Puerto Escondido – Playa Zicatela and Lazaro
March/April 2009
The Zicatela beach and strip comprise the main international tourist area which lies south of traditional and central Puerto Escondido. Home to the MexPipe, the third biggest waves in the world, Playa Zicatela attracts surfers from all over the globe and is rated as one of the best places to surf internationally. However, surfing is certainly not the only activity in Puerto or even on Playa Zicatela. With many different beaches and neighborhoods, each with their own flavor, people swim, fish, surf, boogie-board, learn Spanish, get sun, mingle and just relax.
Looking south on Playa Zicatela
Sunset from Playa Zicatela
We stayed in two hotels on the Zicatela strip, the Rockaway and the Hotel Arcoiris. The Rockaway is a Zicatela classic, with old bamboo cabanas situated around a central pool and bar, across the street from the beach. There is also a motel style building at the back of the property housing rooms with AC and TVs. The traditional cabanas have two double beds and two bunkbeds, each fitted with slightly ratty but functional mosquito netting. While we found the cabanas charming, the beds were too old and saggy for our tastes and in fact we slept in the van and the hammock. The pool bar at the Rockaway is filled with mostly male ex-pats and Canadians, who are extremely friendly, helpful and full of information and gossip about Puerto and its residents. The bar serves a dinner meal once a day at 7:30; pricing varies from 70 to 80 pesos, depending on the cuisine, and is open from approximately October to April.
Rockaway Cabanas and Pool
The Hotel Arcoiris is also a local fixture, with a large property situated in the middle of the Zicatela strip. The rooms are large, clean and have ample patios with hooks for hanging two hammocks. The pool at the Arcoiris is clean, refreshing and perfect for a dip after a day at the beach. The third-floor restaurant is somewhat upscale, advertises some vegetarian specialties and has a daily happy hour during sunset. The sister of the Arcoiris owner runs a women’s hostel down the street which I am told is clean and comfortable with shared bathrooms. This is a great place for single women to stay and meet other women traveling alone or in small groups – plus they also share pool privileges with the Arcoiris.
View from the Arcoiris
All of the hotels on the Zicatela strip are across the street from the beach, which is home to many restaurants, bars and palapas. Some simply offer chairs and umbrellas to rent for the day on the beach, while others are full service restaurants with liquor, food, beer and restrooms. Many vendors troll Zicatela daily, offering everything from necklaces and clothing to massages, horseback rides and a wide variety of food items.
Playa Zicatela
On the Zicatela strip, we like the Texas Grill for pastor tacos, El Jardin for vegetarian specialties and Greko’s for Mexican food and salads. Although most don’t get going until after midnight, bars and nightclubs are plentiful on the strip and offer various atmospheres from club to live music to wine and candlelight. There is a good movie house called the Cinemar which shows two movies nightly, at 7:00 and 9:00 in a small viewing room with space for 15 people. The Cinemar is also a great source for buying, selling or trading books and seems to have a more intellectual variety than the more touted Casa Babylon down the street. However, Casa Babylon is a good venue for live music.
Our favorite places in Puerto are just off the south end of the Zicatela strip, on the access street to the main road by the Pacific Surf Hotel. For breakfast, lunch and delicious juices, head to Jugo Tropicales next to the large Yoga and Massage place. Further up the road, Calaveras and Diablitos at the Casa de las Iguanas offers board games, pool tables, a full bar, light snacks and is a great place to hang out with friends. While it supposedly gets pretty rocking in the wee hours of the morning, we prefer the beachview booths for a chill atmosphere in the evening.
Casa de las Iguanas
Continuing up the street past Casa de Iguanas and across the main road, the neighborhood of Lazaro lies on the hillside overlooking the beach. Lazaro is a local colonia with homes, small shops, schools and churches. Thanks to meeting our friend Lee at the Rockaway bar, we were able to rent a fantastic studio apartment for only 1700 pesos a month from a lady named Anastasia. Her home and apartments are located a short distance up the hill on the middle access street to the Lazaro neighborhood (north of the Central Surf road.) The property is behind a gated entrance with a single parking space on the left (north) side of the street across from the Bardahl, next to the large blue garbage can. Any of the shop owners on this street can direct you if simply ask for Anastasia’s. The three rental rooms are clean, quiet (save for the roosters and dogs) and well-equipped with refrigerators, sinks, stoves, cookware, ceiling fans and various furnishings. The patio is shaded with two large mango trees, surrounded by tropical plants and provides an excellent spot to relax in the heat of the day.
