CHACAHUA, MX
I was and still am rather conflicted about writing a page on this place. I very well may delete it in the future. Chacahua is a very very special place. So special that I almost don't want to put into words that it even exists. Unfortunately a bunch of jackass YouTuber kids have already released videos about this place called things like "CHACAHUA - MEXICO'S TROPICAL PARADISE!", "The Hidden Mexico Surf Gem", "Mexico’s Best Kept Secret?! Lagunas de Chacahua!". These are unfortunately real names of real videos. I can't express how much they bother me. This is what ruins a place and creates an unsustainable level of tourism because some idiot kids on YouTube wanted to get views. I digress. So what is Chacahua? Those YouTube titles are not wrong. Sigh. It is a paradise. But it is a paradise because of, and only because of what it is right now. It is a small village that is almost entirely isolated from the outside world. There is no road into town, so the only way to get there is by boat transport. You can technically drive all the way around the lagoon (it's called Lagunas de Chacahua because of its location on a small strip of land in between a fresh water lagoon and the ocean) — then take a small boat around the river. But it's a long, long ride and not really worth it in my opinion. This has helped to keep the Afro-Mexican community relatively insulated. The small town is little more than a stretch of beach, an assortment of extremely basic accommodation options that mainly come in the form of tents or hammocks, and small local restaurants. To say Chacahua is untouched by tourism would be completely inaccurate. Its shores are full of surfing backpackers. However, for the most part, the place is learned of via word-of-mouth still. I only heard of it when I went down to Puerto Escondido and heard the buzz about town regarding it. It's a place for surfers to go. The place will at any given moment have up to a hundred probably surfers living on its beaches. These are the dirt-bagger surfers though. Everyone is just renting a hammock for 50 pesos, and that's their bed. There are a few options where you can rent rooms, but the majority of people are hammock or tenting it. If you aren't surfing, you have practically nothing to do here. I would say don't bother coming if you are not going to surf. You will be bored. When you arrive, you'll realize there is no cell phone service. Theres very little to no wifi connection anywhere, and you will be entirely disconnected. That's the point. If you're not into that, then this won't be the place for you. There's an excellent right-hand wave right out front that is working almost all year round. It is one of the better waves and places in Mexico to improve your surfing. It's a mellow, long, forgiving, and fun wave. Nothing too crazy about it, but it's always pretty fun. So many people I know came here, stayed for weeks, and really got a lot better at surfing. But its all they did. Here you wake up, surf, eat, nap, surf, read, nap, surf, eat, drink, sleep and then repeat. There is nothing else to do. It's paradise for that reason. You wake up in a hammock. There's no cell phone to check, you surf all day, eat local food, and then go back to sleep in a hammock. As is such a sad and constantly repeated story, I worry for the impact of tourism on this place. As foreigners learn of this place there are people who will not want to leave. Local businesses will be pushed out in exchange for nicer more western-facing food options. The local camping and hammock offerings will be replaced with hostels and God forbid a fucking Selina. These are things that could and likely will happen. But I really hope this place can just stay like it is. It's perfect now, the surfers and the locals cohabitating in a relatively acceptable manner. If you read this and have decided to go to Chacahua, just consider this a reality-check about over-tourism. When you are here, eat local. Stay local. Be a good visitor. TIPS: 1. There is no ATM. Bring lots of cash. Chacahua isn't that cheap, and you will want to stay longer than you expected. So bring cash to allow yourself to live, and more to allow yourself to extend. 2. BEWARE OF THE SAND FLIES - The sand flies in Chacahua are some of the worst in Mexico. Especially at sunset. They come out and attack like no other. It's really only bad at sunset, but I would either bring some long pants (even though it's hot as hell) for sunset, or get some bug spray.
Chacahua is located in the state of Oaxaca. A little bit over an hour outside of Puerto Escondido. The place that you are trying to get to is a place called Lagunas De Chacahua. This is because Chacahua is essentially a barrier island on the outside of a fresh water lagoon or estuary type of thing. Inside the estuary at night you will find plenty of bioluminescent plankton and that pretty much the only real "sight" to see while you are here. If you want something to map in order to get here just click on the location button. That will take you to exactly where it is.
Now on to getting there. Getting to Chacahua isn't exactly an easy thing to do. That's not to say that it's really all that hard either. But there are a few different options of ways to get there. You will, more likely than not be coming from Puerto Escondido. No matter which way you decide to take here you will need to get where you are going by boat. So the boat is a necessary step. the place where you pick up the lancha or speedboat El Zapotalito. Once you get to El Zapotalito, it will be pretty obvious to everyone in town that you are on your way to Chacachua, so they will know exactly what to do and will point you in the right direction. You need to get yourself to the lancha area right here.
