trek is worth it to check out the gorgeous protected wine-glass-shaped bay. Playa Carrizalillo is also a great beginner surf break most days. You can easily rent a board and even find an instructor right there on the beach.
3. Get a plate of sashimi at El Bunker de JP
I love a lot of restaurants in Puerto, but if I had to name one as my very favorite, it’s El Bunker de JP. Go with a friend, order a plate of Sashima and a plate of Tiritas, get a couple of micheladas, and enjoy a slow hour at this charming sand-floor restaurant tucked behind a mechanics shop. It’s one of my favorite places on earth.
4. Check out the volleyball scene at Punta Vida
The volleyball scene at Punta Vida is one of the first things I fell in love with when I moved to Puerto Escondido. Every day around sunset, you can go get in a few games while the sun sets over the ocean.
It’s a great workout, and also an amazing social scene. When it’s too dark to play, you can get a beer at Punta Vida or go share a caguama (i.e. big bottle of beer) with the other players on the stoop of one of La Punta’s many tiendas.
5. Wander the Adoquin night market
For most of the year, the night market is set up every evening along the main street of Adoquin, where you can slowly wander the artisans’ stalls. It’s a great place to buy gifts for friends back home, and also a great place to try various types of street food like esquites and churros.
6. Watch the skaters rip the bowl at the Boneyard
The Boneyard is an institution in La Punta. It’s a bar with a huge skate bowl right in the middle. All the shredders gather daily at the Boneyard to spill some sweat in the bowl, and then cool off with a cold beer and a mezcal afterward. Whether you skate or not, it’s a scene you should go check out while you’re here.
7. Pop in for some live music at Casa Babylon (or go to Open Mic if you’re here on a Thursday)
Casa Babylon just celebrated its 25th anniversary of being the home of live music on the main strip in Zicatela. There’s live music on almost every night at this small bar filled with colorful artisan masks and old books, and it’s always a good time when there’s live rock music pumping out into the street.
Note: If you happen to be in Puerto on a Thursday, Open mic night at Espacio Cometa is always an amazing night of music as well, where you’ll get to see 10+ different musicians take the stage. You never know what’s going to happen at open mic, and that’s why we love it!
8. Catch some sun at Playa Bicocho or Playa Coral (and help with the daily turtle release if you’re keen)
Playa Bicocho and Playa Coral are two of the beaches on the far west end of Puerto Escondido. They’re beautiful and pristine beaches where you can still normally find a chunk of sand that feels a bit more private. If you’re there on the right day, you can also participate in the turtle release program at Playa Bicocho, right near Villa Sol. Contact the Baby Turtle Release Center for more info.
More on Villa Sol in Insider Info.
9. Eat a coco-fried shrimp taco at the Fish Shack
Fish Shack might be the most famous restaurant in all of Puerto Escondido at this point. It’s tucked into a little alley on the last block of the main street of La Punta. There’s usually a line, but it’s worth the wait. Try a few things, but definitely don’t miss their signature taco—the coco-fried shrimp taco. It’s a Puerto delicacy.
10. Have a chill coffee at one of PXM’s best cafes
The cafe scene has exploded in the last few years and there are dozens of incredible cafes, with the greatest saturation of options being in the La Punta neighborhood. Check out my favorites, and go sip a flat white while you plan out an epic weekend.
11. Party past your bedtime in Zicatela
La Punta is an incredibly fun neighborhood that’s really blown up over the past ten years. There are a bunch of hostels, bars, and restaurants, but all of them need to shut down at 11 PM. It’s a community rule that is strictly followed.
So if you want to keep partying, the best (read: only) options are in Zicatela, specifically the eastern end of the neighborhood. You have Mar y Juana, Chula, Isha, Xcaanda, Cactus, Caña Brava, Zoo, and a bunch of other clubs that stay open until the sun comes up most nights.
12. Go on a fishing or dolphin boat tour
It’s an early wake-up call, but if you like being out on the ocean, book a morning dolphin or fishing trip. The dolphin tours only cost around 500 pesos ($25 USD), and you’ll set off around 7 AM and be back on land by 9:30 or 10 AM. There aren’t many better ways to start the day than seeing a hundred dolphins swimming together, or if you’re lucky, catching a marlin or sailfish, and heading home with a bag of fresh meat.
Note: Fishing charters are a bit more expensive than the dolphin tours, but I recommend that option because you’ll almost certainly see dolphins as well, and there’s a chance you catch the biggest fish of your life.
13. Walk over “the point” of La Punta, to visit the beach of La Barra
The “point” of La Punta, creates a great surf break, and it’s also a lovely little rock formation to hike up and over if you want to explore on foot. There’s a walking path that curves around the point, and if you take it down to the other side, you’ll end up on the stunning beach of La Barra, the quieter neighborhood further east of La Punta.
14. Join a yoga class
There are so many great options for yoga in Puerto, so balance out your party nights with a good stretch at one of Puerto’s many yoga studios. The options can feel endless, but here are a few well-known yoga studios to check out; Satsanga, Marea Yoga Studio, Barbaarenas, One Love, and Gardin Ganesha.
15. Go surfing, duh!
Puerto Escondido is the surf capital of Oaxaca, so you should probably get on a surfboard at some point during your visit. The big waves of Zicatela originally put Puerto Escondido on the international surf map, however, those waves are for experts only. If you’re still learning, I recommend checking out the surf schools and going out with an instructor in La Punta, Playa Carrizalillo, or even down the coast to one of the many beaches with great waves, like Plataforma or Tierra Blanca.
Insider Info: Five bonus ideas from day pools, to tattoos, to tostadas!
If this is where you end, thanks for reading! And if you decide to get the paid subscription to my Substack, thank you for supporting my work!
Read my 5-star Travel Memoir, Not That Anyone Asked
Find more of my thoughts and words on Medium
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Sobre Puerto Escondido to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.