“I want to stay at this beach forever!”
My daughter was at hour four of splashing in the ocean. Beside her, our son squealed and ran from the warm, gentle waves as they lapped on the shore.
My husband and I reclined in beach chairs and sipped limonadas, watching a fisherman lug two large, freshly caught tunas from his boat. A couple of hours later, they were on our plates.
We were on the Riviera Oaxaqueña, a roughly 300-mile stretch of coastline along the Pacific Ocean that I’ve been visiting for the last 20 years, first as a young backpacker, then as a solo traveler.
When I had my own family, we opted to also try out the more popular beach destinations of Tulum and Sayulita, small cities both situated a short drive from some of Mexico’s biggest tourist destinations.
We thought the more direct flights and higher level of development would make a trip with young children easier. However, the high prices and level of hypertourism left us not so relaxed … and craving a return to Oaxaca.
There’s something for everyone in Oaxaca
For us, the highlight of the Oaxacan Coast is the nearly 6-mile string of beachtowns stretching from Mazunte to Puerto Angel, each with its own distinctive vibe.
With its yoga studios and vegan ice-cream shops, Mazunte is a hippie haven. Partiers, surfers, and backpackers head to queer-friendly Zipolte, where the waves are crashing, the bars bumping, and the beach clothing-optional.
San Agustinillo is smaller and more family-friendly, with boutique guesthouses and restaurants nestled along its single main road.
More of a functioning fishing village than a tourist destination, Puerto Angel is perhaps the most low-key coastal town — and our personal favorite.
Set in a small bay, it has some of the calmest waters along the coast, making it a big hit with young children. And, we could get a beachside hotel room for under $100.
Its Playa Panteón is lined with family-owned restaurants featuring beach chairs, umbrellas, and caught-that-day fish. Local vendors pass by to offer tamales, rice pudding, souvenirs, and lightning-fast hair braiding.
Two meals and a day’s worth of beverages came to under $80 here, about half of what we spent in Sayulita.
Across the Oaxacan Coast, the waters seemed clean and teeming with wildlife. One morning, while eating breakfast on the beach, we watched a pod of humpback whales move along the coastline.
One day, we took a mangrove boat tour at the community-based Laguna Ventanilla, where we spied iguanas, crocodiles, and more birds than we could count. We then headed to the beach to watch freshly hatched sea turtles scuttle into the ocean.
The area doesn’t feel too tourist-y — at least, not yet
Popular beach towns like Tulum or Sayulita sometimes face more traffic, tourists, and trash than their infrastructures can handle.
Meanwhile, I feel the Riviera Oaxaqueña has managed to maintain a “just right” level of tourism for the two decades I’ve been visiting.
The beaches feel clean, quiet, and rustic. Independent guesthouses, eco-resorts, and small hotels are plentiful, with more elevated options appearing in recent years.
Many restaurants are family-owned, and much of the cuisine is local — though if you’re craving falafel or acai bowls, you can find them in Mazunte.
Shopkeepers, vendors, and taxi drivers we’ve encountered have been welcoming. Interacting with them, we felt more like we were contributing to a local economy than pricing out residents or driving out culture.
Still, the area’s smaller-scale, sustainable level of tourism may change, especially as new infrastructure (like the highway from Oaxaca City) opens the region to more visitors.
One day, this stretch of coast may become another victim of its own charm — but for now, it’s paradise.
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