Best Area to Stay in Puerto Escondido: Complete Guide (2023)

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Where is the best area to stay in Puerto Escondido? After spending nearly two months living and working here as a digital nomad, I’ve sussed out the best areas in Puerto Escondido for you to stay in. Get ready for a complete Puerto Escondido area guide!

Puerto Escondido has many different parts, but most travellers and backpackers stay in one of five main areas. Each area in Puerto Escondido is unique and suited to a different type of backpacker.

The five main areas to stay in Puerto Escondido are:

• La Punta
• Centro
• Rinconada
• Bacocho
• Zicatela

Your Puerto Escondido area preference will depend on what you want to do on your trip and what kind of person you are. For example, I loved staying in Centro and La Punta, but wouldn’t dream of staying in Zicatela!

In the following post, the best areas in Puerto Escondido are explained. However, if you’re staying in Puerto Escondido long-term as a digital nomad, I recommend staying in a few different areas before making your decision.

Looking for somewhere to stay in Puerto Escondido? I recommend this hostel for solo backpackers, this hostel for digital nomads or this hostel for couples!

Where to stay in Puerto Escondido: A Summary

As previously mentioned, there are five different areas that most backpackers and tourists stay in when they visit Puerto Escondido.

• La Punta: a laidback, chilled atmosphere, with a welcoming vibe. Expect live music, large TV screens for sports, buskers on the beach and big volleyball games at sunset. Perfect for solo backpackers, young couples and if you want to learn how to surf! La Punta was my favourite area to stay in Puerto Escondido.

• Centro: the main ‘town centre’ in Puerto Escondido. Full of locals, street food, local shops, a big supermarket and lots going on. Close to the best beaches in Puerto Escondido. One of the cheapest areas to stay.

• Rinconada: a mix of locals and tourists, with a long restaurant strip with a variety of foods (perfect for fussy eaters). Directly next to all of Puerto Escondido’s best beaches.

• Bacocho: the quietest area out of the five, and perfect for digital nomads and long-term backpackers who want cheaper accommodation. Close to Rinconada, but you will need a scooter to live here.

• Zicatela: If you want to party, stay in Zicatela. Full of nightclubs, beach clubs, bars, restaurants, cafes and multiple happy hours and cheap drinks. The party in Zicatela runs late into the night, and days here are quiet with empty roads (where everyone is fixing their hangover!)

1. La Punta

As previously mentioned, La Punta was my favourite place to stay in Puerto Escondido. It is full of life, yet has a chilled and laidback atmosphere.

It’s perfect for those who want to spend the day surfing, walking around with no shoes on, and relaxing watching the sunset with a few beers in the evening.

La Punta is centred around one main street, where the majority of bars and restaurants are. You can get all kinds of foods here, from smoothie bowls to Korean BBQs, fresh cocos frios and even pad Thai.

I could write about La Punta for hours and not fully express how special this place is. From the welcoming and kind locals to the sandy beach with giant waves, and the memorable nightly gathering on La Punta beach for the sunset – it’s one of those ‘neverland’ places that you never want to leave.

However, if you stay in La Punta, you can be sucked into the ‘La Punta bubble’. We purposely stayed in Centro and Rinconada beforehand to avoid this, as I can assure you, it does happen! La Punta is its own little world, and it’s easy to stay here and not explore anywhere else!

If you do stay in La Punta, make sure you grab a colectivo or taxi to Rinconada and Bacocho for some of Puerto Escondido’s best swimming beaches. These towns also give an insight into a more ‘authentic’ Mexican culture.

Check out everything you need to know about La Punta here.

La Punta recommendations

• Best place for dinner: Smoke Shack Korean BBQ or Alaburger
• Tacos you can’t miss: tacos el pastor at La Chula Taquiera
• Find cheap food at: Amoki for giant burritos or Casa de los Abuelos
• Closest beach: La Punta
• Best co-working spot: Sabina (the best wifi in La Punta!)
• Find live music at: Juan Mezcale, Mombasa or Frida
• Best Spanish school: Experiencia
• Don’t forget to try: surfing, this is the best place in Puerto Escondido for beginner surfers!
• Insider tip: Buy a parasol from this shop to take with you on the beach. Hardly any shops in Puerto Escondido sell parasols (we were looking for over 4 weeks!), yet none of the beaches have any shade! Be prepared!

Visiting La Punta? Check out a more detailed post here on where to eat, sleep, drink and even learn Spanish in La Punta soon!

Where to stay in La Punta

There are so many amazing hostels to choose from in La Punta, as well as hotels and a few apartments.

If you want to take Spanish lessons and need accommodation, I can’t recommend Experiencia enough. We lived and worked there for two weeks in December and it was one of the best experiences we’ve had, and our Spanish dramatically improved!