GET TO EL ZAPOTALITO
1. Public Transport - the most common way - To get here with public transport you will just have to catch a bus from Puerto Escondido. There are no collectivos that are going directly from Puerto to Chacahua. So you will need to take a collectivo from downtown Puerto that is on its way to Rio Grande. Then you need to get off at the gateway for the town of El Zapotalito. The exit is here that you will want to get down from the collectivo. You will then have to catch a taxi to the aforementioned lancha area. The collectivo will be about 60 pesos, and the shared taxi 20 pesos. They usually wait for the taxis to fill up before driving into town.
2. Drive or Scooter - the faster way - If you have your own vehicle, I would recommend just driving to El Zapotalito. It's an easy and beautiful drive. There are a few homes in front of the lanchas that will safeguard your vehicle in their gate yards for about 20 pesos per day. Super safe. Many people in Puerto rent scooters also so if you have one the ride is very doable on a scooter. You can also get a taxi from Puerto Escondido all the way out to El Zapotalito directly. This will be much more expensive but you won't have to deal with finding a taxi at the entrance of town, or finding the collectivo in the first place.
OPTIONS ONCE YOU REACH EL ZAPOTALITO
1. Budget - There are going to be two options for transportation to get to the center of the town of Chacahua. This is the budget option. Once you get to the lanchas just say you want to take a camioneta or truck. They will take you on about a 10-minute drive through the lagoon to a little dock that lies on the barrier outland that hosts Chacahua. It will cost you 50 pesos to get there. Then once you are there you will hop in the back of an open air truck collectivo that will take you along dirt roads until you get dropped off in the center of town for another 50 pesos. This takes about 45 minutes and is much less scenic.
2. Scenic - I would say this is the preferred method of getting to Chacahua. When you find a lancha they will want to take you this way anyways. For about 200 pesos, the ride will take you through the lagoon and mangroves and essentially on a small tour of the lagoon. It is really beautiful and at times you go through these little like mangrove caves and it's just spectacular. The cost here is about 200 pesos. But it's a beautiful and memorable ride. I would recommend doing this on the way there, and the cheap option on the way back. The ride takes about 45 minutes, and drops you at the entrance of the beach pretty much.
When you have finally arrived in Chacahua, just go figure it out. I would be surprised if you have a plan about where you want to stay when you show up. I know I didn't. Just go walk around. Get familiar with the place and find a place that you feel suits you.
Below are some pictures of the lancha area, process, etc.
HOSTELS, CAMPING, AND HOTELS (IF ANY)
Chacahua surf camp is probably the best spot to stay in Chacahua for me. It's extremely basic. There is absolutely nothing indoors actually. It's just a two story palapa. There's no shower I don't think. But you have the ocean. There is a bathroom though. With a bunch of hung up hammocks and tents on the ground. But this was, at least when I was there, where all the dirtbaggiest surfers were living, and it was lovely. Here you will find people that are camping for weeks on end. Eating what they can and living cheap. It's a beautiful place with beautiful people.
Your housing options are frankly unique to say the least. There's not very many places where you will travel that the majority of the people are sleeping in hammocks or rented tents. That's how it goes here. Now there are places of course with rooms, but the most popular method of housing I would say is that people just rent a hammock or a tent for like 50 pesos per night.
When I arrived in Chacahua we just went up and down the beach inquiring about different prices and such for rooms, tents and hammocks. We essentially spent the better part of the next few weeks just hopping around from hammock to hammock at different places. It was amazing.
I wouldn't really recommend that you book anything in advance here. I have looked since I was last there and there are certainly more nice options when it comes to housing. I remember there being a lot of construction down the beach of what looked like nice little hotels. Those have come online so if you're looking for that, well unfortunately you can now find it. But there are nice and comfy options now in Chacahua. Change.
But if that's not what you are looking for I wouldn't bother booking anything here in advance. Just show up. See what's available, and what has a vibe that you like. Depending on who is where, each place may have a different kind of vibe going on from week to week. Just go up the beach and check it out.
There are a few local places that I can recommend though as a good place to start looking.
Cabanas Charly is an awesome little spot just one lot off the beach. It's a cheap spot to stay with really cool people and is locally owned by this legend named 'Charly'. He and his family are from Chacahua, and he is the man. They have some rooms available to rent that are really cheap as well so if you are over a hammock and want a bed, this is one of the best budget options. Vibes and people here at Charlys are cool also. All the hammocks and tents are for rent for the night.
Another place I stayed that I liked. This place is right on the water and in the middle of all of the restaurants and accommodation places on the beach. It's a nice spot with availability for a few hammock rentals, as well as a couple of budget rooms. The second-floor deck at this place is also an excellent place to relax. The name translates to 'window to the Pacific Ocean' essentially.
