"We've got shrimp and we've got fish, that's it".

Our first stop on our return to the gorgeous coastline of Oaxaca was a one of its lesser-known bays. On a short up-down road off the highway, there isn't much to Estacahuite, and that's why it's so blissfully perfect for a few days of total disconnection.

Unlike more popular options further west, the village is composed of three sheltered little sandy beaches, a handful of simple restaurants serving up fresh seafood and thick Micheladas, a collection of accommodations overlooking the Pacific, a dusty car park, and not much else at all.

For a blissful base to swim, snorkel, relax - and perhaps rustle up the energy to visit the rest of the coast on a day trip or two - it's pretty much perfect. For some of you, the fact that it’s much quieter than elsewhere will make it the best choice for a romantic, chilled out escape by the sea.

In this short guide, we've shared everything you need to know before you visit Estacahuite, with advice on transport connections, the best accommodation, and essential tips if choosing to stay for a few nights.

This is our guide to Estacahuite, Oaxaca.

Estacahuite Essentials

What / Lesser-known beach village along Oaxacan coast
Connect/ Easily access from Pochutla or elsewhere on coast
Do / Perfect place to chill out for few beach days
Swim / Some of the calmest waters in region
Know / No real shops,limited eating out choices after 6pm
Stay / Casa Roni or Cabañas Los Colibríes

How To Get To Estacahuite

Situated in the south of Oaxaca state, Estacahuite (Google Maps) is about 6-7 hours from the city of Oaxaca. For most of you, a stay or visit will form part of your trip along the rest of this gorgeous section of Pacific coastline.

Larger beach towns - like Zipolite and Mazunte - are 20-45 minutes away, whilst Puerto Escondido lies 80km west.

If you’re still planning your trip, we highly recommend reading our guide to the best Oaxaca beaches to find the best bases + places for your travel style and budget.

Oaxaca City | The simplest way to reach Estacahuite is via the small town of Pochutla**. This route is operated by a company called Lineas Unidas (find the station here on Google Maps), and they have departures every 15 minutes on modern, relatively comfortable minibuses.

The journey time is around 6 - 6.5 hours, and tickets cost M$250 per person. There is no need to buy tickets in advance, just turn up and wait for the next departure. An important thing to note, is that this particular route travels via an incredibly windy, never-ending mountain road. We've done many many many bus journeys in Latin America, and this was one of the least fun - a bit like a sideways rollercoaster for five hours.

Given the nature of the journey, we'd recommend not taking a cramped back seat (you choose a seat when buying the ticket), and instead waiting for the next departure to get yourself a better spot.

Lineas Unidas doesn’t have a website, but their Facebook page is the best place for contact information, timetables, or queries.

To reach Estacahuite from Pochutla, you can either take a private taxi (MX$180, 20 minutes), a shared taxi for M$45 pesos or jump in the back of one of the converted colectivo trucks that are the main form of public transport all along the beach towns of the Oaxacan Coast and ask to dropped off at the Estacahuite turn off (here on Google Maps).

From there it’s a 10-minute walk downhill to the village.

An alternative option is to take one of the less frequent departures to Zipolite (find the timetable on Lineas Unidas Facebook page) and either ask to be let off at the turning for Estacahuite and walk, or travel to nearby Puerto Angel and grab a colectivo (5-10 pesos) or a private taxi to Estacahuite (we’re not sure on the cost, but don't pay more than M$70).

Note, the Lineas Unidas minivans from Oaxaca go via San Jose del Pacifico, which is an increasingly popular stop-off on the backpacker trail for mushrooms and hiking high up in the hills. Some of you may prefer to break up the journey with a few nights there instead of going straight to the coast from Oaxaca.

**There is currently a highway being built through the mountains which will shorten the route between Oaxaca City and the coast quite considerably (in addition to making it much more tolerable) but it is behind schedule. We’ll update this post once the road opens in late 2023.

Plan ahead with 13 Wonderful Things To Do In Oaxaca

Zipolite | To reach Estacahuite from the nudist-friendly Zipolite you have two choices: a taxi or one of the colectivo trucks. The taxis can be found on the main Street in Zipolite and should cost no more than 150 pesos for the car (although we were quoted just 100 by one taxi driver).

