Puerto Escondido - The "Hidden Port"

Loved by surf bums, water-sports junkies, perma-tan international travelers and Canadian and US snowbirds, this ‘Hidden Port’ is one of the most enjoyable spots on Mexico’s Pacific coast. If you want solitude to commune with nature, you’re in the wrong place: Puerto Escondido is a place to catch the legendary Mexican Pipeline, get some sun and party. By day, water sports are popular – you can go surfing, snorkeling, diving, sportfishing or looking for turtles, dolphins and even whales. By night, a busy cafe, restaurant and bar scene brings live music and a freewheeling, unpretentious nightlife. Within easy day-trip distance are the coastal lagoons of Manialtepec and Chacahua, which teem with birdlife. Development here has remained on a human scale, and part of Puerto Escondido’s charm is that it remains a fishing port and market town as well as a tourist destination.

Top Things To Do in Puerto Escondido

Beaches: Playa Zicatela

Long, straight Zicatela is Puerto Escondido’s happening beach, with enticing cafes, restaurants and accommodations, as well as the waves of the legendary Mexican Pipeline. Most of the action, including the Pipeline, is at Zicatela’s northern end (nearest town).
Nonsurfers beware: the waters here have a lethal undertow and are not safe for the boardless. Lifeguards rescue several careless people most months. The Punta Zicatela area at Zicatela's far southern end also has decent surf, and a mellower vibe.

Beaches: Playa Carrizalillo

Small Carrizalillo beach, west of the center, is in a cove reached by a stairway of 157 steps. It’s good for swimming, bodyboarding and beginner's surfing, and has a line of palapa (thatch-roofed) beach bars.

Beaches: Bahia Principal

Puerto Escondido's central bay is long enough to accommodate restaurants at its west end, a small fishing fleet in its center (Playa Principal), and sun worshippers and young bodyboarders at its east end (Playa Marinero), where the waters are a little cleaner. Pelicans wing in inches above the waves, boats bob on the swell and a few hawkers wander up and down.

Read more at: www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/oaxaca-state/puerto-escondido
Source: Lonely Planet