If you’re looking for a hostel in La Punta, I recommend:

• Bonita Escondida: for the party-type backpacker
• Casa Punta: for solo backpackers, couples and social travellers
• Real Juquilita La Punta: for couples and chilled vibes

2. Centro

Centro is the main ‘town centre’ in Puerto Escondido. It’s one of the cheapest areas to stay in for budget backpackers.

In Centro, there’s a large Chedraui supermarket, lots of market stands and shops (including a department store), lots of street food options, cheap bars and budget breakfast spots.

Centro is also where most of the local events happen. For example in Puerto Escondido in November, there are fireworks, live shows, concerts and funfair rides in the main square of Centro for Fieste de Novembre.

Plus, it’s a cheap place to party and drink! Head down to Av. Alfonoso Perez Gasga for a strip full of market stands, happy hours and cheap food after dusk. Apart from Rinconada, this was one of our favourite places to eat whilst we were staying in Centro.

Centro is perfect if you want to immerse yourself in the local culture and Mexican way of life, as well as having more budget-friendly accommodation prices.

NOTE: Centro is around a 10-minute drive from La Punta (roughly 7km). To travel between the two, you will need either a scooter, colectivo or taxi.

Centro recommendations

• Best place for dinner: Amalfi Italian Restaurant
• Smoothie bowls you can’t miss: Pitaya Bowl
• Find cheap food at: Las Chinas Oaxaca
• Closest beach: Playa Principal or Playa Manzanillo
• Best co-working spot: Losodeli Cafe and Coworking (strong wifi and incredible Nutella pancakes)
• Insider tip: Playa Principal isn’t the best beach in Puerto Escondido for tourists. It’s more of a local’s beach, and every time we visited we felt a bit out of place! It can also become overcrowded. Head to Playa Carrizalillo, Coral or Manzanillo instead.

Where to stay in Centro

Anywhere you stay in Centro will be within a 15 minute walk to popular beaches like Playa Principal, Playa Carrizalillo, Playa Manzanillo and Angelito. For Playa Coral and Playa Bacocho, it would be more of a 50 minutes – 1 hour walk (or even longer in the heat).

Best hostels in Centro include:

• Tower Hill Hostel: for backpackers who want to socialise and party.
• Casa Losodeli Cafe and Co-working: for digital nomads, couples and those who want a calmer atmosphere.

3. Rinconada

Rinconada is another special area in Puerto Escondido. It’s a little quieter than Centro, but is still a mix of locals and tourists.

The best thing about Rinconada is the restaurant strip. Whilst we were staying in Centro, we spent most evenings here! There are many restaurants in Rinconada with a variety of food; from bakeries and coffee shops to Middle Eastern taverns and traditional homemade Mexican food.

Prices in Rinconada are also cheap, and a meal out for two (with alcohol) will usually cost under £12 ($14).

If you’re staying in Rinconada, you will have Centro on your right (within 10-minutes walking distance), as well as all of the main beaches in Puerto Escondido within a 10-minute walk of each other.

Playa Carrizalillo is in the middle of the Rinconada restaurant strip (read more about accessing this beach here).

Rinconada recommendations

• Best place for dinner: El Sultan or El Cafecito
• Tacos you can’t miss: Pinches Tacos
• Find cheap food at: El Cafecito
• Closest beach: Playa Carrizalillo
• Best co-working spot: Losodeli Cafe and Coworking
• Don’t forget to: go snorkelling on Playa Carrizalillo beach, or check out the sunset views.
• Insider tip: Don’t buy beers on Playa Carrizalillo. They are almost 3x the price of beers from a local shop! Right before the left turning for Playa Carrizalillo, there is a small newsagents. Buy beer here for under 80p ($1) and take it with you down to the beach.

Where to stay in Rinconada

Rinconada isn’t far from Centro or Bacocho. If you stay in any of these three places, most of the surrounding areas are walkable.

Best hostels in Rinconada include:

• Tower Hill Hostel: for backpackers who want to socialise and party
• Casa Losodeli Cafe and Co-working: for digital nomads, couples and those who want a calmer atmosphere.

4. Bacocho

Bacocho is the perfect place to stay if you want cheaper accommodation prices and a quieter life. It’s a bit further out from the main areas like Centro and La Punta, but it’s popular with digital nomads and long-term backpackers.

There aren’t many restaurants or bars in Bacocho, so the best place to eat and drink is back in Rinconada. There are a few hotels and beach clubs nearby, but they’re more expensive!

The best thing about staying in Bacocho is the closeness of Playa Bacocho and Playa Coral. These were two of our favourite beaches, as they’re untouched, remote and peaceful. Playa Coral is also incredible for snorkelling and swimming, as the water is calm and clear.

