San Agustinillo: Traveler Reviews

“About to be discovered”

San Agustinillo

AlegreVancouverBC  

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Vancouver BC

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San Agustinillo is one of the “cinque terre” of Oaxaca’s coast between Huatulco airport (50km south) and Puerto Escondido airport (75km north). The five towns from east to west are Puerto Angel (the largest of the five and perhaps the least vacation-like by comparison), Zipolite (2008 pop approx 1000) another 8 km to the west and a throwback in time. A walk along the Zipolite 2km beach is a walk into the late 1960’s. There are plenty of pony tails, pot (be very careful), some nudes (most of whom should stay covered) and plenty of 30-50 peso/night hammocks to rent. The pretty, yet risky, beach is an Aussie type with plenty of rip-tides and necessary elevated lifeguard shacks. It is lined full length with accommodations and restaurants. You’ll find multi hammocks with communal toilets/showers to rooms with private toilet/shower. Food covers the whole range from corn-chips and beer at the corner store to pizza, burgers, sushi or fresh seafood on the beach. There is cell phone coverage and there are a couple of internet cafés. Next west about 5km (40/50 peso taxi) is San Agustinillo (pop approx 400) then a 10 minute walk to Mazunte (pop approx 650) and finally a 40/50peso taxi to tiny Playa Ventanilla and its crocodile lagoon to tour. Mazunte is a lovely swimable, but unguarded beach lined with inexpensive restaurants and a few places to rent a hammock or room. The town is larger and spreads inland a bit more than San Agustinillo as the topography is a little flatter. Like Zipolite, you’ll find internet cafes, ice, food, and accommodations although at a slower pace, especially after dark. Playa Ventanilla is not more than a nice but strong beach with limited services other than lagoon tours. Transport by colectivo (back of a pick-up truck) is quick and cheaper than a taxi. You can have your taxi give you a colectivo rate as well, meaning he adds passengers to your ride. These five towns are separated by headlands that cut off a continuous beach walk. (If surf conditions are OK you can get between Mazunte and San Agustinillo and east of San Agustinillo by beach). The coast here is hundreds of miles of sandy beaches and many lagoons punctuated by headland separations. This area lies east-west rather than north-south so the sun’s there earlier but you won’t see the sun set into the sea. The topography is mountainous so often the beaches are far from main coastal highway 200 if there isn’t a natural flat town site near the beach. There are many rivers draining the interior between Huatulco and Puerto Escondido and they all have riverside communities although most are a distance upstream from the beach. These five towns are the main exceptions in the area. (calling Playa Ventanilla “a town” is being generous). San Agustinillo is a one km long town that lines both sides of the paved roadway that connects the five towns and runs just west of highway 200, the west coast highway that runs the length of the coast. The businesses are small stores, accommodations and restaurants. Once a turtle processing area, the town is now supported mainly by small scale tourism. It’s on the cusp and about to be discovered. There are about 30 restaurants and you’d guess that someone held a cooking school because the flavourful food is superbly prepared at all the restaurants. Meals are similar at most restaurants although a few have specialized. Two across from each other specialize in wood-roasted chicken. Two or three have wood fired pizza fornos and at least one more has a conventional metal pizza oven. Most serve pasta as well as shrimp, octopus, chicken and fish. Breakfast and good Oaxacan coffee is everywhere. It’s unlikely you’ll find a bad meal anywhere, but you will find some price differences. Most beer is 15 pesos and margaritas are around 45 pesos. A dinner might be 70-80 pesos (2008). Pizza a little less. Wine offered is often Chilean at about 150 pesos/bottle. The small stores sell beer for a little less and wine for half that. Tequila in the stores is cheaper than the Mex City duty free. These stores have pretty much everything you’ll need. That includes canned goods, fresh fruit, yogurt and packaged juices including Clamato (across from the library) for Canadians who can’t go without a Caesar fix. There are a few fresh juice stands along the roadway. If you want cheaper beer you have to find the deposito. Ice is available at Restaurante Lupita for 20 pesos for a large bag of cubes. Bring a cooler bag or buy a 20 peso plastic bucket which can be used for everything from a beer cooler to a laundry tub (or take laundry to the laundromat behind the very popular Un Secreto café.) The beach is the main draw in San Agustinillo (28C/82F water temp in Dec). There is no night life at all. This is a safe beach about 2km long. The sand is darker and a wee bit coarser than the coral coloured powder of the east coast, but certainly a delight. The ocean changes every hour with the tides and the offshore conditions. The waves, at least around New Years, were thunderous and large but the shallow configuration between the headlands eliminates the riptides and undertows that intimidate along much of the west coast. Some days were good for board surfing, some for boogie boarding (both available to rent) or for body surfing. All days were good for being in the water all day. Keep in mind that the sea will change with the seasons and the strongest seas appear June through August. For 150 pesos/person you can take a guided 25 foot panga and explore nearby beaches, go fishing or swim with sea tortoises. Accommodation runs from very rustic to quite elegant particularly with a mini building boom taking place. Some nice looking accommodations include Cabañas Punta Placer and its brand new next door neighbour La Termit. Nearby are El Pelicano restaurant’s new rooms and there are rooms above the internet café (internet is 15 pesos/hr). See http://www.tomzap.com/atinillo.html#hotels for more hotel info. See the Trip Advisor reviews under San Agustinillo hotels for Un Sueño, a particular favourite. (http://www.unsueno.com/html/index.html) Sports Bar? None that I found, but as tourism expands someone will set up World Cup, NHL and NFL via satellite. Bugs were not a big issue in December as mosquitoes are not around. Ankle biting fleas or gnats stay away in the day, but can be a nuisance after dark. There are numerous sources for bug spray and all SPF’s of sunscreen about town. There are a couple of small pharmacies for over-the-counter meds. There is a library and that’s a good place to drop off books you are through with. It is also a good information source about the town. Cell phone coverage is restricted to Puerto Angel, Zipolite and the main service centre town of Pochutla. Pochutla is 30 minutes away by taxi for 100 pesos. It is a hot and crowded but interesting non-tourist business town of approx 15,000 and has everything from full groceries, ice chests to meat etc. It has a hospital and its two or three ATM’s are the only ones between the ATM at the Huatulco airport and those at Puerto Escondido. The closest airport is Huatulco airport located halfway between the Huatulco resort and golf centre and Pochutla. The airport has fixed taxi rates and San Agustinillo fits between the Mazunte posted 1100 pesos and Zipolite’s 900. That means $US100 (2008) and compares to 300 pesos from the taxi stand (sitio) just outside the airport gate 100 feet from the terminal. The drive is an hour whether it is by way of Zipolite and the bouncy but more interesting secondary road or doubling back via Mazunte on the smoother highway 200. The airport, by the way, has a bar, restaurant and a few shops outside. Once past security there is an air conditioned room and a limited chips and drink cart. The airport has cell service and Wi-Fi. Bottom line? San Agustinillo is a special place that is about to be “discovered” and a huge welcome contrast to the routine of an all inclusive resort.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.