Must-see attractions in Oaxaca Coast

  • Surfer looking the wave breaking at Zicatela beach, Mexico; Shutterstock ID 749690260; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Playa Zicatela

    Puerto Escondido

    Legendary 3.5km-long Zicatela is the best-known surfing spot in Mexico courtesy of the tempestuous surfing waves of the Mexican Pipeline. The heart of the…

  • Sunset at the touristic Zipolite beach in Oaxaca,  Mexico.  Rocky beach with no people.; Shutterstock ID 2275510841; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
2275510841

    Playa Zipolite

    Zipolite

    Zipolite's beach is huge, running for a good 1.5km and dispatching massive waves. It's famous for its nudity; you'll see people randomly swimming,…

  • January 2018: The crowded beach of Playa Carrizalillo in Puerto Escondido.
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    Playa Carrizalillo

    Puerto Escondido

    Small is beautiful at Carrizalillo, set in a sheltered cove west of the center that's reached by a stairway of 157 steps. It’s popular for swimming and…

  • Playa Salchi

    Bahías de Huatulco

    Halfway between the western edge of Parque Nacional Huatulco and Puerto Ángel awaits some of the most precious coastline in Oaxaca. The water can be…

  • Sunset over the pacific ocean from a hill in Punta Cometa, Mazunte, Mexico.

    Punta Cometa

    Mazunte

    This rocky cape, jutting out from the west end of Mazunte beach, is the southernmost point in the state of Oaxaca and a fabulous place to hike at sunset…

  • Laguna de Manialtepec in Oaxaca.

    Laguna de Manialtepec

    Puerto Escondido

    The 6km-long Manialtepec Lagoon, beginning 14km west of Puerto Escondido along Hwy 200, is an essential spot for bird enthusiasts and a fascinating place…

  • San Agustin Beach, Oaxaca, Mexico.

    Bahía San Agustín

    Bahías de Huatulco

    This long, sandy beach, 14km west of Santa Cruz Huatulco, is backed by a fishing village, and in contrast to Huatulco's other settlements, there's…

  • Playa la Boquilla, Oaxaca, Mexico.

    Playa La Boquilla

    Puerto Ángel

    The coast east of Puerto Ángel is dotted with small hidden beaches, none of them very busy on weekdays. Playa La Boquilla, on a gentle bay about 7.5km…

  • Aerial view of Conejo Bay at Santa Maria Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico.

    Bahía Conejos

    Bahías de Huatulco

    The oddly named 'rabbit bay,' 3km east of Tangolunda, has a long main beach divided by a small rocky outcrop into the western Playa Arenas and the eastern…

  • Cacaluta beach in Huatulko, Oaxaca, Mexico.

    Bahía Cacaluta

    Bahías de Huatulco

    Cacaluta is a 1km-long slice of paradise that's protected by an island, backed by dunes and usually deliciously deserted. The Mexican road-trip movie Y Tú…

  • Playa El Maguey, Santa Maria Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico.

    Bahía Maguey

    Bahías de Huatulco

    Three kilometers west of Santa Cruz and easily walkable along a roadside pavement, Maguey’s fine 400m beach curves around a calm bay between forested…

  • Hagia Sofia

    Bahías de Huatulco

    One of Huatulco’s loveliest and most interesting day trips, this ‘agro-ecotourism’ operation includes a large organic fruit orchard and a gorgeous 500m…

  • Casa Wabi

    Puerto Escondido

    Casa Wabi, a sprawling artists' residency that occupies a wonderfully airy building designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando, runs tours three…

  • Bahía Chachacual

    Bahías de Huatulco

    Inaccessible by land, Chachacual has two beaches: the easterly Playa La India is one of Huatulco’s most beautiful scimitars of sand and one of the area’s…

  • Mexico, Oaxaca, Huatulco, Playa La Entrega, Stretch of sandy beach lined with thatched open fronted restaurants, with tour boat in shallow water in foreground.

    Playa La Entrega

    Bahías de Huatulco

    La Entrega lies toward the outer edge of Bahía de Santa Cruz, a five-minute motorboat trip or 2.5km walk/drive along a bendy road from Santa Cruz. This…

  • Parque Eco-Arqueológico Copalita

    Bahías de Huatulco

    Granted, it's no Monte Albán, but this pre-Hispanic site 600m north of La Bocana village is your only true glimpse of history in made-in-the-1980s…

  • Bahía El Órgano

    Bahías de Huatulco

    Just east of Bahía Maguey, this lush 250m beach has calm waters good for snorkeling, and no crowds because there's no vehicle access and no restaurants…

  • Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga

    Mazunte

    With a wonderful and very appropriate setting overlooking the ocean, this two-part turtle center ushers visitors on a walk around a collection of outdoor…

  • La Bocana

    Bahías de Huatulco

    About 1.5km east of Playa Conejos, just before the Parque Eco-Arqueológico Copalita, lies Hutatulco's most low-key beach. Less pretty than other spots,…

  • Bahía Puerto Angelito

    Puerto Escondido

    The sheltered bay of Puerto Angelito has two smallish beaches with shallow, usually calm waters: the western Playa Angelito and the eastern Playa…

  • Bahía Tangolunda

    Bahías de Huatulco

    Tangolunda, 5km east of Santa Cruz Huatulco, is the site of most of the major top-end hotel developments. The long, wide, spotlessly clean beach is…

  • Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

    Bahías de Huatulco

    Let it not be said that the age of great church building is dead. Crucecita’s pale-orange colonial-style ecclesial dame dates from – ahem – 2000, but,…

  • Bahía Principal

    Puerto Escondido

    Puerto Escondido's central bay is long enough to accommodate restaurants at its west end, a fleet of fishing boats in its center (Playa Principal), and…

  • Playa Santa Cruz

    Bahías de Huatulco

    Santa Cruz Huatulco's small beach is easily accessible but often crowded, and its looks are marred by the cruise-ship pier – especially when one of the…

  • Bahía Chahué

    Bahías de Huatulco

    The beach here, 1km east of Santa Cruz Huatulco, is wide with soft sand, but offers little in the way of shade, plus the surf can be surprisingly strong…

  • Corredor Turístico

    Bahías de Huatulco

    One of Huatulco's more recent developments is a wide terraced walkway that leads from Crucecita to the Santa Cruz harbor. The path then carries on west…