Bus To Oaxaca Pacific Coast Beaches

Playa Cometa, Oaxaca Pacific Coast Beach near Mazunte

 Oaxaca Beaches: Huatulco, Zipolite, Mazunte, Puerto Escondido
Update March 2014

· Huatulco

Huatulco was created in 1987 as a resort area by the government from the nine bays and 33 beaches south of Puerto Escondido. The town of Crucicita is a tidy little place that offers an ADO bus terminal, a second class bus terminal, and lodging, clubs, restaurants and shopping around the small square. In the winter months, cruise ships visit and moor in  the harbor of Santa Cruz,  a short distance away in a bay.

See Huatulco for more details on lodging, golf, beaches, hiring a cab by the hour. 

The small Huatulco ruin site called Copalita opened recently and displays artifacts from the State of Oaxaca and from the small ruin site on the coast by the river.  A fee of 100 pesos is  charged for entry.  Other ruin sites such as Monte Alban, near Oaxaca City, and Teotihuacan, near Mexico city, are more representative of Mexico's ruins; they have splendid museums of local artifacts and they offer monumental buildings and pyramidal structures commonly found in Mexico’s ancient cities.  

Reach Huatulco from Oaxaca City via OCC Bus , (ADO) with stops in Pochutla and Puerto Escondido.  Sur Buses run regular service from Huatulco to Pochutla to Puerto Escondido.  Futura buses, a division of Estrella Blanca, and Alta Mar buses out of Acapulco serve first class passengers along the Route 200 bus route between Huatulco and |Puerto Escondido.   Futura runs two buses daily from Huatulco to Acapulco from Huatulco's 2nd class bus terminal   Alta Mar also serves to Acapulco from the 2nd class terminal.

OCC buses also leave Pochutla for the 12 hour, 440 Peso trip southeast to San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas.

· Puerto Angel Beaches:

Reach Puerto Angel via taxi or collective taxi from the town of Pochutla. The collective taxi is the best option.  It runs regularly (hourly) from a stop near the bus terminal,  Go right out of the bus terminal and walk about a block to the where the road forks.  Look for the colectivo taxi there.   They also pick up at the the crossroads of Route 200 and Pochutla's main street.  12 Peso to Puerto Angel, 15 to Zipolite.
OCC buses and Sur Buses stop in Pochutla as they run up and down the bus routes on coastal Route 200, the road between Huatulco and Puerto Escondido.   Estrella Blanca Bus Line runs this bus route also, with Futura Buses and Alta Mar Buses that run bus routes between Acapulco and Hualtulco,.  The Alta Mar buses stop in Puerto Escondido, and Pochutla.

• Taxis, Colectivos

The private taxi to the beach towns from the main street of Pochutla cost 100 pesos.  Reach Zipolite Beach, Colonia Roca Blanca for instance, half way between Puerto Angel and Mazunte for 100 Pesos. 

If you group with other travelers you can save; the taxis charge by the trip not by the number of people. 
The alternative form of transportation from Pochutla to the beach is the Camioneta.  These are the budget options.  The camioneta is a pickup truck with a covered bed. It costs ten pesos per person, a budget but uncomfortable ride; an experience, however.   They are allowed to pick up and drop off anywhere along their route.

• Puerto Angel

Puerto Angel is the first town you passs as you go northwest along the coast road from Pochutla.  Puerto Angel offers the Cordelia beach-side hotel at 350 peso per night and several other hotels nearby.  Snorkel, scuba, and sightseeing boat tours leave from Puerto Angel.  
Sightseeing tours leave from Playa Panteon, a calm water beach where you can swim and snorkel.  In front of the hotel, two tour agencies offer four-hour whale watch, dolphin watch, turtle watch boat tours with visits to four secluded bays along the coast.  
There are restaurants at the beaches.           See also area dining Dining Zipolite   

Zipolite Beach, dawn looking east from the tentsites. 

· Zipolite Beach

Zipolite Beach is a nude optional beach a few miles west of Puerto Angel noted for its sunrises and sunsets. Nudism is not legal in Mexico but is allowed on Zipolite Beach.  Budget lodging, beachside posadas, beach camping, surfing, laundromat, and good restaurants such as Piedra del Fuego and a Nice Place on the Beach make Zipolite a good visit.
 See Zipolite Lodging 

Next page, Oaxaca Beaches Continued,  Mazunte Beach Camping and the Turtle Rescue Project

Ruins Tour by Bus, Oaxaca to the Yucatan

Ruins Tour by First Class Bus, 

Dawn, Zipolite Beach, Oaxaca 

Oaxaca to the Yucatan   
and Beyond      

     The ruins tour from Oaxaca’s Monte Alban to the Yucatan Peninsular ruins of Chichen Itza and Tulum makes a popular bus route for travelers.  Bus route details for a ruins trip from Oaxaca City to Tikal Ruin in Guatemala follow in the next several pages.  

ADO Bus runs service south from its first class terminal in Oaxaca City.  Many travelers head first to the beach towns of  Zipolite, Mazunte, Puerto Angel, and Huatulco.  These beach towns can be reached by OCC bus from Oaxaca to Huatulco for 288 pesos.

The night bus is a good option because you arrive at dawn, 6 am, with all day to explore.  Buses run north along the coast from Huatulco to Pochutla and Puerto Escondido.  
 The Bus line OCC runs buses that are a comfortable option along the coast while the local bus at 20 pesos is a slow ride but budget friendly.  The popular option is the Sur Bus that makes frequent trips between Pochutla and Puerto Escondido. (28-35Pesos) 
Sur Bus is run by ADO and reaches the ADO terminal in Puerto Escondido, a short walk downhill to the beach at Playa Principal or a 25 Peso cab ride to Zicatela Beach.

 Pochutla also offers van service between the Pacific coast and Oaxaca City at 120 pesos.  The vans run over the steep mountains to the southwest of Oaxaca City.   With a dramamine tablet taken about a half hour before leaving, these vans make a comfortable, budget option with a trip of six hours.  The pills are available at the farmacias.  Just one tablet seems to suffice for six hours.  
Vans also serve from Oaxaca City to Huatulco and Puerto Escondido.   

The van service in Pochutla, located a few doors north of the bus terminal, runs brand new vans that make frequent trips back and forth between Pochutla and Oaxaca City.  The best seat is the front if you are prone to motion sickness.  Book early to reserve a seat.  

Vans run also from the OCC first class|second class bus terminal.  The vans arrive in Oaxaca City at terminals a few blocks south of the Zocalo in the historic center of the city. 

Once you reach Pochutla you can bus to Puerto Escondido or take a taxi or collective taxi to the beaches of Zipolite, Puerto Angel, Mazunte, and San Augustinillo.  Collective taxis run every hour or so from the area in front of the church, about three blocks north and one block east of the bus terminal, 15 pesos to Zipolite.  Camionetas, a pickup truck with a covered back bed and bench seats, also run to the beaches for 10 Pesos.

Chichen Itza by first class bus

See more: Taxis, Colectivos, Camionetas in Pochutla,  Reaching Puerto Angel