The much cheaper option is to hop in one of the colectivo trucks departing from the highway, and asked to get dropped off at the turning for Estacahuite (shouldn't cost more than $20 pesos per person).

To return after a day trip, just wait on the side of the highway for a camionetta, a shared taxi, or a passing taxi offering a good rate. You can also go to the little car park by the beaches and wait for a taxi to turn up.

Plan ahead with our guide to Zipolite

Puerto Escondido | There are a couple of options to reach Estacahuite from this popular beach town, but the simplest one is to make your way to Transportes Delifnes terminal (maps) and take one of their minivans heading to Pochutla, and making your way from there as outlined above. The buses depart every 15 minutes from 5am to 7.30 pm and tickets cost around M$100 per person.

Plan ahead with our guide to Puerto Escondido

Things To Do in Estacahuite

Well, we'd by lying if we tried to make it seem like there was much else to do beyond chilled out beach days, sipping on a cold bottle of Victoria or cheeky cocktail, topping up the tan, and perhaps interspersing it all with a dip or two in the glittering water.

But that's sort of what you're looking for right?

Set within a relatively sheltered cove, Playa Estacahuite is formed of three bay areas; you could easily say that they're all part of the same single small beach, but we picked up a few subtle differences that are worth knowing about before you lay a towel down for the day:

The Central Section | After walking down the hill from the dusty car park, or straight out from most accommodation, this section is the first you'll arrive on. Here you’ll find the large-ish and popular Restaurant Playa Estacahuite/Arrecife, as well as a cluster of chairs and red umbrellas on the right hand side served by Camotes Place (the kitchen is up on the cliff, and the menu is actually the priciest we saw here).

This bay has a lovely, large clear swimming area - something of a rarity as many of the best Oaxaca beaches are notorious for riptides and strong waves - but becomes the busiest section, especially with larger groups of locals. If travelling with kids, this may be the best part to choose as there aren't many rocks under the water to look out for.

The Left Section | Avoid clambering over the rocks, and instead take the small stairs between them to the right of Arrecife restaurant. You'll pass a very little tienda (selling crisps, fizzy drinks, sweets, cigarettes - 'los basicos' according to the female owner or 'the essentials' depending on your hangover) - and then step out on to the sand.

This was our favourite part, backed by three shack restaurants offering up seats, tables, and umbrellas for customers. They'll all try to get your custom, and the menus and setting are all pretty indistinguishable, so take your pick. If you prefer to set yourself up on your towel or sarong instead, it's worth knowing that they'll usually let you have a chair + umbrella combo just for consumption of a drink or two (the aim being that you'll end up having lunch there at some point in the day).

We ate at the one furthest to the right, which had slightly cheaper prices, and the food was good!

In this area of Playa Estacahuite, you can also rent snorkels and head out to explore the coral just a few strokes from the shore. As you enter the water, there are quite a lot of rocks in the water to the left hand side, so stick to the right at first. Once in, you can easily swim round to the right and the 'central' section's more child-friendly waters too.

As ever, do not touch or disturb the coral, and we recommend every traveller to Oaxaca slaps on reef-safe suncream, rather than nasty stuff with chemicals in it (we swear by Mimitika, but there are lots of other options). Also, watch yourself out there as coral cuts or scrapes are nasty.

You can rent snorkels from the lady at the shop (she quoted $100 / 90 minutes, whilst Jonathan at the first restaurant on the left was $50 - but that may have been because we'd just ordered a fresh pineapple juice from him).

From this section of Playa Estacahuite, you can also clamber up the hillside for a few minutes toward an unfinished concrete cabin and get a wonderful view of the whole bay.

The Right Section | You can clamber over rocks from the central section to access the quieter, lesser-visited right section. However, if the tide’s in it can be a little fraught, so we’d instead recommend heading back to the dusty car park, and then taking the trail down to the left.

With a more isolated sense, and only one restaurant, you may prefer it, but note that they charge rental in addition for chairs / umbrellas rather than folding it into your drinks and meal spending.