EATS
ALL THE REST
Up and down the beach there are a ton of places. Just go in and figure out pricing. A lot of them will have camping options that will look a lot like this. Chacahua at times looks a little bit more like Everest basecamp than a surf destination.
You are not going to be coming to Chacahua for the food. But that being said you have some good options to eat. It's not the cheapest thing in the world. For example you're going to spend a lot more money on food here in Chacahua than you would be back in Puerto Escondido.
But hey, you are on an island.
It's much harder to get things here than other places. With all the tourism as well, prices have gone up. I have outlined a few places that I ate at while in Chacahua.
Restaurants
Probably the most popular place in Chacahua to come for dinner on a nightly basis. We came here a lot. It's usually the only place in town where there's a good amount of people. The food is pretty good here, and the vibe is really nice as well.
Every Friday night there is an Italian guy with a brick oven who cooks pizza for as many people as he can. It only happens on Fridays, and is probably the only social event at night that ever happens in Chacahua. It's some really delicious pizza. You need to reserve your spot ahead of time before the dough runs out. Be prepared to wait up to 2 hours for your pizza if you don't. I don't know exactly where it is. Ask around and you will find out. Its somewhere near where I have linked.
Was one of my favorite spots to come eat. I usually came here every morning for some coffee and breakfast while we watched the waves and contemplated getting in the water. A great spot, with really nice people who run it.
Theres a little lady who is cooking up lentil soup every day. It's a good bowl of soup, and certainly the cheapest place to eat in town. If you want a cheap snack and are on a budget, this is your spot.
Good food here at a good price. If you are staying at surf camp this is going to be the closest and best food to you. I went here all the time.
Vendors on the Beach
All day there will be kids, men and women walking up and down the beach selling their locally made goods. There is everything from ice cream (he is the best), to empanadas, to donuts. Buy from them. It's worth it. The food is great, and you are supporting them. They are also so kind.
AND MANY MORE...
There are a ton of other local options here in Chacahua. Walk around and try new stuff. Even someone's little house that has a sign that they sell food could be delicious. Just give it all a try.
NIGHTLIFE
Cool little run-down bar right on the lagoon. It's a really nice spot to come get some drinks with friends in the evening. It's also not on the beach, so if you have been pretty much stuck to the beach this is a good thing to do that might be a little new.
There is no nightlife in Chacahua. There are places to drink, and people to get drunk with, but there is really no nightlife scene. I have two recommendations of places that I went to go out a little bit, but you certainly don't come here looking for a party.
At the little tienda is where you are going to have to buy all your beer. The front of that place can kind of turn into a little party. You can also make the party yourself. Start a bonfire, drink beers around it, whatever. You are the captain of your own fun here.
This is one of the only places where people congregate most every night to have some drinks. If you are looking to maybe get into something, then you can come here to get some drinks. Some people also go to one of the places around here to play pool a few nights a week.
SIGHTS
SURFING
This is why people come to Chacahua. It's really a surfing paradise to be honest. Like I have mentioned before, above all you do is surf, sleep, eat, maybe drink, then repeat it all after you fall asleep on the sand in your hammock. It's just a beautiful place.
The wave is a long right-hander that breaks over sand bottom off of a rock jetty. It works almost all year round and has the potential to be a really nice wave. When it's big I have heard that it can become barreling and really performance, but during the time that I was there it was a pretty mellow, 'good for everyone' wave. I tell people that it's probably the best place in Mexico to go if you really just want to improve your surfing and nothing else. The crowds are manageable, the waves entirely inconsequential, the locals friendly, and the takeoffs light. It's a long enough and mellow enough wave to allow you to get a few nice turns in, and really improve.
That being said, if you already know what you are doing, it's still a really amazing wave.
Wave season here is late April through September. But you are going to have waves all year round here. Just not the big ones that come through all summer long.
If you are not surfing here I can't imagine you would want to spend more than a few days here. Not much going on if you are not.
Really being in Chacahua is the thing that you are here to see. So soak it up. Enjoy it and try to relax. Relaxing and disconnecting from the entire rest of the world is the best thing to do here. So try and focus on that. I turned my phone off for 2 weeks and just lived here. It was really amazing. But that's what I wanted at the time.
There are a few things that are really nice to do here that I would recommend.
The Chacahua lighthouse is my favorite in Mexico. It's an awesome spot on the top of the hill on the other side of the river. Every night the surfers who are in town cross the river, get up the hill and hang out on top of the lighthouse while drinking beers and getting to know each other.
It's an awesome way to spend an evening. I would do it every night.
BIOLUMINESCENCE
There's some pretty nice bioluminescence here in the lagoon. They have little tours that you can go on at night to check it out. I don't know if you are bioluminescenced-out by now or not but it's a really nice activity to fill up some time if you are starting to get bored in Chacahua.