Our room
The patio at Anastasia’s
Sunset view from the Lazaro
The Zicatela beach and strip comprise the main international tourist area which lies south of traditional and central Puerto Escondido. Home to the MexPipe, the third biggest waves in the world, Playa Zicatela attracts surfers from all over the globe and is rated as one of the best places to surf internationally. However, surfing is certainly not the only activity in Puerto or even on Playa Zicatela. With many different beaches and neighborhoods, each with their own flavor, people swim, fish, surf, boogie-board, learn Spanish, get sun, mingle and just relax.
Looking south on Playa Zicatela
Sunset from Playa Zicatela
We stayed in two hotels on the Zicatela strip, the Rockaway and the Hotel Arcoiris. The Rockaway is a Zicatela classic, with old bamboo cabanas situated around a central pool and bar, across the street from the beach. There is also a motel style building at the back of the property housing rooms with AC and TVs. The traditional cabanas have two double beds and two bunkbeds, each fitted with slightly ratty but functional mosquito netting. While we found the cabanas charming, the beds were too old and saggy for our tastes and in fact we slept in the van and the hammock. The pool bar at the Rockaway is filled with mostly male ex-pats and Canadians, who are extremely friendly, helpful and full of information and gossip about Puerto and its residents. The bar serves a dinner meal once a day at 7:30; pricing varies from 70 to 80 pesos, depending on the cuisine, and is open from approximately October to April.
Rockaway Cabanas and Pool
The Hotel Arcoiris is also a local fixture, with a large property situated in the middle of the Zicatela strip. The rooms are large, clean and have ample patios with hooks for hanging two hammocks. The pool at the Arcoiris is clean, refreshing and perfect for a dip after a day at the beach. The third-floor restaurant is somewhat upscale, advertises some vegetarian specialties and has a daily happy hour during sunset. The sister of the Arcoiris owner runs a women’s hostel down the street which I am told is clean and comfortable with shared bathrooms. This is a great place for single women to stay and meet other women traveling alone or in small groups – plus they also share pool privileges with the Arcoiris.
View from the Arcoiris
All of the hotels on the Zicatela strip are across the street from the beach, which is home to many restaurants, bars and palapas. Some simply offer chairs and umbrellas to rent for the day on the beach, while others are full service restaurants with liquor, food, beer and restrooms. Many vendors troll Zicatela daily, offering everything from necklaces and clothing to massages, horseback rides and a wide variety of food items.
Playa Zicatela
On the Zicatela strip, we like the Texas Grill for pastor tacos, El Jardin for vegetarian specialties and Greko’s for Mexican food and salads. Although most don’t get going until after midnight, bars and nightclubs are plentiful on the strip and offer various atmospheres from club to live music to wine and candlelight. There is a good movie house called the Cinemar which shows two movies nightly, at 7:00 and 9:00 in a small viewing room with space for 15 people. The Cinemar is also a great source for buying, selling or trading books and seems to have a more intellectual variety than the more touted Casa Babylon down the street. However, Casa Babylon is a good venue for live music.
Our favorite places in Puerto are just off the south end of the Zicatela strip, on the access street to the main road by the Pacific Surf Hotel. For breakfast, lunch and delicious juices, head to Jugo Tropicales next to the large Yoga and Massage place. Further up the road, Calaveras and Diablitos at the Casa de las Iguanas offers board games, pool tables, a full bar, light snacks and is a great place to hang out with friends. While it supposedly gets pretty rocking in the wee hours of the morning, we prefer the beachview booths for a chill atmosphere in the evening.
Casa de las Iguanas
Continuing up the street past Casa de Iguanas and across the main road, the neighborhood of Lazaro lies on the hillside overlooking the beach. Lazaro is a local colonia with homes, small shops, schools and churches. Thanks to meeting our friend Lee at the Rockaway bar, we were able to rent a fantastic studio apartment for only 1700 pesos a month from a lady named Anastasia. Her home and apartments are located a short distance up the hill on the middle access street to the Lazaro neighborhood (north of the Central Surf road.) The property is behind a gated entrance with a single parking space on the left (north) side of the street across from the Bardahl, next to the large blue garbage can. Any of the shop owners on this street can direct you if simply ask for Anastasia’s. The three rental rooms are clean, quiet (save for the roosters and dogs) and well-equipped with refrigerators, sinks, stoves, cookware, ceiling fans and various furnishings. The patio is shaded with two large mango trees, surrounded by tropical plants and provides an excellent spot to relax in the heat of the day.
Our room
The patio at Anastasia’s
Sunset view from the Lazaro
Hi Girls, this looks like a great place. I really am enjoying your adventures, wish I was there, parts of Mexico I did not know even existed. Have a great time....pat
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