Oaxaca coast itinerary: 7 days from Puerto Escondido to Mazunte without a car

Duration 7 days

Budget $650

A 7-day Oaxaca coast itinerary that runs entirely on buses, vans and colectivos: three nights in Puerto Escondido, three in Mazunte, with costs and transfer details.

The simplest Oaxaca coast itinerary for 7 days without a car is: take the bus from Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido on the new highway (about 3 to 3.5 hours), spend three nights in Puerto Escondido, then move 1.5 to 2 hours east by bus and colectivo to Mazunte for three nights, with day hops to San Agustinillo and Zipolite. On day 7 you take the direct van or bus from Mazunte back to Oaxaca City, or fly out of Puerto Escondido or Huatulco. Every leg runs on public transport, and the most you will pay for any one ride is about 400 to 480 pesos.

This plan assumes you start in Oaxaca City. If you have spare days there, the Oaxaca City food guide covers the markets and mezcal, and the Hierve el Agua status guide explains how to reach the petrified waterfalls by public transport before you head to the beach.

Oaxaca coast itinerary for 7 days at a glance

Day	Base	Plan	Transport
1	Puerto Escondido	Oaxaca City to the coast, sunset at Zicatela	ADO bus or shared van on the toll highway
2	Puerto Escondido	Beaches: Carrizalillo, Puerto Angelito, Zicatela; surf lesson	Walk and local taxis
3	Puerto Escondido	Optional lagoon tour (Manialtepec or Chacahua) or a lazy La Punta day	Tour pickup or taxi
4	Mazunte	Move east along the coast; Punta Cometa at sunset	Bus to San Antonio or Pochutla, then colectivo or taxi
5	Mazunte	Turtle center (Wednesday to Sunday), swim, yoga	Walk
6	Mazunte	Walk or ride to San Agustinillo and Zipolite	Colectivo pickups along the coast road
7	Leave	Back to Oaxaca City or fly out	Direct Líneas Unidas service, or taxi to PXM or HUX airport

Before you go: how car-free travel works on this coast

Three types of public transport cover everything in this plan:

Intercity buses (ADO and OCC). These link Oaxaca City and Puerto Escondido on the Barranca Larga-Ventanilla toll highway, which opened on February 4, 2024. It is 104 km long and has two toll plazas, according to Heraldo de México Oaxaca. The Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido transport guide compares the bus, the van, the flight and a private driver in detail.
Shared vans (camionetas or Urvans). Companies such as Villa Escondida and Villa del Pacífico run Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido vans. Heraldo reported in July 2025 that they leave about every 40 minutes between 3:00 and 23:00 for about 350 pesos. Líneas Unidas runs a direct service from Oaxaca City to Mazunte, Zipolite and Puerto Ángel.
Coastal buses and colectivo pickups. Local buses run between Puerto Escondido and Pochutla. Open-back pickups (colectivos) then shuttle between Pochutla, the San Antonio junction, Mazunte, San Agustinillo and Zipolite. Fares are small and paid in cash.

There is no Uber anywhere in Oaxaca State, as Travel Mexico Solo notes, so carry pesos for taxis. Many small guesthouses and colectivo drivers take cash only. Read the guide to avoiding ATM fees before you withdraw a week's worth of pesos. Smaller bags are easier to manage too: colectivo pickups have no luggage hold, which is one reason the one-bag packing approach works well here.

Day 1: Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido

Take a morning ADO bus from the first-class terminal or a shared van from the downtown van offices. Travel Mexico Solo (updated October 2026) reports about five daytime ADO departures, with fares from about 400 pesos and some departures at 480. It also says overnight buses no longer run on this route. The bus arrives at the ADO terminal in Puerto Escondido, 10 to 20 minutes by taxi from the beaches.

The road is far smoother than the old mountain highways, but it still climbs through the Sierra Sur. Take motion-sickness tablets if you need them and ask for a seat near the front. In the rainy season (roughly June to October), landslide clearing can add hours to the trip.

Stay in one of three areas. La Punta, at the south end of Zicatela, has hostels, cafés and the most backpacker energy. Zicatela is the main surf strip. Rinconada and Carrizalillo are quieter, with calmer swimming coves. Watch the sunset from Zicatela on your first evening.

Day 2: Puerto Escondido beaches and a surf lesson

Zicatela is the famous big-wave beach, and its shore break is dangerous for swimming. For a swim, go to Playa Carrizalillo (a cove reached by a long staircase), Puerto Angelito or Playa Principal in town. Beginner surf schools work the gentler waves at Carrizalillo and La Punta, and you can book on the day. From November to April you can also add a boat trip: whales pass this coast, and December to March is the peak.

Day 3: Lagoons or a slow day

Puerto Escondido is the base for two lagoon trips that most people do on a tour, because they are awkward by colectivo:

Laguna de Manialtepec, west of town. It is known for birdlife in the morning and night tours to see bioluminescence. Ask your guesthouse which operators run the trip and whether the season is good.
Lagunas de Chacahua National Park, further west. This is a full day of mangroves, a long beach and a fishing village, and it is reached by road and then boat. If you want to see Chacahua properly, add a night there and drop one of the Mazunte nights.

If you would rather not join a tour, spend the day between La Punta's cafés and Carrizalillo.

Day 4: Puerto Escondido to Mazunte by bus and colectivo

This is the one fiddly transfer. You have two ways to make it:

Via the San Antonio junction. Take a local bus or van heading toward Pochutla and tell the driver "Mazunte". Get off at the San Antonio crossroads where Highway 175 meets Highway 200, then catch a colectivo pickup or taxi for the last stretch down to the coast.
Via Pochutla. Take a coastal bus to the Pochutla terminal, then a colectivo or taxi for the final 15 km or so to Zipolite and on to Mazunte. This route takes a little longer, but more vehicles serve it.