Speaking of meals, you’ll find everywhere serving up the standard fresh Oaxacan seafood options for lunch - giant prawns or chunks of fish cooked up in a variety of spices or sauces, served with rice, salad, tortillas and well-used bottles of hot sauce. We love the spicy ala diabla but you may not thank us the day after; a safer bet may be the al ajo (garlic) or enchipotlada, where the smoky spice of the chipotle is dulled by some sort of cream (or possibly mayonnaise?).

Plates cost $200 - $250 pesos, at most places, and anyone that’s got a menu charging more than this better have a nice seafront setting for you.

Beyond that? There’s sometimes fishermen coming in with a fresh haul, a few ladies who bring cooler boxes with homemade treats - empanada, tamales, elotes, and icicles - down to the beach to sell, some of which are reaaaally tasty, and someone may offer to take you on a dolphin + whale-spotting boat trip (which is offered at all the popular bases along the coast).

Come sundown, our favourite spot was to head to the two shack bars by the car park, order a couple of Victorias and enjoy the view from their seats perched on the hill. The set-up of these two places was something we never got our heads round fully - you can definitely stop in for a drink, and there sometimes may be food - but we still don’t know exactly what they are.

We’ve shared some travel tips for Estacahuite later in the article - including an absolutely essential one if you plan on eating out after 6pm…

Where To Stay in Estacahuite

You will find a handful of guesthouses on the road out from Estacahuite to the highway (including the well-reviewed Gloria's Guesthouse and this budget-friendly room on Airbnb) but we'd strongly recommend staying somewhere on the seafront. It’s a huge part of Estacahuite’s draw, affordable enough, and most places worth staying offer fantastic views of the bay and water from rooms, balconies and/or rooftops.

When looking to book on any accommodation website, do double-check the map of the listings as some may advertise themselves as in Puerto Angel or Pochutla when they're actually in Estacahuite (and vice-versa). Others may also be up in the hills, in a very scenic location, but further from the beach than you may expect.

Lastly, there are no hostels at present, so budget backpackers arriving last-minute should consider basing themselves nearer the road, in Puerto Angel, or just visiting on a day trip from a more affordable dorm in Mazunte or Zipolite. Most accommodations will have a private or shared kitchen - something that’s really important given the dearth of eating out options at night - but you may have to look a little harder or time it right to get something that’s backpacker budget-friendly by the beach.

The village was struck by a very bad hurricane in 2022, which wiped out some of the beach restaurant structures and caused quite a bit of building damage, but everything is back up and running as normal now. There are also a few places currently being built too.

Prices will be highest and capacity most limited on weekends, Christmas / New year time, and during the Semana Santa (Easter) holidays.

So, on to the good stuff - where do we recommend staying in Estacahuite? Well, rather than spend your time searching for your perfect accommodation, we’ve done the hard work for you and curated the options down to a hand-picked selection, with something to suit every travel style and budget.

These are the best places to stay in Estacahuite - all with excellent reviews.

Cabañas Los Colibríes | This is the charming guest house where we stayed. A relatively new option built three or four years ago by Michael, the super-friendly host, it’s a collection of several great cabañas / rooms just a couple of minutes walk from the beach. The rooms themselves are large, each have a balcony, are furnished with hand-crafted furniture and, best of all, all offer amazing views over the ocean. Honestly, watching the sunrise from our bed was one of the true highlights of our stay in Estacahuite! You’re also welcome to use the common areas of the house, including the kitchen.

Cabaña 1 & Cabaña 2 / Two good-sized rooms, each with two double beds.

Cabaña 3 / An AC room with two double beds, but a smaller balcony.

Cabaña 4 / The room we stayed in, with one huge king-sized bed, and a fantastic balcony. Only downside is no AC, but fans are provided.

Casa Roni | Ideally situated with a couple of suites and apartments available, this is one of the options which is closest to a hotel (with breakfast served daily). Modern and luxurious, with crisp, clean interior design. There’s a gorgeous mini-infinity pool with sea views and deckchairs on its spectacular shared rooftop space - honestly, it’s stunning!

