# Puerto Escondido surf guide

Zicatela's 'Mexican Pipeline' is one of the heaviest beach-break barrels on Earth; La Punta's left and Carrizalillo are far friendlier.

- **Location:** Oaxaca, Mexico (15.8620, -97.0720)
- **Best season:** Mar – Oct (March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October)
- **Water:** 27–30°C (boardshorts)
- **Waves:** Beach break, Point break
- **Suits:** Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced surfers
- **Interactive map, stays and what's on:** https://swellcabin.com/town/puerto-escondido
- **Feed (new YouTube surf videos and Instagram posts from Puerto Escondido):** https://swellcabin.com/town/puerto-escondido?feed

## Surf clips

- [SURFING PUERTO ESCONDIDO ZICATELA: BEST BARRELS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrlQmX8LBeg) (DB Films on YouTube): La Punta - Playa Zicatela
- [Puerto Escondido Looks Like Pipeline - The Mexican Pipeline 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPpU2qBfGM8) (SoCal Surfer on YouTube): La Punta - Playa Zicatela
- [Surfing Puerto Escondido - Playa Zicatela](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PwtDKxDQHM) (hubbatubey on YouTube): La Punta - Playa Zicatela

## Surf spots

- **Puerto Escondido**: Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at all tides. Experts only. (15.8432, -97.0531)
- **La Punta - Playa Zicatela**: Point break, left-hander, advanced surfers, faces WNW (offshore wind from the ESE), best at all tides (15.8299, -97.0486)
- **Colotepec**: Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces SSW (offshore wind from the NNE), best at all tides (15.8040, -97.0144)

## What's on

Puerto Escondido has a real party scene: Zicatela's strip has bars and clubs open late (with house-music nights at beach clubs), while La Punta is more laid-back, with dinner and pre-drinks. Salsa nights run midweek.

- **Wednesday:** Congo Wednesday: live band salsa night at Congo Bar, Av. Pérez Gasga (21:00)
- **Thursday:** Jueves de Salsa: class, then social at Mándala Zicatela (20:00)

_Updated 2026-11-07._

## Where to stay

497 places to stay within 10 km. Surf camps: Arena Surf Hotel, La Barca Surf House, Hotel Arena Surf, Bonobo Surf House, Cabo Blanco Surf Hostel Bar, Surf Hostel Zicatela, Alebrijes Casa Surf, Straw Hat Surf Hostel. Hostels: Nopalero Suites Hostel, Losodeli, Paziflora Hostel, Puerto Convive, Shalom, El Coyote Hostal and Surf.

## FAQ

### When is the best time to surf in Puerto Escondido?

The best surf season in Puerto Escondido is Mar – Oct (March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October). The sea ranges from 27°C to 30°C over the year.

### Which months have the most good surf days in Puerto Escondido?

Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Puerto Escondido's best spot were good or better most often in June (98% of days, 87% great), July (100% of days, 84% great) and August (99% of days, 80% great), and least often in January (63%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast.

### Do I need a wetsuit in Puerto Escondido?

Water temperature in Puerto Escondido is 27–30°C: boardshorts.

### Is Puerto Escondido good for beginner surfers?

Yes. Puerto Escondido suits beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers.

### What are the surf spots in Puerto Escondido?

Puerto Escondido has 3 surf spots on Swell Cabin: Puerto Escondido (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at all tides); La Punta - Playa Zicatela (Point break, left-hander, advanced surfers, faces WNW (offshore wind from the ESE), best at all tides); Colotepec (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces SSW (offshore wind from the NNE), best at all tides).

### Where should surfers stay in Puerto Escondido?

Swell Cabin lists 497 places to stay within 10 km of Puerto Escondido, including 11 surf camps such as Arena Surf Hotel, La Barca Surf House, Hotel Arena Surf and Bonobo Surf House, 58 hostels, 47 guesthouses and homestays, 54 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot.

### What is the nightlife like in Puerto Escondido?

Puerto Escondido has a real party scene: Zicatela's strip has bars and clubs open late (with house-music nights at beach clubs), while La Punta is more laid-back, with dinner and pre-drinks. Salsa nights run midweek. Regular nights: Wednesday: Congo Wednesday: live band salsa night at Congo Bar, Av. Pérez Gasga; Thursday: Jueves de Salsa: class, then social at Mándala Zicatela.

### What is the surf forecast for Puerto Escondido this week?

Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Puerto Escondido and each of its 3 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/puerto-escondido: each spot rated hour by hour (Flat, Poor, Fair, Good, Great or Epic) from the way its coast faces, the swell, its period, the wind and the tide, with the best time each day and why, the size in surfers' words (e.g. "chest to head high, clean"), tides, and how sure the forecast is (three wave models compared). It is checked live against the nearest buoy and airport wind reports where there are any, and refreshed every few hours (waves from Open-Meteo, wind from MET Norway).

### When is the best tide to surf in Puerto Escondido?

It depends on the spot: shallow reefs usually want mid to high tide, most beach breaks work best around mid tide. Swell Cabin's forecast for Puerto Escondido weighs each spot's tide hour by hour and shows the best window each day with the high and low tide times (approximate: there is no tide gauge near the town).

### Is the Puerto Escondido surf forecast checked against measurements?

Yes. The open water off Puerto Escondido is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 52 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-23, typically 48 km out, put the forecast wave height within 20% of the measurement 100% of the time. Of the three wave models compared, Météo-France has been the closest to the satellites here. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information (https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00179). Last checked 2026-11-05.

### How reliable is Swell Cabin's information about Puerto Escondido?

Trust in this page's data is medium (55/100): the town has not been verified against sources in the last 12 months; 0 of 3 spots fully verified, 3 with a researched tide; season and water temperature checked against measured data; no open audit warnings. How we check: https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-accuracy.md Last checked against sources on 2026-11-05. Every value comes from measured data (Open-Meteo, buoys), open databases (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata) or a published page we opened, never from visitor reports; a daily audit compares them and a weekly evaluation measures the error rate (https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-quality.md).

### Is there a live surf cam in Puerto Escondido?

Swell Cabin hasn't found a live surf cam it could check in Puerto Escondido yet (it only lists cams it has opened); the surf forecast on its page shows the waves this week.

### Where can I take surf lessons in Puerto Escondido?

Surf schools in and around Puerto Escondido include Pacific Surf Academy, Zicatela Pto Escondido, Oax, Vidasurf Ecotours, Surfenpuerto, Olasdefamilia and Oasis Surf & Language School.