A Vacation in Huatulco, Mexico

 

I originally imagined this as a narrative of our experiences.  On reflection, what I'd like to do most is help you decide whether you'd like to visit Huatulco.  To do that better I have organized this by topic.

Contents

 

 

Who We Are

This article represents the viewpoint of one person, traveling with his family for a single week in Huatulco.  Naturally my comments will be biased.  Here's a little information to let you imagine who is "speaking". 

  • We are from the USA, specifically Northern California
  • We speak almost no Spanish
  • We have traveled to the Caribbean, South Pacific, Europe, and most of the U.S., but we are not frequent travelers
  • We stayed at the Barceló Huatulco Beach Resort
  • We are a family of three, with a 15 year old son
  • We traveled in February 2004

 

Getting to Huatulco

I'm not a travel agent, but here's what I know.  We bought a package through Pleasant Holidays, and things went well.  We also saw that Apple Vacations is active there.  Of course you can book flights yourself, or use any travel agent.  We heard that the number of direct flights has dropped substantially since "9/11", but there are still some direct flights from Chicago and other places in the U.S.  For us, it was not so easy.  We had to fly from San Jose, California via Los Angeles and Mexico City.  Due to the timing of flights, this required an overnight stay in L.A. each way.

 

The airport itself is small but adequate, and Mexicana serves it regularly with modern jets, so if you can get to Mexico City you should have no trouble.  The coastal road runs up through all the Pacific towns and resorts, so if you travel by car that is an option.  I would not recommend driving from Mexico City unless you are adventurous and like long drives.  The locals say it takes about 12 hours.  There are many mountains in between and a planned modern highway has not been built yet.

 

Geography

Where is this place and what's the layout?  Look at any map of Mexico and follow the Pacific coast from North to South.  Go right past the big peninsula which is Baja California and keep going.  The coast is running roughly from northwest to southeast.  Eventually it takes a big curve and runs east and even a bit north.  This is where Huatulco lies.  It's in the state of Oaxaca, and if you went much further you'd be in the state of Chiapas and then the country of Guatemala.  Pronunciations?  I say "wah tool co", "wah hah cah", and "chee ah pas".

 

There are many sites with maps.  Here's one with a map of Huatulco.

 

The Huatulco area comprises 9 bays, a couple of small towns, and 36 separate beaches separated by rocky areas.  The beaches themselves vary in size, steepness, and the texture of the sand.  In front of the central group of resorts in Tangolunda Bay, the sand is quite coarse but very clean and free of rocks.  It slopes down steeply, so it is not a great place for a stroll along the water, though we did it anyway.  The slope continues underwater, so this is not a place to leave a small child or a nonswimmer unattended.  You can go from knee-deep to shoulder-deep water in just a step or two.  This is fine for swimming, but it also means that even if the waves were large enough for boogie boards or body surfing, each ride might come to a rather abrupt end.  Another bay we visited, Maguey, had finer sand and a more gradual slope, but we didn't stay long enough to have more details

 

Inland from the bays the land becomes mountainous.  These appear to be old mountains, with rounded edges rather than jagged peaks.  The nearby hills look only a couple of thousand feet tall, but higher peaks were visible.  There are two year-round rivers which bound the eastern and western edges of Huatulco, as well as many seasonal washes.

 

Climate

Huatulco has very definite wet and dry seasons, with tropical temperatures.  We experienced 80 to 90 degree temperatures, with a couple of cloudy days but no rain.  This is apparently typical.  Water temperatures must have been in the low 80's, but that's a guess.  It felt cool going in, but you could stay in the water quite a long time without feeling chilled at all.

 

The rains start between May and July, and continue through October.  Contrary to what one author wrote, the rains tend to be heavy but few (perhaps 15 rains per year) and last for several hours.  We were told that the very first rain causes the jungle to turn green within days.  It then stays lush until the dry season begins, when the foliage drops and the landscape turns to gray-brown until the next rains.

 

I found (after the trip, unfortunately) some good climate information at tomzap.com.

 

Lodging Options

Again, I'm not a travel agent.  This is just the small bit that I observed and read.  The designated luxury resort area is Tangolunda Bay.  Here are the Barceló, Gala, Crown Pacific, La Quinta Real, Camino Real, and Las Brisas (formerly Club Med) resorts.  All except the Crown Pacific are on the water, and the Crown Pacific guests seem to have good beach access as well.  All are very nice from what I saw, but amenities vary.  I was quite jealous of Gala's fleet of shiny catamarans, as I sat and looked at Barceló's one beat-up sailboat.  Ask in advance about the things which matter most to you.

 

There are many other places to stay in Huatulco.  I'm sure that if you dig you can find a range of reasonable prices.  It depends how close to the beaches you need to be, and what your idea of acceptable comfort is.

 

One more comment.  Many places here offer all-inclusive plans, and some of those make the plan optional.  It is said that the plans are a good deal even if you don't use every amenity and eat every meal on site.  Still if you prefer to use your hotel as a base and spend all of your time elsewhere, you might not want such a plan.