Note that if you are staying in Bacocho, you will need a scooter to get around. You can travel by taxi or colectivo, but this would involve a lot of money and waiting times!

Bacocho isn’t centrally located so unless you’re planning on spending all of your time on the beach, you’ll want to hire a scooter to experience other areas.

Bacocho recommendations

• Best place for dinner: Rinconada
• Tacos you can’t miss: Rinconada
• Find cheap food at: Rinconada
• Closest beach: Playa Bacocho and Playa Coral
• Best co-working spot: Losodeli Cafe and Coworking
• Don’t forget to do: the turtle release which happens at 5pm daily!
• Insider tip: Restaurants along Playa Bacocho are expensive, as they are big beach clubs and hotels. If you’re a budget backpacker like myself, head back to Rinconada for food and drink. Or if you can travel a bit further, head to Centro for even cheaper food.

Where to stay in Bacocho

• La Coral Beach House: for couples who have a bigger budget to stay in Puerto Escondido.
• Tower Hill Hostel: for backpackers who want to socialise and party
• Casa Losodeli Cafe and Co-working: for digital nomads, couples and those who want a calmer atmosphere.

5. Zicatela

Zicatela is the best area in Puerto Escondido for partying. It’s the ‘late-late’ area, with most clubs staying open until the early hours. It’s not for those who want a peaceful night in!

I’d recommend staying in Zicatela if you are visiting Puerto Escondido short term. If you want to go all out there, have a wild and crazy time, stay in Zicatela.

The water at Zicatela isn’t safe to swim in, as the waves are just too big. This means if you want a beach day, you’re only going to be spending time on the sand rather than snorkelling or swimming. Even if you’re an avid surfer, unless you’re advanced, it isn’t safe to surf at Zicatela beach.

Zicatela is full of cheap happy hours, beach bars, pool tables, themed nights, karaoke bars, restaurants and everything that’s wild in between. It’s a fun holiday destination, and is great if you’re visiting with a group of friends.

Most backpackers stay in La Punta, and if they want a wild night, get a taxi down to Zicatela around 11pm. La Punta is known as the place to ‘pre-drink’, with its live music and chilled vibe.

There are often big events in Zicatela with well-known DJs and artists, as well as all day beach and pool parties. If you’re spending New Year in Puerto Escondido, Zicatela is the place to be.

Zicatela recommendations

• Best place for dinner: Restaurant Bar Esmerelda
• Breakfast you can’t miss: Spirulina
• Find cheap food at: El Cafecito
• Closest beach: Zicatela
• Best co-working spot: Selina or Amarisa
• Don’t forget to try: partying until the early hours in Xcaanda.
• Insider tip: There is no shade, whatsoever, on Playa Zicatela. Make sure you either take a parasol, a hat or some kind of cover if you’re spending the day there!

Where to stay in Zicatela

• Selina Hostel and Co-work: for digital nomads and backpackers with a bigger budget.
• One Love Hostel: for backpackers who want a friendly yet calmer stay in Zicatela.

Overall best area to stay in Puerto Escondido

If you’re visiting Puerto Escondido for the first time, and are planning on staying for less than two weeks, I recommend staying in La Punta. It really is one of the best areas in Puerto Escondido; and it has everything a backpacker may need.

From bars, restaurants, friendly locals, a fun atmosphere, incredible sunset views and many ways to make friends and meet people, La Punta is one of the best areas to stay in Puerto Escondido.

However, if you’re staying in Puerto Escondido long-term, I recommend Rinconada. It’s a bit quieter and gives you the option to experience the other beaches easily, as well as the opportunity to immerse yourself into the Mexican way of life a bit more.

In saying this, any area you decide to stay in Puerto Escondido is fine. All have their pros and cons, and all are accessible via a short drive. But if you’re worried, stick to La Punta.

Getting around Puerto Escondido

Getting around Puerto Esconido is easy, and most commonly either by scooter, colectivo or taxi. It is possible to walk, but journeys like La Punta to Bacocho would take a couple of hours, and it’s HOT!

If you need to know the ins and outs of getting around Puerto Escondido, check out my post: Getting Around Puerto Escondido in 2022: A Complete Guide.

You might also like:

• How To Get To Puerto Escondido: EASIEST Ways in 2023
• Puerto Escondido in January: Weather, Tips + More (2023)
• Puerto Escondido in February: Weather, Tips + More (2023)
• Puerto Escondido in November: Weather, Tips + More (2023)

Is Puerto Escondido worth visiting?

Yes! Yes and yes again. Even if it means taking an 18-hour bus from Mexico City! If you’re backpacking Mexico, make sure Puerto Escondido is planned for your route. It’s truly one of the friendliest, liveliest and best places to be in Mexico, and it is perfect for solo backpackers and digital nomads.

