Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido on the new highway: bus, van, flight and driver options

Transport November 4, 2026

How to get from Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido now that the Barranca Larga-Ventanilla highway is open: ADO bus, shared vans, small-plane flights and private drivers compared.

The quickest cheap way from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido is now an ADO bus or shared van on the Barranca Larga-Ventanilla toll highway. The trip takes about 3 to 3.5 hours and costs roughly 350 to 480 pesos. Before this road opened in February 2024, the same trip took 6 to 10 hours over the mountains. If you want speed, a small-plane flight takes under an hour and costs about 3,450 pesos or more. A private driver costs from about 6,800 pesos for two people. If you drive yourself, tolls have been 490 pesos each way since April 13, 2026. Allow extra time in the rainy season, when landslide clean-up still slows traffic.

The new highway in brief

The Autopista Barranca Larga-Ventanilla opened on February 4, 2024. Heraldo de México Oaxaca describes it as a 104 km road with bridges, viaducts and tunnels and two toll plazas. It leaves the Oaxaca to Puerto Ángel federal road at km 69.6 and joins the coastal highway near Ventanilla, a short drive east of Puerto Escondido. The whole trip from Oaxaca City is about 193 km, according to Travel Mexico Solo.

Plenty of pages still describe the old routes, which is why search results conflict. Those routes are Highway 131 via Sola de Vega (about 6 hours) and Highway 175 via San José del Pacífico (about 7 hours). Both are slow, winding mountain roads. Use them now only if you want to stop in San José del Pacífico, or if the toll road is blocked.

Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido options compared

Option	Time	Typical cost (one way)	Best for
ADO / OCC bus	About 3 to 3.5 hours	About 335 to 480 pesos depending on class	Comfort on a budget, big luggage
Shared van (Urvan)	About 3 to 4 hours	About 350 to 450 pesos	Flexible departure times, no booking
Flight (AeroTucán or AeroVega)	About 35 to 45 minutes in the air	From about 3,450 pesos	Short trips, people prone to carsickness
Private driver	About 3 hours	From about 6,800 pesos for 2 people	Groups, door-to-door service
Rental car	About 3 to 3.25 hours	Rental plus 490 pesos in tolls plus fuel	Exploring the coast after arrival

Fares come from Heraldo de México Oaxaca (July 2025) and Travel Mexico Solo (updated October 2026). All of them change with the season and the class of service, so check before you travel.

Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido by ADO bus

ADO and its sister brand OCC run the route from Oaxaca City's first-class bus terminal to the ADO terminal in Puerto Escondido. When the highway opened, ADO started with four departures a day. Travel Mexico Solo's October 2026 update reports about five daytime departures and says overnight buses no longer run on this route. Fares start around 400 pesos, with some departures at 480. Heraldo's July 2025 check put ADO tickets at 335 to 414 pesos depending on service. ADO GL is the more spacious class.

Book on the ADO website or app, or at the terminal. The ADO site can reject some foreign cards. Third-party sites such as Bookaway sell the same seats for a fee.
Arrival: the Puerto Escondido terminal is 10 to 20 minutes by taxi from Zicatela and La Punta. There is no Uber in Oaxaca State, so carry pesos for the taxi.
Holidays: buy several days ahead around Christmas, Easter week and Mexican long weekends.

Shared vans (camionetas)

Van companies such as Villa Escondida and Villa del Pacífico run 12 to 15 seat vans from offices in central Oaxaca City. In July 2025, Heraldo reported that one of these operators listed departures about every 40 minutes from 3:00 to 23:00 for about 350 pesos. Vans leave when they are full or on schedule, and most travelers simply turn up and buy a seat. You get less legroom and less luggage space than on a bus, and the drivers pick up and drop off along the way.

Before you pay, check which road the van takes. Most coastal vans now use the toll highway. Some services to Pochutla, Mazunte or San José del Pacífico still run on Highway 175, which takes longer.