All options listed here on Booking.com

Or, alternatively, you can book via Airbnb:

Casa Calypso | A collection of three studio apartments less than 30 seconds from the beach. Clean, comfortable and functional, they are all very popular and highly rated on Airbnb:

Casa El Delfin | This three-level house just steps away from the beach (with incredible ocean views) is split into four separate rentals, each with their own entrance. The decor in the 1st and 2nd floor apartments is traditional and fairly average, but comfortable and of a decent size. They all have lots of excellent reviews.

1st Floor Apartment / Two bedroom

2nd Floor Apartment 1 / One bedroom

2nd Floor Apartment 2 / One bedroom

Roof-Top Palapa Bungalow / Fancy sleeping in a tree-house? This set-up is truly unique and most guests absolutely love the experience and set-up. Won’t be for everyone though!

Casa Pauline Beach House | A collection of three rooms with major eco-rustic vibes. Guests speak highly of the back-to-nature aesthetic but would not suit those who love their modern conveniences. You can see all listings here.

Casa Xcaanda | This property used to have wonderful reviews, but reading through recent guest experiences (especially on Booking.com - it has a rating of 4.4!) it appears that necessary work has not been done to repair damage caused by the hurricane. Hopefully this will get fixed, but wanted to make you all aware in case you book via Airbnb and have a little bit of a surprise.

Casa Bichu | A collection of nine luxury bungalows sitting at Estacahuite’s most western cove, the pool over the sea is lovely, but we’re not convinced the rooms are worth the price - especially when compared to Casa Roni that we mentioned above. We can’t find an official website for them, but it appears you can make a reservation on this website.

Estacahuite Travel Tips | Make the Most of Your Stay

The most important thing to know in advance of your stay in Estacahuite is that there’s a distinct lack of restaurants open in the evening. We discovered this on our first night, but thankfully a husband-wife team who had just shut up for the night said they'd cook us up some fish and rice.

The handful of beach restaurants are closed up around 6pm, and any that still have the lights on and customers at that time might not be keen to seat anyone for dinner. It would seem a good money-maker if they decided that one stays open each night for people based in the village, but that doesn’t appear to the case for now.

Thankfully, the excellent Restaurant Yuly (maps) does stay open in the evening, and serves up the large shrimp or fish dishes for around $200 / plate. It must be said, that this was amongst some of the best we tasted in two weeks on the coast of Oaxaca, so just because it’s the only option, doesn’t mean it’s a poor one.

Situated a little up the hill from the dusty car park, she's usually closed on Mondays, and it's best to get there before 7pm other nights of the week as she'll close if there aren't too many people around.

You could also opt to go into nearby Puerto Angel, which will have more places open with local menus.

Due to this, if you're staying in Estacahuite for a few nights, we highly recommend self-catering most evenings. Most accommodations have private or shared kitchens available for guests, and it's a good idea to stock up on supplies toward the start of your stay. There's a very small tienda closer to the highway, whilst a man drives his bread van in some days, but the most reliable option is to head into Puerto Angel which has several grocers and a large supermarket (maps). Fresh fish is always available too if you time it right.

You can walk into Puerto Angel and take a taxi or the camionetta back up, but we don’t recommend walking back along the highway.

This set-up is the only downside for basing yourself here, but Estacahuite is also exactly the sort of place we’d have got happily stuck in for a week if travelling for longer. With a little prep on your first day or before you arrive, the groceries + self-catering requirement won’t cause an issue at all, but it is important to factor in if your travel style is more about going out at night and having a variety of options.

We’re usually vegetarian, but will eat seafood when by the coast in somewhere where there’s still a small-scale fishing community. As fish and prawns is the main option here, strict vegetarians and vegans will struggle a bit to get something more interesting than rice, beans, salad, tortillas, and hot sauce. Our suggestion is to ask for the chilaquiles without an egg.

And, on a completely different note - and as we discuss this more in our guide to the best beaches in Oaxaca - the only people doing topless sunbathing here will be travellers. Locals on a holiday or day trip don’t do it, so we will leave that with you.