The Puerto Escondido Bucket List: 50 Things to Do Before You Leave

The Puerto Escondido Bucket List: 50 Things to Do Before You Leave

Two days is not enough for a real Puerto Escondido bucket list. This stretch of Oaxaca coast packs world-class surf, bioluminescent lagoons, mezcal palenques, cloud-forest day trips, and some of the best seafood in Mexico into one small town — and most visitors leave having barely scratched the surface. We built this list from what we actually book, guide, and eat every week, organized into five categories so you can plan by mood: ocean, food, wildlife, adrenaline, and culture. Pick your ten, or chase all fifty.

Ocean & Surf: 10 Things Every Visitor Should Try

The Pacific is why most people book a ticket here in the first place, and it delivers in more ways than one heavy beach break.

• Take a surf lesson at La Punta — the gentler, sandier stretch where beginners actually stand up on day one.
• Watch (or paddle out at) Zicatela, the legendary beach break known as the "Mexican Pipeline."
• Swim through a glowing lagoon on a bioluminescence tour at Manialtepec — the water lights up blue with every stroke.
• Go whale watching between December and March, when humpbacks pass close to shore.
• Snorkel the rock pools of Puerto Angelito — calm water, sea turtles, and reef fish minutes from the malecón.
• Scuba dive the rocky reefs off Puerto Angelito and Carrizalillo for a shot at rays and moray eels.
• Book a sunset boat tour and watch the whole coastline turn gold.
• Charter a fishing trip for dorado, sailfish, or tuna, then have the catch grilled at your hotel.
• Release baby turtles into the surf on a sea turtle release — a five-minute activity that stays with you for years.
• Kayak the mangroves of Manialtepec Lagoon at dawn, when herons and kingfishers are working the water.

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Food & Drink: 10 Things to Eat, Drink, and Learn

Oaxaca is Mexico's food capital by consensus, and Puerto Escondido sits close enough to the mezcal-producing highlands that you get both the coast's seafood and the interior's cooking traditions.

• Eat tacos al pastor from a street stall after 9pm, when the good ones set up near the centro.
• Do a proper mezcal tasting and learn to tell an espadín from a tobalá.
• Take the full mezcal distillery day trip to Santiago Matatlán — worth the three hours inland to see a wood-fired palenque in action.
• Pair mole and chocolate in one tasting — Oaxaca's two signature exports, side by side.
• Take a traditional Oaxacan cooking class and go home knowing how to make a real mole from scratch.
• Browse the mezcalerías for a bottle you can't buy at home.
• Order ceviche at a beachfront fish shack — ask for whatever came in that morning.
• Try tejate, the pre-Hispanic corn-and-cacao drink still made in Oaxacan markets.
• Drink coffee grown in the Oaxaca highlands at a local cafecito rather than an imported chain.
• Ask your waiter what's actually local — Puerto Escondido's best meals are rarely the ones with English menus.

Wildlife & Day Trips: 10 Things Beyond the Beach

The coast is the draw, but the lagoons, mountains, and neighboring bays inland and along the shoreline hold most of the region's wildlife.

• Go crocodile watching on Manialtepec Lagoon — American crocodiles bask on the banks at dusk.
• Bird watch at dawn — over 280 species pass through the wetlands here.
• Time your trip for turtle nesting season (roughly May–December) to see wild olive ridleys come ashore.
• Spend a night at Chacahua Lagoon, a national park reachable only by boat.
• Do the Mazunte, Zipolite & Punta Cometa day trip for turtle sanctuaries, a nude beach, and the best sunset viewpoint on the coast.
• Hike to natural hot springs in the hills behind town.
• Reach the same springs on horseback via hot springs horseback riding if hiking isn't your thing.
• Climb into the clouds on a San José del Pacífico day trip — a mountain village 2,500 meters up, often literally above the clouds.
• Extend to the seven bays of Huatulco for a full day of bay-hopping by boat.
• Take a city tour to get your bearings before renting anything or booking further out.

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Adrenaline & Adventure: 10 Things for the Restless

• Skydive over the coastline for the best possible first look at the bays.
• Try paramotoring — quieter, slower, and arguably more scenic than skydiving.
• Rent an ATV and get into the hills and back roads on your own schedule.
• Rent a motorbike for coastal exploring between Puerto Escondido and neighboring beach towns.
• Rent a surfboard once you've had a lesson and want to surf on your own terms.
• Train a session of Muay Thai at one of the beachside gyms.
• Play a round of paintball in the jungle just outside town.
• Ride the beach at sunset on a sunset horseback tour.
• Sweat it out in a temazcal ceremony — a pre-Hispanic steam ritual, usually followed by a cold swim.
• Unwind with acroyoga or beach yoga — half the town's mornings start this way.

Culture & Chill: 10 Things That Aren't in the Guidebooks

• Watch the sunset from the point at La Punta — free, daily, and genuinely one of the best in Mexico.
• Browse the surf shops along La Punta for boards, wax, and local brands.
• Shop the local clothing stalls at Puerto Escondido's market strip for handmade textiles.
• Play a round of golf at the course outside town if you need a break from the sand.
• Book a holistic massage after a heavy surf week.
• Talk to an expat about long-term living — read our guide to Puerto Escondido for retirees if you're considering more than a vacation.
• Stay in a glamping tent at least one night for the ocean-sound-to-sleep experience.
• Get a private transfer instead of a rental car for your first arrival — private transfers remove the guesswork from unlit coastal roads.
• Check the full activities guide before you land — this list covers the fifty best, but the town has more.
• Leave one full day unplanned. The best hour of most trips here is the one nobody booked.

Quick Reference: Matching Activities to Your Trip

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many days do I need to cover this Puerto Escondido bucket list?

Ten days covers the essentials comfortably — surf, one or two day trips, and enough downtime to actually enjoy it. A week gets you the highlights; anything under five days means picking a category and skipping the rest.

Is Puerto Escondido safe for tourists?

Yes, for the tourist zones of La Punta, Zicatela, and Rinconada — the areas covered in this guide. Use the same common sense you would in any beach town: stick to lit streets at night, use official transport, and ask your hotel about anywhere unfamiliar.

Do I need a car to do everything on this list?

No. Most beach and town activities are walkable or a short taxi ride. Day trips like San José del Pacífico or the mezcal distilleries are easier and safer booked as guided tours than self-driven, given the mountain roads involved.

What's the best time of year to visit?

November through April brings the driest weather and calmer seas for beginners; whale season overlaps from December to March. Rainy season (June–October) still has good surf and lower prices, with brief afternoon downpours rather than all-day rain.

Is Puerto Escondido good for non-surfers?

Absolutely — over half this list has nothing to do with surfing. Food tours, lagoon wildlife, mountain day trips, and mezcal tastings fill a full week without a surfboard in sight.

Fifty is a starting point, not a ceiling — locals add to this list every season, and half its best entries came from a driver or a shop owner mentioning something off-hand. For more on the region's geography, history, and coastal ecology beyond this list, Lonely Planet's Puerto Escondido guide is a solid outside reference.

Ready to check off the first item? Browse our full adventures & tours page and start building your itinerary — we book most of what's on this list directly, with local guides who know these breaks, lagoons, and back roads better than any list ever could.