Learning to Surf in Puerto Escondido, Mexico: The Surfing Capital of Oaxaca
Introduction to Surfing Puerto Escondido
Puerto Escondido is one of the great surf towns on earth. Sitting on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, it has built a reputation over decades as the home of one of the most powerful and celebrated beach breaks in the world with the Mexican Pipeline at Zicatela and as a destination that offers far more than just a single famous wave. Alternative waves for beginners such as Playa Carrizalillo make it perfect for beginners to learn.
The town is alive with colour, food, culture and the kind of energy that comes from a place where the ocean is genuinely central to daily life rather than a backdrop to it. The surf here is serious, diverse and capable of extraordinary quality across a range of breaks and ability levels, from the beginner-friendly cove of Carrizalillo through to the raw, heaving barrels of Zicatela that have been humbling experienced surfers for generations. From advanced to beginners, fun waves and sessions are sure to be found in Puerto Escondido.
Although more advanced than the assumed reader here, Puerto Escondido, does offer waves of consequence and A+ conditions often.
Best Season to Surf Puerto Escondido
- Winter Season — November to March: During the winter months, waves at Zicatela are generally much smaller and the swells are more spread out. With conditions being more managable, it is very good season for beginner and intermediate surfers, because there are many different beaches and wave options around Puerto.
- Summer Season — May to September: The southern hemisphere winter generates the most powerful and consistent swells to hit Puerto Escondido during the year, and June through to August represents the peak of Zicatela’s power. May and June is when the Mexican Pipeline is at its most ferocious and most spectacular. Alternative waves are breaking for beginners as well.
- Shoulder Seasons — March to May and September to November: A compelling and often underrated window on both sides of the main swell season. A well-rounded time to experience Puerto Escondido across all its surf breaks and all its considerable charms. Depending on the conditions you might score a couple fun sessions!
A student of Oasis Spanish & Surf School learning how to ride a wave, and enjoy the ocean.
Surf Spots and Beaches in Puerto Escondido
Zicatela Beach (Mexican Pipeline)
Zicatela’s 3.5km beachbreak produces world’s heaviest beach waves. Triple overhead monsters barreling left-to-right. International contests showcase 20-30ft faces with unforgiving takeoffs and lethal rips. Not for beginners although, it is a must mentioned when it comes to the town.
Showcases what Puerto Escondido is known for within the larger surfing world.
Playa Carrizalillo (Beginner Paradise)
Carrizalillo’s sheltered cove delivers perfect waist-chest high A-frames breaking both ways over sand.
Some fun beginners waves are to be found within Playa Carrizalillo
Recommended Surf Camp and Lessons
Oasis Surf and Spanish School
One of the most distinctive and thoughtfully built surf experiences in Mexico since 2005, rooted in Puerto Escondido for over twenty years and built around an idea that sets it apart from every other surf camp on the Oaxacan coast. Oasis combines surf and Spanish as one complete immersion experience.
The story begins with Roger Ramírez, a well-known local surfer, surfboard shaper and Head Coach of Oasis Surf School, who started handcrafting fiberglass boards in a small workshop in Puerto Escondido in 2005. He still shapes Oasis boards today. The Spanish school followed in 2006, and what began with a passion for the ocean and a craft for building boards grew over two decades into one of the most complete cultural surf experiences in Latin America.
The surf van from Oasis Spanish & Surf School ready to enjoy the day with waves.
Students stay at the Rinconada Surf Houses which two relaxed properties set just a block apart in the Rinconada neighbourhood, a short walk from the beautiful cove of Carrizalillo Beach. Private studios, swimming pools, tropical gardens and spaces to unwind between sessions give the houses a warmth and ease that a purely functional surf camp rarely achieves. Restaurants, cafes and several of Puerto’s beaches are all within easy reach, and the houses sit comfortably within the rhythm of daily life in the town rather than separate from it.
In the water, lessons are led by experienced local surfers who know the breaks around Puerto intimately. Every session is adapted to the individual. Spanish classes run one-to-one with professional native-speaking teachers, tailored to each student’s level and pace, with a notebook, workbook and online diploma included. After more than two decades in Puerto Escondido, Oasis offers something that very few surf operations anywhere in the world can honestly claim, the chance to experience a place from the inside, through the ocean, the language, the culture and the people who call it home.
A day at Oasis Spanish & Surf School is filled with surfing and spanish learning.
Other Things to Do in Puerto Escondido
- Turtle sanctuary: Manialtepec Lagoon bioluminescent night tours.
- Mezcal trail: Local distilleries and agave farms. Drinks and a good time.
- Adrenalin: Jump off the Zicatela cliff jumps on small wave days.
Some mystery waves being enjoyed throughout Puerto Escondido.
Conclusion on Surfing Puerto Escondido
Puerto Escondido rewards every kind of surfer who shows up with open eyes and a willingness to engage with what it genuinely is. Zicatela is one of the great waves in the world, while the wider coastline around Puerto delivers an extraordinary range of conditions across all ability levels throughout the year, such as catching a beginners surf day at Playa Carrizalillo.
The town itself with the food markets, the mezcal bars, the Oaxacan culture running through every street gives the whole experience a depth that purely wave-focused destinations rarely manage. And with Oasis Surf and Spanish School offering a two-decade-deep immersion into Puerto from the most authentic local perspective available, the question is not why you would come here. It is why you would go anywhere else.
Enjoying the views from Playa Carrizalillo.
FAQ: Surf Travel to Puerto Escondido
Beginner waves in Puerto Escondido?
Carrizalillo is perfect recommendation. It offers a sheltered cove, waist-high A-frames, and a sandy bottom. With the help of Oasis Surf and Spanish School you can explore other parts of the coastline for beginners as well. They choose the correct location on a day per day basis.
Puerto Escondido Airport to Zicatela?
Carrizalillo 15min walk/5min taxi from beach hotels.
Zicatela safety for non-surfers?
No swimming. Lethal rips kill multiple annually. Spectate only.
Gear requirements?
Boardshorts. Booties recommended always if you want to protect your feet. Rash guard is recommened too.
Are there other places to surf in Mexico?
Definetely. Mexico has a large coastline and many places to surf. Check out our guide to the country and places with good surf camps or lessons in our Surfing in Mexico Travel Guide.