After three days in Chacahua, we continued on to our next destination on the Oaxaca coastline, Mazunte, a small hippy town. We passed back through Puerto Escondido very briefly to collect our big rucksacks and continued on our way.
We stayed in Mazunte for five days. We chilled, beach hopped, went on a dolphin turtle boat tour, watched sunsets and ate some really great pizza and burgers (I know it’s not very Mexican, we all need a break from the tacos every now and then!).
Dolphin and turtle boat tour
Every day from Mazunte beach at 8am boat tours leave to see dolphins and turtles. In theory it’s also to see whales, but of course that can’t be guaranteed and you have to be there in the right season.
Whilst we didn’t see any whales, we did see lots of dolphins and turtles. We even made several attempts to swim with the dolphins which amused Rosie and I to no end.
It was like a military drill again (surf lesson throwback in Puerto Escondido!) – as soon as the boat stopped we had to jump in the water fast. Go go go go!! I was laughing so hard. Pretty much as soon as we got in the water the dolphins had moved on and it was quickly get back in the boat!
One girl took an age to get out the water. She was stood on the ladder asking the guide to clean her snorkel, unaware of the queue forming behind her treading water as we waited. It really was a laugh!
On one of the rapid fire jumps in I did see a dolphin and it was cool hearing them sonic talking to each other from below. Plus, we also saw a baby dolphin jumping which was super cute!
I’d say it was worth it, a funny boat experience paired with dolphin and turtle viewing.
Cost: 250 pesos each
Time: 2hrs, 8am-10am
Punta Cometa for sunset
So Mazunte beach doesn’t actually get the sunset. The place to go is Punta Cometa which is about a 20 minute walk from town.
It’s a great spot! I really loved it and got English south coast vibes from it!
Our first sunset there, we got lucky and saw a whale! Yay!! Even better as we didn’t see one on the boat tour earlier that day.
I’d take a beer too! Watching the sunset with a beer was wonderful!
Chill on beaches
Mazunte
Mazunte’s main beach is great to chill if you’re not looking to leave the town.
Zipolite
About a 20 minute colectivo truck from Mazunte is Zipolite, the nudist beach. Considering it’s a nudist beach, I was expecting more nudists – not the case! It’s a very long beach!
And the waves can be big – watch for the red flags telling you not to swim. When we were there, three people had to be helped by the lifeguard! As beaches in the area go, it was my least favourite and I’m glad we were staying in Mazunte over Zipolite.
That said, when we were leaving, we walked to the other end of the beach and found a smaller more secluded section which was more our cup of tea!
Getting there: Take a colectivo truck to Zipolite on the main street. They usually pass every 20 minutes or so and cost 10 pesos.
San Agustinillo
San Agustinillo is the closest beach to Mazunte. I really liked it because the waves were so much smaller and less powerful than at Mazunte beach where it felt like a constant battle with the waves.
Getting there: It’s around a 20 minute walk from Mazunte to San Agustinillo’s first stretch of beach. To walk into San Agustinillo town, you’re looking at a half an hour walk. You can also hop in a colectivo truck heading to Zipolite.
Puerto Angel
Puerto Angel is the furthest beach town from Mazunte. I really liked it and if it had been closer I probably would have gone back! The waters are so much calmer, more so than San Agustinillo, which I loved. I could fully relax in the sea (which isn’t that possible on this coast – big waves!)
Getting there: To get to Puerto Angel, you first need to take a colectivo truck to Zipolite (10 pesos) and then a shared colectivo taxi (10 pesos) on to Puerto Angel. The journey should take an hour or less.
Food in Mazunte
Mazunte has lots of places to eat. We ended up having a break from the Mexican fare and eating pizza and burgers!
La Pizzeria
1000% you have to eat here! The pizza is authentic Italian and woodfired – so delicious! We both ate the margherita and were in pizza heaven! Best one I’ve had in forever! Hope I’m not overegging it! Plus it’s a steal – a margherita costs 100 pesos (£4 approx)! Absolute no brainer (unless you don’t like pizza that is). We ate there twice! I will forever crave it!
Note: Closed on Wednesdays
Sahuaro
Sahuara do great curry like poke bowls for really good value. The priciest bowl is 70 pesos (£3 approx) and the portion size is very decent. I was struggling to finish mine!
Cenzontle
Again not Mexican food I’m talking about (I do love it though promise!), the burgers here are yummy! It doesn’t break the bank either, a classic burger costs 90 pesos and the veggie one even less at 75 pesos. I’m not ashamed to say we liked it so much we went back a second time!
El Copal
El Copal is a hotel near Playa Mermejita (around 15 minute walk from the main street in Mazunte). It also has a restaurant open to the public. It is a pricier place to eat, you’re looking at 150 pesos for a main. Yet, it’s a great sunset spot and you can just go for drinks!
We went there for a beer one evening and it was lovely!
La Baguette
I want to say the one and only bakery in Mazunte, we never saw any others!
The bread was great! We bought a baguette most days for our tomato and avocado sandwiches! Sadly the same can’t be said for their cakes and brownies. The brownie was more like a dry cake and that annoyed me!
La Baguette is only really good for baguettes! Ok, I’m being quite harsh! It’s fine, just not what we were after taste wise!
Where to stay in Mazunte
So first impressions of Mazunte were that it’s not super friendly to solo travellers accommodation wise. Hostelworld has nothing online and Booking.com is equally as sparse when it comes to cheap stays.
For backpackers, your best bet is to find accommodation once there. There are a number of posadas, hostels, hotels to choose from. Several annoyingly don’t have a reception and can only be contacted by WhatsApp – which I found really weird!
As a fellow backpacker on a budget, my top pick for where to stay (granted we didn’t look around, then again we didn’t need to!) is Posada del Arquitecto right next to Mazunte beach. It’s in a great location and cheap!
A bed in a dorm costs 80 pesos (£3 approx) a night. Yes, it’s basic but does the job!
An even better option are Las Estrellas which are at the top and are basically hanging open air beds overlooking the sea. We stayed there and loved it! So so much better than the dorms and cost wise, only a little more.
A bed in Las Estrellas is 120 pesos (£5 approx) a night and if there’s two of you sharing it’s 100 pesos (£4 approx) per person per night. Unfortunately they don’t just halve the price!
For us, it was a no brainer – Las Estrellas won hands down! We slept well and had a beautiful sunrise too!
How to get to Mazunte
Mazunte is further east along the coast from Puerto Escondido. From Puerto Escondido, there are no buses or colectivos direct to Mazunte, a change is required.
The bus/colectivo from Puerto Escondido leaves regularly and takes around 1.5hrs. We paid 42 pesos (£2 approx) for the bus and got off at San Antonio where the turn off to Mazunte is. You can’t go wrong as the driver will tell those going to Mazunte to get off there.
At the turn off, you then need to wait for a colectivo truck to take you the 20 minute drive to Mazunte. The ride costs 10 pesos, much cheaper than the 100 peso taxi alternative.
If you’re arriving from Oaxaca, Huatulco or San Cristobal, you’ll get to Pochutla first and then need to take the colectivo truck (20 pesos) to Mazunte.
Final thoughts
I really really enjoyed my stay in Mazunte – laid back with great beaches, sunsets and food! It was a super easy place to spend time as well as a good base for visiting other small towns and beaches along the coast.
Punta Cometa for sunset was lovely. Something about the white flowers, green grass and crashing waves reminded me of England! It’s the sunset spot to go to!
I’d happily return one day! Mazunte, you’re wonderful!
