Huatulco

Huatulco is a planned ‘paradise’. In 1984 (aptly enough) land communally owned by indigenous communities was appropriated by the federal government and turned over to FONATUR (National Fund to Promote Tourism), an agency of the Secretary of Tourism, and the ‘Huatulco Tourist Program’ was born. If this all sounds slightly distopian, don’t despair, well not entirely anyway. FONATUR’s mandate was to replicate the economic success of Cancun without reproducing the ecological destruction.

An experiment in ecotourism was born and 75 per cent of the land was supposedly set aside for ecological preservation. Since then arguments have raged as to how successful this experiment has been. In the Mixteca language Huatulco means ‘the place where wood is adored’ and there is no doubt that it attracts naturelovers. There is a wealth of activities that qualify as eco-tourism available including jungle tours, rock-climbing, white-water rafting and trips to coffee plantations.

Horseback riding, hiking and biking are all popular pursuits in the nearby Sierra Madre Mountains too. And with nine secluded bays and 36 beaches spread over 35km of coastline when these activities get tiring there is no problem fi nding your own space on the sand. Tangolunda is the best known of the bays thanks to the fi ve-star resorts, including Club Med, The Sheraton and Camino Real that nestle there. Bahia de Santa Cruz is a small bay on which the town of Santa Cruz is located. It’s a good place to go snorkeling or scubadiving from and the majority of boat tours leave from the Santa Cruz harbor. Boat trip activities aren’t limited solely to snorkeling.

Although Huatulco features some fi ve-star all-inclusive complexes, rooms as cheap as $300 pesos can be found in some hotels in other parts of the resort. The small town center, La Crucecita for example has some reasonable hotels. La Crucecita are a good place to kick off any night out. In peak season La Creme, on the corner of the zocalo, plays chilled beats and reggae to a busy crowd. It also serves good pizza. The allinclusive hotels all possess discos that fi ll up at the weekend during peak season.

Zipolite

Zipolite’s paradise coast has been attracting tourists and travellers for years. Seduced by tranquility interrupted only by the pulse of the pounding surf, or the thriving drug scene, many never leave. The majority of settlers are hippies and they want you to know it, wearing their alternative credentials a little too decoratively on their sleeves.

A naked, dread-locked man self-consciously peforming tai chi in the centre of the beach is not an unusual sight. If nudity offends steer clear of Zipolite, if not bring your binoculars. In theory the nudist beach is situated at Roja Blanca at the western end of the coast, in practice naked forms stroll up and down the entire beach at leisure. Accommodation in Zipolite is cheap and plentiful. Cabanas and beach huts on stilts line the 2km stretch of palmfringed sand, along with a couple of inexpensive hotels. Restaurants in Zipolite are much of a much in terms of choice and quality, though they tend to get cheaper the further you move away from the beach. Zipolite has plenty of little nightspots dotted around the town and the beach itself houses a number of bars. Be careful when swimming. The sea is dangerous possessing a strong undertow and changing currents and people have drowned here.

Mazunte

Roughly half an hour’s drive east from Zipolite, Mazunte is like the livelier resort’s little sister. Smaller and less developed, many compare it to the Zipolite of yesteryear. Previously Mazunte relied on the turtle trade for the majority of its income but a 1990 government prohibition against killing sea turtles very nearly destroyed the town’s economy. A modest tourist industry has helped offset this somewhat but Mazunte is not a rich town and facilities are basic.

The nearest internet café for example is located in Pochutla or Zipolite. Attractions include the Mexican Turtle Center and Museum, which is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 10am-4pm and Sundays from 10am-2:30pm. It is also a good spot from which to visit the crocodile reserve in Playa Ventanilla, which is a 40 minute hike or 10 minute taxi-ride away. Snorkelling trips, hawked along Mazunte’s beach for around $100 pesos, have also been highly praised with tourists spotting turtles, sharks and even whales.

Mazunte represents one of the safer spot’s for swimmming along Oaxaca’s coast but still beware of changing currents. Accomodation in Mazunte follows a similar format to Zipolite’s. Basic cabanas sleeping one or two people.

Again hammock-hiring works out the cheapest, costing including breakfast. One of the most popular spots on the beach in terms of backpackers is Einstein’s, named after its colorful owner, Carlos Einstein. It’s not immediately clear why. Einstein’s the hostel is cramped and doesn’t provide particularly great ocean views. Einstein the owner is a self-styled brujo whose healing magic conveniently only works on women, whether they possess an ailment or not. A much better bet for your money is one of the family-run abodes east of Einsteins. These also serve up good, reasonable food.

Each night at sunset tourists and residents make the pilgrimage up Punta Cometa, the headland at the west end of the beach, to watch the stunning sunsets. Once night descends there is very little to do other than listen to the sea and talk by candlelight on the beach. Apart from occasional nocuturnal meetings of drummers and fi re jugglers on the sand the nightlife consists of one salsa bar, set back a few roads from the beach.

Puerto Escondido

Attracted by monster waves intrepid surfers have been making the trip to Puerto Escondido for decades, and the town hosts international surfi ng competitions during the latter half of the year. But wave-chasers are not the only folk to fall for the former fi shing village’s charms and these days Escondido is a fully-fl edged tourist resort in its own right.

The main beach, Bahia Principal, is of a good size and tends to attract families during peak season. Next to this, Zicatela, the surfer’s beach of choice, appeals to a younger crowd, refl ected in the cluster of lazy beach bars serving drinks whatever the time of day of night.

For those who prefer to beach-bum in more intimate surrounds head west of Bahia Principal to bays such as Angelito, Carrizalillo and Cocos. But be warned, in peak season even these oases can become congested. As befi ts a resort of its size Puerto Escondido offers visitors a wide range of accommodation to suit all pockets, from basic cabanas to decent hotels, but does not boast the same sort of luxury hotels as Huatulco.

Hotel Buena Vista on Zicatela can probably lay claim to the best coastal views in the vicinity but the trade-off is a set of steep steps that would give even the keenest aerobics instructor nightmares and can become downright lethal when combined with the right amount of mescal. Though rooms are plentiful, in peak season the popular spots fi ll up swiftly and if you haven’t booked you may fi nd yourself having to stay further from the beach than you would like. It is never diffi cult to fi nd a taxi in Escondido. Escondido lays claim to some excellent fi sh restaurants such as Maria’s on Bahia Principal and the family-run palapas on Angelito.

Cafecito on Zicatela serves enormous inexpensive portions and is a favourite people-watching spot during the day. But, it is at night that Escondido really comes into its own. Revellers tend to kick off the night in the bars on El Adoquin (also known as Perez Gasga) such as Wipe-Out and Barfl y that always seem to have some sort of drinks promotion on.

From midnight onwards literally hundreds of people make their way to El Punto (an open-air bar on Zicatela) that provides the trance soundtrack to beach parties allnight, every night. Here groups of drinkers and dancers cluster around each other and candles buried in the sand until the sun comes up. Puerto Escondido has suffered from a similar press concerning safety as Zipolite in recent years. Again the situation has improved of light and there is an increased police presence in Escondido.