T and I just got back from a long weekend in Mazunte, Oaxaca. I imagine you’re going “where?!”
Mazunte is a small beach town on the Pacific coast in the Mexican state of Oaxaca with a population of about 700 poeple. We happened to be the there the first week of June, which is the off season (well like the off-off season) and the population had swelled to maybe 750.
When we signed into our hotels log-book, the previous ledger was from May 11th. Which was three weeks prior, if that gives you a better idea. I’ve been told this is a popular place for Mexican families to vacation, so I’m owing the quiet to the fact that it’s the end of the school year and most families in Mexico and the US are waiting until school is out for a vacation. It’s also summer, so people who already live in warm locations aren’t fleeing to a hot Mexico beach like they do in the winter.
At points we were the sole patrons of restaurants and there was a moment or two where I felt like I had to whisper walking through town at night, but there were also bouts of liveliness.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. Here’s a little breakdown of our trip:
Accommodations:
We stayed at an adorable spot called Celeste Del Mar. The service was very attentive (we were the only ones there haha, but I could tell it would have been equally attentive with other guests.)
When researching and looking at online for information, I thought Mazunte and nearby San Augustillo were much busier. I had chosen Celeste because it was a few minutes outside of town and we thought we’d enjoy the extra peace. I figured we’d just make the short trek into town if we wanted a little nightlife. I didn’t realize that there really is no nightlife. We could have easily stayed in Mazunte or San Augustillo and experienced similar tranquility.
With that said, Celeste Del Mar is steps away from a nearly private beach, Playa Mermejita. There were red-flag warnings for the duration of our stay, and the ocean at this beach wasn’t swimable, but there were plenty of others swim spots in town. The guest house put some chairs and umbrellas out for lounging. Since we couldn’t swim we happily walked in the sand with our toes in the water and soaked up the sun. This beach offers a stunning view of the sunset which can also be viewed from the nearby El Copal hotels restaurant or the popular Punta Cometa hike that ends with a view overlooking this beautiful beach.
Up and over a short, but steep, hill from Celeste Del Mar is the town of Mazunte and it’s two beaches: Playa Rinconcito and Playa Mazunte. Here you can find your typical beach restaurant/bars where you can get a bite and some drinks at a table in the sand. We particularly enjoyed Playa Rinconcito where, for $150 pesos, you can rent an umbrella and chairs for the day. We did just that and spent all day Sunday in and out of the water, grabbing a water or beer from the beachside bar, and doing pretty much nothing. Occasional vendors came by, but they were infrequent and much more passive than those you may have experienced in busy beach towns.
The town of Mazunte has various shops with selling cute bags, swimsuits, coverups and the like, various tiendas offering produce, sodas, candy, and some toiletries, ice cream shops, a couple cafes and a few (really delicious) restaurants. It’s very small, really consisting of two main streets. I think “low-key” is the perfect word to describe it.
Travel:
To get to Mazunte we flew directly from Mexico City to Huatulco. If you are flying from the US, there are a handful of direct flights to Puerto Escondido or various options with a stop in CDMX or Guadalajara.
Once we landed in Hultulco, we took a cab from outside the airport directly to the front door of our place (down the dirt road and all!) for $500 pesos. If you take a cab from inside the airport it’s more like $900 pesos. There are also buses that run regularly and for very cheap, as well as collectivos, but we decided to splurge. The direct cab ride took about an hour.
T and I had considered renting motor bikes in Huatulco and riding them to Mazunte but after looking into it more, it didn’t seem like there were lots of options. After taking the trip, I understand why. The road is fun and windy, but cars and big trucks FLY down it, going 80km/hr around tight turns with no room for error. I’m sure it would be a blast for an experienced motorcycle rider, but for someone like me, that can only drive a semi-automatic, it would be dangerous.
After arriving in Mazunte we rented a quad from an ice cream shop right across from the turtle center. It was the only quad they appeared to have in addition to a handful of motorbikes, both automatic and semi-automatic. The quad ended up being the way to go for us because there was a monster storm the first night we were there and the dirt road down to Celeste del Mar turned into a literal river bed!
There are covered trucks you can hop on the back of for a few pesos if you don’t want to rent something, but I’m glad we did (even though it ended up being a comedy of errors) because it was great to explore at our own speed. Tillman will be the first to tell you how much I hated this thing though, haha, it was so loud! Did I mention how QUIET it was there? This thing ran out of gas the second we drove away from the shop, broke down on us once on a hill right between Zipolite and San Augustillo, and then finally stopped on the day we were returning it, literally 100 feet from the shop.
Food:
One thing that we encountered both in Oaxaca city on a previous trip and in Mazunte, is an Italian ex-pat community that has brought delicious, homemade Italian food. We had one of the best Italian meals ever in Oaxaca city (we still talk about it.) Still, it was quite the surprise to see that Mazunte has a restaurant cranking out incredible woodfire pizzas, called La Pizzeria, and another dishing up the most delicious fresh pasta, called Allesandra. We quickly noticed good pizza was a staple in Mazunte as well as nearby San Augustillo and Zipolite. Plus, chilled red table wine poured freely at various places we went, not the norm for your average beach town. We ate breakfast at Celeste Del Mar in the mornings with fresh fruit, toast, and fried eggs (perfection) then grabbed ice cream and dinner to round out the day. Here are the places we ate:
El Copal – For dinner or just drinks. We had a communication mishap here that resulted in us ordering way too much food (seriously, three entrees hah!) so we tried a few things. Everything was good and the view is lovely. Also great for just a cocktail at sunset.
Alessandra – I don’t even know what to say. The pasta here is REALLY good. As good or better than any pasta I have eaten. Anywhere. Not to mention a barefoot chef and his lovely wife running the place. Honestly, just superb.
La Pizzeria – Magical Italian pizza. A woodfired oven cranks out the most delicious pizza. I mean the crust, ugh, perfection. SO. GOOD.
La Termita – This is a beach-front pizza spot in San Augustillo. Not quite on the same level as La Pizzeria, but still great pizza and drinks. Super friendly service. Definitely worth a visit.
Sahuaro – This place had some serious hippy vibes going on. We grabbed a beer and baja-style fish tacos that hit the spot after a few hours playing in the ocean. Overall I’d say good-but-not-great.
Cocosun – Coconut based vegan ice cream. Super good! Tillman had coffee flavor and I had coconut and both were creamy and delicious. It’s served in a little edible cookie-bowl that has a gingerbread taste. Vegan or not, anyone can appreciate this place.
Los Duendes – Yum! Another spot for creamy and delicious ice cream, I think we both agreed that it wins (barely) over Cocosun. You should prob visit both a couple times to find out for yourself 🙂
All in all, things were a little quiet for me, but Mazunte is undeniably charming. I read three books, got a bit of a tan, swam in the ocean and ate some great food. I always enjoy a beach vacation and have fun with T anywhere we go. I’m going to call this trip a success!
