1

No contest: Puerto Escondido.

2

...which town/ city we should stay in first....

I suppose it depends to some extent upon which direction you're coming from, but without knowing more, I also vote for Puerto Escondido. Check http://www.tomzap.com for more.

3

If you're independent travelers who don't need much in the way of 'hand holding,' then the coast of the state of Michoacan might be right for you. But the best-known and most highly-regarded surf scene with a wide-range of services for tourists appears to be at Zicatela, to the SE of Puerto Escondido. There's surfing at Playa Bonfil, at the SE tip of Acapulco but it's 'minor league' and not consistent and doesn't draw many people from outside the immediate area who have no place else to go. Troncones, up by Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa draws some surfers. Zihua is a laid-back area which many people enjoy.

LW

4

Obviously I pasted this but have had friends and family rave about the town and the surf. On a point and looks like lots of fun. Do a google earth but remember it is in Nayarit.

-Driving north from Puerto Vallarta take the main coast highway (200) toward Campostela take Sayulita turnoff to your right drive to beach. Sayulita is in the state of Nayarit not Jalisco as it is incorrectly listed in wannasurf.
+
North of Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco), south of Tepic/San Blas (Nayarit) from Hwy 200. 3km from main road. Very easy to locate and access from Puerto Vallarta. A well known surf town and beach.
DistanceIn the city

WalkGood walk (15-30 mn)

Easy to find?OK

Public access?Public access

Special accessDon't know

SURF SPOT CHARACTERISTICS

SURF SPOT QUALITY
Wave quality

ExperienceAll surfers

FrequencyVery consistent (150 day/year)

WAVE
TypeReef-coral

DirectionRight and left

BottomSandy with rock

PowerFun

Normal lengthLong (150 to 300 m)

Good day lengthVery Long (300 to 500

5

A good chuck of the Michoacán Coast South of Manzanillo to Playa Azul

6

Cheers guys all your comments have been very helpful. We fly in to LAX and are looking to continue south as far as Peru over six month period on a budget of $1000 each a month. we are two couples so $4000 for the four of us. We are looking for descent lodging as long as is safe for the women. any recomendations would be very helpful.
thanks again

7

We are also keen for Surfing, hiking, Learning spanish, Mayan ruins, Partying, Indigenous cultures and are up for an experience

8

This is beginning to sound like a hoax.

LW

9

... Mayan ruins....

You won't find any Mayan ruins near the Pacific coast of Mexico, but you'll find spectacular pre-Columbian Zapotec ruins at Monte Alban, next to Oaxaca city, just a six-hour drive from Puerto Escondido across the mountains. It'll be an experience.

10

Lake Wobegone -- I looked up the original poster's prior Thorn Tree posts. Based on those, I doubt that this one is simply a hoax. Nor I am I fully convinced that his or her plans for the "grand tour" in question have advanced very far yet. Sometimes there's a fine line between dreaming, scheming, and practical trip planning.

"We are also keen for Surfing, hiking, Learning spanish, Mayan ruins, Partying, Indigenous cultures and are up for an experience "

The best places to study Spanish are generally not located in 'party central' coastal resorts or in surfing places. Good Spanish schools are typically located instead up at cooler elevations in the mountains. The Guatemalan highlands are an especially cheap (and beautiful) place to receive high quality Spanish instruction. Hiking also tends to be better up in the mountains than it is down in the hot coastal regions. And, as Mcclajh points out, not all of Mexico's greatest ruins are 'Mayan' ones.

"We fly in to LAX and are looking to continue south as far as Peru over six month period on a budget of $1000 each a month."

If you are frugal and plan well, you could travel/live economically in Latin America for six months within the budget contemplated. That would be easiest to accomplish (and perhaps also more rewarding) if you limit a bit the amount of long distance travel that you do. Consider spending your entire six months just in Mexico, or perhaps in Mexico plus some parts of Central America. Besides being exhausting, moving long distances from place to place can be a budget buster. You may not realize yet how far Peru is from LAX, or how many great places, each worth staying in for a while, lie between those two places.

11

Thanks again for all the comments guys all are very helpful and our plans are very open to changes. and to Lake wobegone i cant understand why this would be a hoax but maby i missed something.
Thanks Again

12

fulljiblett, Do not be intimated by Lake-Wobegon. He is on medication and does not always take it evidently and becomes a mental case. He has accused me of never being to Acapulco or Mexico in general. I have been going there for like 10 years .Buena suerte, Edmund

13

Sayulita just north of Puerto Vallarta for surfing and the ladies will enjoy it as there are plenty of other things to do unlike the coast of Michoacan. Consider camping, it will give you access to less touristy places for substantially less money.

14

cheers holly hunter Sayulita sounds great will definately add it to the agenda . camping sounds allot like our style but how safe is it? because we are traveling with our girlfriends