1

When are you planning this beach trip?

Will you have a car or do you plan on public transportation?

By the way it is spelled Oaxaca and pronounced WA-HA-CA

Edited by: bajadude

2

May I ask why you are intending to spend a small fortune flying from Australia just to attempt a zero-cost beach vacation? I know a fair bit about Puerto Angel and Zipolite and can't recall anyone camping anywhere near the beaches. It's unnecessary since it is easy to find basic accommodation for 150 pesos a night. That's cheap.

If you really want to do this, I think you can only do so by finding a tiny village on the coast at the end of a road off highway 200 where you can pitch a tent for very little cost on private property. This last for security reasons.

3

Not wanting to risk the wrath of those that don't like to hear about Mexico being dangerous, and without knowing more details about the incident in Huatulco last year, one simply doesn't know if one should repeat the story of the young Mexican-Canadian girl (PhD student if that matters, which it probably doesn't) and her boyfriend found there. However, I would certainly advise my daughter to NOT camp on the Oaxaca coast.

4

I've spent quite a bit of time in Puerto Angel, and I cannot think of anywhere that fits your criteria ("beach where we can camp in a safe place, make our own food on a fire and swim safely in the beach"). PA is a pretty small town, and the local beaches all have lodging or eating establishments on/near them - you would be camping directly in front of a restaurant, or a naval base. Zipolite as well. Accessibility is a whole other issue (as Bajadude asks, are you renting a car - if so, you will have additional worries leaving it parked somehwere out of your sight). While there may be other places along the Oaxacan coast might fit the bill better, I simply do not think this is a practical (or smart) idea.

5

#3: "without knowing more details about the incident in Huatulco last year". Well, let me enlighten you. This was a car robbery of two locals (one of whom was studying in Canada) that took place many miles from the coast. The robbery turned violent and the bodies were buried on the beach.

6

A safer place might be Chacala, Nayarit...It appears to be suited for what you are looking for...

7

Are there many places in Oz where people can do similar things?

8

As others have pointed out, “camping wild” along deserted Mexican beaches may no longer be wise. So instead consider paying a few pesos (perhaps the equivalent of US $5 to $10 per night for a couple) to stay at a more secure, established camping location. In Pacific Mexico those places typically adjoin fishing villages. In addition to providing you with more safety (and peace of mind) than you would have camping alone on an isolated beach, such establishments (some of which are simply beach restaurants) can give you access to toilets, bathing facilities, and stores that stock food, large cheap bottles of purified drinking water (garafones) , and essentials of life such as beer.

Some places fitting the description above are located in coastal Michoacan. That area, and some in other states possessing attractive beaches, are covered extensively in the excellent camping oriented “Moon Guide to Pacific Mexico” by Bruce Whipperman. The only place in Michoacan that I’ve done such camping, thus far, has been Faro de Bucerias. The linked sites below present information about Faro and the Michoacan coast generally.

It is my impression that most people who camp along the Mexican Pacific fall into two categories: Mexican families filling beach areas with tents briefly at Christmas and Easter Time; or “snow birds”, residents of the USA or Canada who escape northern winters by driving to Mexico in order to camp there for weeks or months beside particular fishing villages. Most of those campers (both families from Mexican cities and the North American ‘snow birds’) do not venture all the way south to the Oaxacan coast.

Pacific Oaxaca, in contrast to the Michoacan coast, draws fewer campers but more international “backpackers”, people who fly into Mexico City (or Cancun) and then bus to beaches such as those near Puerto Angel, the ones that the original post mentioned. Those “backpackers” typically lodge near the sea in cheap cabanas or hostels, rather than sleeping in tents.

See:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1830109&messageID=16296134#16296134 (especially posts 5 and 9)

http://whileoutriding.com/2010/03/11/playa-real-to-zihuatanejo-the-michuacan-coast/

9

Baja Sur meets your list, anywhere south of Mulege is great for beach camping. However it's too hot for camping during our summer IMO.

10

There are a couple of campsites on the beach in central Puerto Escondido. I slept on the ground there once since I arrived on Christmas Eve and hotels were full. Many Mexicans were doing the same thing, that is, arriving by rented bus and sleeping on the ground. It is inexpensive, but I'm not sure it's the experience you are looking for.

11

AhHa Baja, the Pacific side can be foggy on the hottest days on the gulf side and this place comes to mind:
http://www.coyotecals.com/

Last july I left the Pacific side it was 71 degrees,3 hours later in Mulege it was 101.......

12

Its been many years, but I still remember the little bugs that sting on the beach at nite around PA, and that was in one of those dumpy overnite "hotels", even in my dumbest phase did I not do the beach there (well we did around Puerto Arista, that was kinda cool - BACK in the day - don´t get ideas poster, it has changed over the past 20 yrs)

Its very easy to "graduate" into a place with a fan, a legit room for $15-20 USD.... especially as said northword - you are paying all these thousands of $$ to get to the Americas. It is really an idiotic allocation of resources, to then sleep insecure on the beach. Well, we are only young and stupid once, I hope.

13

Only 101 in Mulege in July, darn near a cold front!

14

thanks for all the excellent and stupid, mean and silly info. some is very helpful.
ok to fill you in, i am nearning the end of a 1 year south america and mexico holiday and didnt fly from australia to mexico. i would never dream of camping on a deserted beach without facilities or paying.
we will be travelling with public transport.
come on guys lets keep it positive and honest on these forums.
why would i need info from 20 years ago, or need to know about a once off robbery a year ago.
yes there are thousands of places in australia for doing exactly this, most of them are free or cheap and right on the beach. but again how does this relate to my post?
unless its relevant keep your unrelated info to yourself please.