We loved Puerto Escondido so much that we lived there for nearly two months! This blog is packed full of Puerto Escondido information, so be sure to check it out!

• How To Get From Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido (2022 Guide)
• Is Puerto Escondido Safe? Solo Female Travellers Advice (2022)
• Best Hostels in Puerto Escondido For Backpackers (2022 Guide)
• Best Beaches in Puerto Escondido: A Complete Guide (2022)

Is Puerto Escondido walkable?

No, Puerto Escondido is not a ‘walkable’ town. If you want to travel between the different areas, you will need to either hire a scooter, take a taxi or board the colectivo. Not sure how to get around Puerto Escondido? Click here to find out more!

Can you swim in the ocean in Puerto Escondido?

Yes, although not every beach is suitable for swimming in Puerto Escondido. Some of the waves are too big, and are only suitable for advanced surfers. The best beaches to swim in are Manzanillo, Carrizalillo, Angelito and Coral.

Sea water in Puerto Escondido is warm, 365 days a year.

How many days do you need in Puerto Escondido?

If you’re visiting Puerto Escondido for the first time, 4-5 days is enough time to do the main activities, explore the best beaches and experience the Puerto Escondido way of life.

However, this of course depends on what you’re coming to Puerto Escondido for! It’s definitely one of those places that you’ll instantly fall in love with and never want to leave.

We spent nearly 2 months living in Puerto Escondido, whilst taking Spanish classes and surf lessons and working as digital nomads. This was a great amount of time for us, but we definitely could have stayed longer!

La Punta in Puerto Escondido is one of the most amazing places I have ever been to – I couldn’t recommend it enough! If you have the luxury of time, stay for at least 2 weeks to familiarise yourself with the people, culture and atmosphere!

Other Puerto Escondido guides

If you haven’t already guessed, I absolutely loved Puerto Escondido. In fact, it was our favourite place we visited in Mexico in 2022.

We loved it so much that we called it home for almost two months! During this time, I researched and wrote the following posts to help you with your upcoming trip!

• La Punta Puerto Escondido: ULTIMATE Guide! (2022)
• Best Beaches in Puerto Escondido: A Complete Guide (2022)
• Is Puerto Escondido Safe? Solo Female Travellers Advice (2022)
• Best Hostels in Puerto Escondido For Backpackers (2022 Guide)
• How To Get From Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido (2022 Guide)

Click here for more Puerto Escondido posts.

Best travel insurance for backpackers in Mexico

If you’re visiting Mexico as a backpacker, or even for a short vacation, it is so important to have travel insurance. And if you ended up on a post that’s called ‘epic party tips’, you know (just as well as I do) that you definitely need travel insurance.

Personally, I recommend SafetyWing. As a digital nomad and world traveller myself, I can confirm it is the best travel insurance out there. And one of the cheapest – they have deals that start at just $42 USD per month.

I know, I know, you’re thinking ‘but I can’t afford that!’. I was the same! It’s tough to fork out $42 a month on something ‘you might not need’. But what if something DOES happen? That extra Mezcal shot results in you falling down the stairs, or you eat something dodgy from a street food van.

If you need medical help at any point whilst in Mexico, you need travel insurance.

With SafetyWing, you’re covered on travel emergencies, basic medical costs and medical expenses throughout your trip, so you can travel without worry (at a backpacker’s price!)

Don’t even think twice about getting travel insurance for Mexico. Trust me, I have heard enough horror stories about backpackers who haven’t had insurance and have ended up in a lot of debt. Don’t be that person!

If you’ve been putting the job off because it takes a lot of time and effort to research the best travel insurance companies, I understand. That’s why I’ve done the hard work for you. Sign up for SafetyWing, and the job is done!

Best Area to Stay in Puerto Escondido: In a Nutshell

So, there you have it! Everything you need to know about the best areas in Puerto Escondido. These areas are especially great if you’re a digital nomad, backpacker or tourist in Puerto Escondido.

When you’re planning a trip to Puerto Escondido, make sure you let me know over on Instagram or in the comments below!

If you haven’t come across my blog before, I write posts aimed at first-time backpackers on a budget. I’m currently backpacking Mexico with my boyfriend (read more here!), whilst creating guides and itineraries for you to follow in our footsteps!

Keep an eye out for more Mexico content, all written from a personal and realistic point of view. You can sign up for my newsletter and juicy travel updates here!

As always, thanks for reading and supporting the blog!

Happy travelling 🙂

Jennie x

• How To Get From Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido (2022 Guide)
• Turtle Release Puerto Escondido, Playa Bacocho (2022)
• Playa Coral, Puerto Escondido: A Complete Guide (2022)
• Puerto Escondido in November: Weather, Tips + More (2022)
• BEST Hostels in Oaxaca for Backpackers! (2022 Guide)

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