Mazunte & Zipolite
Mazunte and Zipolite are two little beach towns near Puerto Escondido. It is 10 out of 10 recommended to at least spend 1 night in Mazunte and one afternoon in Zipolite.
How to get there?
Mazunte is located 2hrs from Puerto Escondido. Go with local transport (colectivo) at the busstation near the main Mercado downtown, or catch them along the road of Zicatela. It’s the colectivo’s in the direction of Puchotla, however, tell the bus driver to drop you off at the intersection of Mazunte (he’ll know). At this intersection, you can recognize it by the big Oxxo, there are other colectivos going in the direction of Mazunte. There will also be taxis waiting, but just get the colectivo, they will be there every half hour or so.
The whole journey will take about 2 to 2,5 hours and will cost around 50 pesos (€2,50).
Make sure if you leave Mazunte that you’ll leave before 18:00, because the last colectivo goes at 18:30.
For Zipolite it’s exactly the same description for Mazunte, only when you arrive with the second colectivo in Mazunte, stay for 10 to 15 minutes longer and you’ll arrive in Zipolite.
Don’t forget to stock up on cash! The ATM’s in town are quite dodgy and run out of cash quick
Mazunte
Mazunte is a small hippie village at the coast. It has a very relaxed vibe to it, with a lot of vegetarian and vegan restaurants, small bars and cafés, local bakery, a lot of sound-healing and yoga practices and just the perfect get away if you want to escape Puerto Escondido for a night (or two). The town itself has one main street and a couple of bars and beach clubs. It has a main square where at night the street food market is located.
If you walk up the hill and search for the view point called ‘Punta Caneda’ you can see the most beautiful sunset there is to see <3. I was lucky enough to spot whales as well during this magical moment.
Food in Mazunte
- El Gecko Café – This tiny place has a dog which fills up about 1/4 of their space. However, the food is amazing, I had a salad and the dressing (something with tamarinde) is still something I dream about. Their coffee is also really good, proper coffee machine.
- La Baguette – Get your daily portion of carbs here. They sell a good brown, high fibre baguette, which is very hard to get throughout Mexico, but very delicious
- Natural Born Burgers – Don’t let the name scare you off, this foodtruck place has one of the best fish taco’s (especially the shrimp one) in Mazunte. It’s also affordable, and fun to just sit there and relax after watching the sunset
- La Termita has the best pizza in town. I tried 4 places (all for the blog, it’s a tough life, I know) and this one was by far the best!
Find the Mezcal guy!
To do's in Mazunte
If you want to discover the spiritual side of your being, you have came to the right place! Mazunte is full of sound, energy, body healing centers and people. Especially if you’re here for a little while, you can find something to your preference.
- There are some really good yoga places called hridaya yoga and Casa Om.
- Watch the sunset at Punta Coneda. It’s s small climb up the hill, but the views are spectacular.
- Go relax and swim in the pool of hotel El Copal and watch the sunset from their infinity pool. The only catch is, is that you’d have to spend minimum of 350 pesos on their food… It’s a 100% worth it though
- Go to Playa Mermejita & the hidden playa’s in between – It’s over the hill, but the beach is way more quiet, less touristy and you’ll be surrounded by beautiful wildlife such as iguana’s and pelicans.
- You can also go on a dolphin and sea turtle tour. It’s one of the most popular attractions in Mazunte. You can spot the tours all over town, bargain the price a bit if you want, but it will cost around €15,- (depending on the group size)
- You can also go full on spiritual and do ecstatic dance! Ecstatic dance is HUGE in Mazunte. It’s mostly donation based and the one at Hridaya is really good! You can also check out the flyers posted around town for other places.
- Do a deep dive into the world of healing arts (if you’re a bit sceptical like me, this is the place to break through the scepticism). There’s a massive amount of Reiki, massages and all other types of sound/energy healing activities in Mazunte. The best massage can be found at La Luna de Miel. Try the hour and a half option for 1,200 pesos (about €50 — including tip). Also, you can scroll around town and the flyers will be thrown in your face anything energy/sound/healing related.
Where to sleep in Mazunte
- La Luna de Miel – Only good stories about this place! Affordable, great food, awesome views and amazing massages. Too bad though, because probably when you’re reading this and you plan to go there they’ve sold out…
- El Copal – The food, the service, the amazing sunset views, the swimmingpool. I know where I’m going next time I’m in Mazunte. It’s truly magnificent.
- La Secreta – It’s a wonderful and secluded paradise cabana with a beautiful garden and everything you need. Very close to the beach and the busy little road leading there. A top location!
- There are some hostels as well in Mazunte, the one I visited and then immediately left was called ‘Posada Del Arquitecto’ defo not a recommandable place. Very thin walls, unfriendly staff and super super basic. Appearently they have more rooms than the semi-dorms, but those were booked.
Zipolite
Don’t think I forgot the little sister Zipolite! She’s right there, super gay friendly, a little calmer and a bit more under the radar than Mazunte. But don’t let that dim her light, Zipolite is worth the visit, even if it’s only for the excellent pulpo at the infamous ‘Alquimista‘ beach club. More about that later…
How to get to Zipolite? Read the instructions above on how to get to Mazunte, but stay 10 minutes longer in the colectivo untill it arrives at Zipolite.
To do's in Zipolite
I can be quite short here, there isn’t that much to do but chill, enjoy the weather and check out the beaches and have some food. Zipolite isn’t the cheapest place on this coast, if you;re ballin on a budget I’d recommend to sleep in Mazunte and do a day trip to Zipolite
Visit Playa Zipolite, it’s the main beach where it’s the most crowded. Head up east and go up the staircase to reach Playa del Amor. This is a secluded beach in a little cove where you can find local fishermen getting oysters from the ocean. The rocky views from the coast are a recommendation. Swimming here is at own risk, in this part the ocean can be really rough.
Zipolite has some colourful street art worth looking at. Aaaaand, that’s pretty much it :).
Food in Zipolite
- El Alquimista – I talked about this above, do not miss out to go here. It’s quite fancy, prices are higher than usual, but I swear, I still dream about the pulpo with olive oil I got here…
- Los Almendros has really good mixed ceviche platter! Worth going for that! For the rest they have great seafood and traditional Mexican food.
- Luna y Sol Pizzaria they do a surprisingly good pizza! Thin crust, good flavourings… I was very pleasantly surprised by this.
- Get your best breakkie in town at Orale Cafe, also good coffee here! This place has a tropical-garden feel to it
- Sal y Pimienta they do a great pescado entero a las brasas (grilled fish) and the portions are massive. Awesome views as well of the ocean as it’s right on the beach.
Where to sleep in Zipolite
- El Alquimista – This place keeps hunting me, dive into your wallet though, it’s not cheap. But the food is already delicious, can you imagine their rooms?
- Hotel Nude – The title of the hotel miiight give it away – it’s a nude place! I think everyone should at least experience something like this once in their lives. Not the cheapest, not the most expensive, great fun though!
- Aldea Xha Iba’ Zipolite – Good luck trying to remember this name. It’s a good place though, good value for money and the cabañas are very cute. Also it’s praised for the vibesss, so book in advance because they sell out fast!
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