The guide for bargain hunters in Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido is little paradise on the southwest coast of Mexico. This town has gained a lot of attention in the past few years, especially during the pandemic. New tourist accommodation, bars, restaurants sprout out of the ground. With the rising demand of tourists also the prices rose. Here you can easily lose the track of your expenses. Although it is for many travelers still cheaper as their home country. This guide will give you insights on how and where to find affordable accommodation, restaurants, transportation and activities in Puerto Escondido.

Neighborhoods

First you need to understand the neighborhoods of Puerto Escondido. La Punta and Zicatela are very touristy places and have higher prices. However, you can find cheap accommodation with a little luck. While Ringonada is a bit less touristy, as well as Bacocho. The center has also great accommodation options, however it is further from the beaches. If you are choosing the neighborhood on regards of the price you should keep in mind: the further from the beach the cheaper.

Accommodation

I stayed in Puerto for a little more than a month from December 2021 to January 2022 and had my own share of troubles with finding a suitable place to stay. Hostels are expensive during this time. Additionally, not only international tourists escape the winter but also Mexicans like to spend their Christmas holidays on the beach. In Puerto you can find a variety of hotels, hostels and campgrounds. A night in a dorm of a hostel starts at 250 $MX (11 €), depending on the season. However, this paragraph will focus on private rental rooms and how to find them.

Finding cheap and comfortable accommodation with good WiFi is a challenge in Puerto Escondido, but possible. Booking in advance is advised for the high season, which is from October to May. Having to say that it is hard but not impossible to spontaneously look for something during high season.

In La Punta if you are lucky, you can even find accommodation starting from 3500 $MX/month (154 €), however this is most probably the most basic accommodation. In the center you can find lodging starting from min. 1000 $MX/month (44 €). More realistic is 2500 – 3500 $MX (110-154 €). If you rely on good internet I would not recommend the center of Puerto Escondido, there are exceptions but if you rent privately it is hard to say if the internet is good. But there is always the possibility to go to a cafe shops or co-working space.

How to find privately owned cuartos (rooms)

There are three options I can recommend a find budget accommodation

• Have a look at Facebook marketplace. There are sometimes a few low budget options available.
• Another option is Facebook groups. Like this one.
• Walk around the neighborhood you fancy and look for signs on houses „renta cuartos“. If there aren’t any signs ask around, people on the streets or in little shops. Most of the times they know something. The best way is to just look at the room before you decide to take it.

This are the lowest prices and referring to the most basic accommodations, which is a room with bathroom or room with a shared bathroom. For a kitchen you most likely need to pay a little more.

Eating on a budget in Puerto Escondido

Everything that looks more local is cheaper than all the European looking restaurants. In La Punta you can find at side streets affordable options to satisfy your hunger. The center of Puerto Escondido has at almost every corner Fonda‘s (those are small restaurants in English probably called bistro).

In case you are on a special diet vegan, gluten-free, lactose intolerant you can always make requests before deciding to eat there. That’s how I found vegan Tlayudas. Also a search on google maps helped me to find vegan options that aren’t in the tourist hot spots. The cost for a meal is starting around 80 $MX (3,5 €). The most basic but super delicious comida in Puerto Escondido you can find in so called Tortillerias. For 10 $MX (0,44 €) you can get about 20-30 pieces of corn tortillas fresh and warm. They taste super delicious with beans and/or avocado. You can upgrade this meal with any other veggies, and it comes down to a cost of 40-50 $MX (1,70-2,20 €).

Occasionally eating out comes to weekly food budget of around 456-685 $MX, 20-25 Euros.

Free things to do in Puerto Escondido

To be honest there are not many budget activities. But you can enjoy and explore a lot of different beaches and viewpoints, go hiking, or ride the collectivo. The best places to see the sunset is Playa Zicatela, Playa Carrizalillo, Playa Bacocho, Playa Coral or the viewpoint Las Tortugas or Punta Zicatela.

At Playa Bacocho every Wednesday night there is a movie night directly at the beach, next to Villasol. It is for free; the beach bar is only expecting you to consume something form their bar. Giving back to the community: Helping Hands in La Punta is cool project they are looking for volunteers every Wednesday and Thursday evening (text them before you go).

For everyone who is looking for some great Fiestas (Parties) in Puerto Escondido. You can also be partying on a budget. La Punta sometimes has spontaneous beach parties, with DJ on the beach or this abundant house has every Sunday DJ and BBQ (the BBQ for around <100 $MX, 4,30 €). When it comes to Music La Punta has rather only EDM. In Zicatela you can find more variety in terms of music and prices. I remember my New Year’s Eve I was dancing at a beach bar to Cumbia and at the end I didn’t pay anything.

Other than Zicatela and La Punta you can check out Bahia and Rinconada. The later has a cervezeria and a hostel where sometimes parties are.

Transportation

Depending on your time span that you are planning to stay in Puerto Escondido it can be of advantage to rent or to buy a bike, scooter or motorcycle. It gives you the freedom to move from A to B at any time of the day or night. The rent prices for a bike are starting at 200 $MX (9 € ) for a day. Buying a bicycle through Facebook marketplace might be another option you can consider. Scooter rentals are about 350 $MX (15 €) a day up to 2000 $MX (86 €) for a week.

So called collectivos are another option to move. For 10 $MX (0,44 €) you can go from the city center to La Punta. The disadvantage of the collectivos is that they stop running around 7 or 8 pm. Taxis are considered cheap, the prices are around 40-50 $MX (1,70-2 €), almost to everywhere in the city. Except if it is a longer distance for instance from the airport to La Punta you can expect a price of 80 $MX (3,4 €).

But for anything, like transportation, accommodation, party you can join WhatsApp or Facebook groups where you can post your questions.

Safety

So far, I perceived Puerto Escondido very safe. I walk along the beach, Carrizalillo and Zicatela also at night after sunset. Also, to go back to my room that I rented (20 min through the center) I usually always walked, except it was midnight or later. Then I took a taxi the price also variety from 40-50 $MX (1,70-2 €) (that was from Rinconada to colonia Benito Juarez).