Flying from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido

Two small airlines fly the route in small single-engine planes of roughly 6 to 14 seats:

AeroTucán sells tickets on its website, by phone and at Oaxaca airport. Travel Mexico Solo lists one-way fares from about 3,450 pesos on promotion or 3,650 regular. The free checked bag limit is 15 kg, and the author paid a surprise fee of about US$50 for an overweight bag.
AeroVega is owner-operated and is booked by phone, email or Facebook. It is usually paid in cash, at a similar price.

Each airline usually flies about once a day. The planes are small and can be bumpy, and flights may be rescheduled for weather. Some travelers like the short flight and the mountain views. Others prefer the bus once they see the size of the aircraft.

Private driver or rental car

A private transfer suits a family or a group of four or more, because a group can split the cost and stop where it likes. Listings start around 6,800 pesos for two people and about 11,000 pesos for a group of eight. Check that tolls are included.

If you drive yourself, the toll is the big cost. Capufe raised the toll on April 13, 2026, from 234 to 245 pesos per booth, so a car pays 490 pesos one way and 980 pesos round trip. Motorcycles pay 122 pesos per booth. Heraldo de México Oaxaca reported that this makes it one of the most expensive toll roads in Mexico per kilometer. Local residents can register for free passage. Download offline maps before you leave, because mobile signal drops in the mountains.

Road conditions and delays in 2026

The highway is open, but it is not finished. When the toll increase was announced in April 2026, local business owners and service providers complained publicly. They said some sections were still unfinished and others were in poor condition because of landslides from the 2025 rainy season that had not been fully repaired, Heraldo reported. In practice:

Expect occasional waits while machinery clears slopes, especially from June to October.
Protests and road blockades happen in Oaxaca State and can close roads for hours. Check local news or ask your bus company on the morning you travel.
Leave a buffer of at least half a day if you have a flight to catch on the coast.

Going beyond Puerto Escondido

The highway comes out near Puerto Escondido, so many travelers continue east. From the Puerto Escondido terminal you can catch coastal buses to Pochutla, then colectivos or taxis to Mazunte, Zipolite and Puerto Ángel. Líneas Unidas also runs direct from Oaxaca City to Mazunte and Zipolite. The 7-day car-free Oaxaca coast itinerary strings these legs together day by day.

What travelers report

Fares have risen since 2024. When the highway opened in February 2024, a destination expert on the TripAdvisor Oaxaca forum found ADO's first schedule on its website: four daily departures at 299 pesos one way. Fares have gone up since then.
The bus is comfortable, but delays happen. In a 2025 thread, one traveler put the regular ADO fare at around 450 pesos and called the buses comfortable and the curves gentle. Another took 5 hours instead of 3 because bulldozers were clearing soil from the slopes.
Vans are frequent. A traveler who did Oaxaca to the coast several times by shared van in 2024 and 2025 says they never waited more than about 20 minutes for a departure and found the new road smooth. Another poster in the same thread says ADO takes about 3.5 hours.
The flight has a tight baggage limit. The author of Travel Mexico Solo, who has flown AeroTucán, enjoyed the flight but describes the small plane as noticeably shakier than an airliner. She was charged about US$50 because her bag was over the 15 kg allowance.

What to watch out for

Old information. Any page quoting 6 to 10 hours, or overnight buses, describes the old mountain roads or the period before 2024.
Which road your van takes. Ask before you pay if you want the toll highway.
Toll figures. Pages from 2025 list 234 or 468 pesos. The Capufe rate since April 13, 2026 is 245 per booth, or 490 one way.
Rainy season. Landslide clean-up is the most common cause of delay from June to October.
Cash. Vans, coastal colectivos and AeroVega usually want pesos. The guide to avoiding ATM fees explains how to withdraw without overpaying.
Booking through third parties. Booking direct with the bus company or airline makes changes and refunds simpler.

Bottom line

For most people, the ADO bus or a shared van on the new highway is the best way from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido. It takes about three hours and costs under 500 pesos. Fly if you are short on time and can travel light. Hire a driver if you are a group. Whichever you choose, allow some slack for roadworks and weather. If you are still in Oaxaca City before the trip, the Hierve el Agua guide covers the most popular day trip, and it is open as of late 2026.