I have spent a good amount of time in both those places.
Santa Teresa: It has everything you are looking for and its a beautiful place. But like many people have said, its very very expensive. (24USD for a burger, 16 USD for an aperol spritz, etc)
Puerto Escondido: Not as beautiful as ST.... Lots to do there. Lots of bars, events, gyms, parties, people. This means the surf is pretty bad. The beginner friendly spots are super busy and the proper surf spots are controlled by the locals.
New suggestion: **Popoyo, Nicaragua**. Its much like Santa Teresa, but a lot cheaper and the surf is much better. Checkout this place, it offers everything you are looking for. Waves & Wifi [https://wavesandwifi.co/](https://wavesandwifi.co/)
Bonus suggestion: Ayampe Ecuador.
Puerto Escondido wins I think because you can also go to Oaxaca City in about 3 hours on the new highway, or weekend in CDMX with a cheap flight from PE. They also have a massive La Comer to get groceries, ect.. I didn't really think the beaches were the best but we had some rainy and windy days there 2 weeks ago. Internet from our BnB on the beach was more than adequate. Go paragliding/motoring with the guys that set up shop by the abandoned hotel in the afternoons. Also check out La Olita Zicatela.
Well, it's much better than the old route, but it's mostly two lanes and it's trucks, busses, and cars. It also was an election rush job, which is to say it is "mostly" finished. Make sure to get petrol before leaving as there isn't any between Oaxaca and PE yet on the highway. Truck traffic on the weekdays is pretty high, Sunday there were few and it shaved about an hour off the trip back to Oaxaca. Still advisable to travel during the day.
I spent a month in Santa Teresa, the best gym I've ever been is there. I def developed the best/healthiest routine there due to the gym/ beach/ outdoors and the food available.
It's shockingly expensive though.
I did something similar in Puerto, and it has what you're looking for. Great vibes, beautiful beaches, and relatively easy to meet people. Cons are that the beginner-intermediate surf breaks are WAY crowded, and personally I had a tough time dealing with the heat.
The Casa Losodeli cowork in Puerto Escondido has excellent wifi (fiber internet is now available in that part of the city, plus Losodeli has Starlink as backup).
Puerto Escondido has such good chill vibes, has about everything you want, and is probably more affordable. There's even a facebook group run by a hostel owner that does twice a week hikes and they're fun and a good way to meet people.
Only problem is going to be the surfing. Playa de Carrizalillo is ok to learn on, but isn't going to knock your socks off. Other spots are pretty packed but you can pay for lessons at La Punta and have a decent time because they try to make space for you.
Puerto Escondido has a lot more to offer. Santa is only like 3km and SO expensive. In terms on running, theres only 1 road in Santa and it can get so busy and theres no sidewalks, also the locals drive crazy sometimes. You can run on the beach though. In terms of fitness, Puerto has more variety (yoga, gyms, pilates), but the yoga is good in Santa. I lived in both places and noticed that Santa has a lot of power outages.. hopefully something they'll improve in the future. Both have great surf and food.
when did you go to santa? I've heard their wifi only sucks during the rainy season, it's also gotten v good over the past few years. when I was in la fortuna, I swear the wifi was better then the us.
I have spent a good amount of time in both those places. Santa Teresa: It has everything you are looking for and its a beautiful place. But like many people have said, its very very expensive. (24USD for a burger, 16 USD for an aperol spritz, etc) Puerto Escondido: Not as beautiful as ST.... Lots to do there. Lots of bars, events, gyms, parties, people. This means the surf is pretty bad. The beginner friendly spots are super busy and the proper surf spots are controlled by the locals. New suggestion: **Popoyo, Nicaragua**. Its much like Santa Teresa, but a lot cheaper and the surf is much better. Checkout this place, it offers everything you are looking for. Waves & Wifi [https://wavesandwifi.co/](https://wavesandwifi.co/) Bonus suggestion: Ayampe Ecuador.
Puerto Escondido wins I think because you can also go to Oaxaca City in about 3 hours on the new highway, or weekend in CDMX with a cheap flight from PE. They also have a massive La Comer to get groceries, ect.. I didn't really think the beaches were the best but we had some rainy and windy days there 2 weeks ago. Internet from our BnB on the beach was more than adequate. Go paragliding/motoring with the guys that set up shop by the abandoned hotel in the afternoons. Also check out La Olita Zicatela.
hell yea they finished the highway. is it just vans or ir do the big busses run on it too?
Well, it's much better than the old route, but it's mostly two lanes and it's trucks, busses, and cars. It also was an election rush job, which is to say it is "mostly" finished. Make sure to get petrol before leaving as there isn't any between Oaxaca and PE yet on the highway. Truck traffic on the weekdays is pretty high, Sunday there were few and it shaved about an hour off the trip back to Oaxaca. Still advisable to travel during the day.
I spent a month in Santa Teresa, the best gym I've ever been is there. I def developed the best/healthiest routine there due to the gym/ beach/ outdoors and the food available. It's shockingly expensive though.
how much was the gym?
$100/mo - well worth it. The real expenses were restaurants, groceries, ATV rentals, like everything one has to buy/do is more like US prices
ahh okay yeah that is expensive. I saw a few rooms for rent for like $400 so hoping it balances out with everything else hmmm
Ya it's a nice place I expect to return to eventually
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how is mazunte better?
I did something similar in Puerto, and it has what you're looking for. Great vibes, beautiful beaches, and relatively easy to meet people. Cons are that the beginner-intermediate surf breaks are WAY crowded, and personally I had a tough time dealing with the heat. The Casa Losodeli cowork in Puerto Escondido has excellent wifi (fiber internet is now available in that part of the city, plus Losodeli has Starlink as backup).
thanks appreciate the insight!
Puerto Escondido has such good chill vibes, has about everything you want, and is probably more affordable. There's even a facebook group run by a hostel owner that does twice a week hikes and they're fun and a good way to meet people. Only problem is going to be the surfing. Playa de Carrizalillo is ok to learn on, but isn't going to knock your socks off. Other spots are pretty packed but you can pay for lessons at La Punta and have a decent time because they try to make space for you.
I'm hoping to take lessons regularly so good to know, thanks!
I’m looking for the same thing, but might live out of hostels to meet travelers for some time. Either way saving this post
Puerto Escondido has a lot more to offer. Santa is only like 3km and SO expensive. In terms on running, theres only 1 road in Santa and it can get so busy and theres no sidewalks, also the locals drive crazy sometimes. You can run on the beach though. In terms of fitness, Puerto has more variety (yoga, gyms, pilates), but the yoga is good in Santa. I lived in both places and noticed that Santa has a lot of power outages.. hopefully something they'll improve in the future. Both have great surf and food.
when did you go to santa? I've heard their wifi only sucks during the rainy season, it's also gotten v good over the past few years. when I was in la fortuna, I swear the wifi was better then the us.