Plan on 1.5 to 2.5 hours door to door. If you have a big bag, or the pickups at San Antonio are full, a shared taxi from the junction is the easy fallback.

In the evening, walk up to Punta Cometa, the headland at the west end of Mazunte beach. People gather there at sunset, so bring water and a light, because the trail back is dark.

Day 5: Mazunte, turtles and a slow swim

Mazunte is a small village with a sheltered beach, yoga studios and cheap palapa restaurants. The Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga, the national turtle center, is the main sight. In February 2025 it was open Wednesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 16:30 and Sunday from 10:00 to 14:30, and closed Monday and Tuesday. Entry was 50 pesos, or 25 for students, according to Tus Buenas Noticias. The state announced rehabilitation work on the center in 2026, so hours and prices may change. Plan your Mazunte days so that one of them falls between Wednesday and Sunday.

Day 6: San Agustinillo and Zipolite

San Agustinillo is the next bay east of Mazunte. It is quieter, with good swimming when the sea is calm. Beyond it lies Zipolite, a long beach with a lively strip of bars and restaurants. Zipolite is a clothing-optional beach, and its currents are strong. Colectivo pickups run along the coast road between the three villages through the day, or you can walk some sections. In Zipolite, head to the rocks at the west end at sunset.

Day 7: Back to Oaxaca City or fly out

You have three ways out:

Direct to Oaxaca City. Líneas Unidas runs from Mazunte and Zipolite straight to Oaxaca City. In February 2026, a traveler reported a fare of 360 pesos and a trip of just over four hours. Buy the ticket a few days ahead.
Fly from Huatulco (HUX). HUX is about an hour east by taxi or bus via Pochutla and has domestic and some international flights.
Fly from Puerto Escondido (PXM). Go back west by bus. Small planes also fly from PXM to Oaxaca City, run by AeroTucán and AeroVega.

Estimated budget for 7 days without a car

The figures below are estimates per person for a budget-to-midrange traveler sharing a double room. They exclude flights to Mexico and use about 18 pesos to the dollar. Fares come from the sources linked in this guide, and all prices change, especially at Christmas and Easter.

Item	Estimate (MXN)	Estimate (USD)
Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido, bus	400 to 480	22 to 27
Puerto Escondido to Mazunte, bus plus colectivo or shared taxi	100 to 200	6 to 11
Mazunte to Oaxaca City, Líneas Unidas	about 360	about 20
Local colectivos and taxis	500 to 900	28 to 50
6 nights in guesthouses or private hostel rooms (half a double)	3,600 to 6,000	200 to 330
Food and drinks (7 days)	3,200 to 4,500	180 to 250
Surf lesson, lagoon tour, turtle center	1,500 to 2,500	80 to 140
Total estimate	about 9,700 to 15,000	about 540 to 830

A sensible midpoint is about US$650 per person. Hostel dorms and market meals can bring that down a lot, and boutique hotels in La Punta or Mazunte can double it.

What travelers report

Vans leave often. One traveler on the TripAdvisor Huatulco forum made several trips between Oaxaca City and the coast in 2024 and 2025 by shared van and never waited more than about 20 minutes for a departure. They found the drivers sensible and the new highway smooth. They also report that locals mostly use vans rather than buses, without booking ahead.
Book the direct Mazunte service early. A February 2026 poster on the Oaxaca forum took Líneas Unidas from Oaxaca Centro to Zipolite. They advise buying the ticket two or three days ahead at the Bustamante street office, and say the van made check-in stops but no rest stops. A later poster was told by the company in May 2026 that departures leave at 4:30, 8:30, 12:30, 16:30 and 20:30, which differs slightly from the times in the earlier post. Confirm with the office.
Colectivos at San Antonio can be full. A traveler going from Puerto Escondido to Mazunte rode the blue-and-white Delfines bus to the San Antonio junction. The pickups passing there were all full, so they shared a taxi with other travelers to Mazunte. That post is several years old, so fares will have risen.
The Pochutla route is more predictable. A regular on the Oaxaca forum suggests taking ADO to Puerto Escondido, the SUR bus to Pochutla (about 1.5 hours), then a taxi or colectivo for the last 15 km. They describe the coastal stretch as flat and straight.
Expect roadworks on the highway. A traveler who took ADO in 2025 found that the 3-hour trip took 5 hours while crews cleared soil from the slopes, and heard from others that it was a regular issue.

Common mistakes

Trying to see Huatulco, Chacahua, Puerto Escondido and Mazunte in seven days. Each extra base costs half a day in transit. Two bases is the comfortable number.
Arriving at the turtle center on a Monday or Tuesday, when it has been closed.
Swimming at Zicatela or Zipolite when the surf is up. Ask locally and use the calmer coves.
Carrying too little cash. Colectivos, many palapa restaurants and some guesthouses take only pesos, and the villages have few ATMs.
Assuming fixed timetables. Vans and colectivos leave when they are full. Leave slack in the day you change bases, and avoid travel after dark on the coast road where you can.
Ignoring the rainy season. From June to October, afternoon storms and landslides can delay the highway and make dirt roads in Puerto Escondido muddy.

Bottom line

You do not need a car for the Oaxaca coast. The new highway puts Puerto Escondido about three hours from Oaxaca City by bus or van. One half-day transfer gets you to Mazunte, and the colectivos link the small beach villages. Split the week between Puerto Escondido and Mazunte, carry pesos, and book the direct Mazunte to Oaxaca service a few days ahead. That gives you a relaxed, budget-friendly week for an estimated US$540 to US$830 per person on the ground.