 

Restaurants

The restaurants in Huatulco tell the story of a resort in its formative years.  We were generally disappointed in the Barceló, but happy everywhere else we ate.  Our comments are not meant to cover all the options - we were only there a week.

 

  • Barceló "Dona Rosa": This buffet-style restaurant was where we always had breakfast, and sometimes dinner.  I was very happy with breakfast - on the light side, there was always plenty of fresh fruit, baked goods, and plain and flavored yogurt.  You could also get an omelet made to order or a selection of 10 or so other items of the sort which can sit on a hot table for hours.  In the evening I was always less impressed.  Plenty of selections, but the meal as a whole never seemed to really "hit the spot".  There were always a few Mexican dishes, but not enough to make a meal of, and always more bland than in the non-hotel restaurants (or California, for that matter).
  • Barceló poolside restaurant: We usually had lunch here.  Uninspired green salad, nice mixed-seafood salads, chips, salsa, and guacamole.  Usually hamburgers.  Also a half dozen or so hot table items.  Soft drinks and beer on tap (right beside each other - you don't see that in the U.S.).  Not an exciting place to eat, but satisfying once I learned what I liked and what to avoid.
  • Barceló "Don Quixote": This was the designated fine restaurant.  You can eat here a limited number of times on the all-inclusive plan.  Once per week I think.  The first thing that we noticed was that there was no non-smoking section.  Not the best way to enjoy good food and wine, in our opinion.  Service was good.  The wine list was limited, but fairly wide-ranging, with most of the big winemaking countries represented, except the U.S.  Our first selection, a Valpolicella, was out of stock.  We jumped to a wine listed as "St. Emilion" - as if there was only one wine made in that region of France.  Nevertheless, it was a perfectly acceptable wine.  On to the food.  My lamb cutlets were dry, and cut so thin that it would have been hard to not overcook them.  My wife's steak was very tough and the dull "steak knives" didn't help.  Our son was the lucky one.  He had a different cut of meat, served with bleu cheese.  It was tender, juicy, and cooked as ordered.  I don't even remember what we had as a first course, but dessert was good.
  • Barceló steak restaurant:  After our experience at Don Quixote, we decided not to risk another night, and went to Don Porfirio (see below).
  • El Sabor de Oaxaca:  The restaurant is mentioned in many online reviews and all the guide books.  They specialize in Oaxacan cuisine, which is distinctive and delicious.  [aside - our trip was actually an indirect result of a cookbook we bought, by Susana Trilling]  Our meal was delicious.  Two of us got the sampler of Oaxacan food, which includes several meats, tortilla chips with beans and guacamole, mole, and several other items, and soft warm tortillas on the side.  This isn't a cheap place, but it's not expensive by U.S. standards either.  No complaints.
  • Don Porfirio: at least on the night we were there, this seemed to be the place for folks from the U.S. and Canada.  It's an easy walk from most of the Tangolunda hotels, and is very inviting.  They display the day's catch on ice by the sidewalk, and grill many of the items a few feet away.  Many diners got up to watch their selections cook.  Aside from one noisy birthday party, it was a pleasant place to eat.  Service was good but not great, and I ended up with lobster rather than snapper, but they were apologetic and offered to replace it (I kept the lobster).  We spent a little over $100 for 3.  Again not cheap, but not so bad either.
  • Le Casa de Maria Sabina:  This was a very interesting experience.  Maria Sabina is on opposite end of a shopping area from Don Porfirio.  I can't remember ever seeing such an extreme case of a restaurant appearing to fail while doing everything right.  They have good street visibility for anyone riding to the nearby hotels.  They promote themselves in other ways very similar to Don Porfirio.  It's visually appealing with good lighting, bright colors, a nice fountain, and touches like coordinated glassware which matches the tablecloths.  The service was attentive, and the food excellent.  Both Oaxacan and more general dishes were offered. We spent only 2/3 as much here as at Don Porfirio.  How could this place not be full of customers?  On a Friday night there was one table seated ahead of us, and no other customers appeared the whole night!  The only thing that could be a negative with some customers is that very little English is spoken by the staff.  Still, I don't think this explains it.  Most visitors here speak some Spanish, and our waiter was very helpful in overcoming the lack of much common vocabulary.
  • La Crucecita square: There are a number of restaurants around the square and on the adjacent side streets.  We didn't stop but it was tempting.
  • La Crucecita market: Another place we didn't eat.  There is a market not far from the square where fresh foods are sold in a large number of stalls.   There are also some sellers of clothing, tourist items, and so on.  More than half of the customers here appear to be local, and there is a section where meals are served at long tables.  Dozens of items are listed on large signs, with prices about 1/3 of what we paid in restaurants.  No tourists here.  We were not in the market for a meal at the time, so I can't tell you about the food.  Try at your own risk.

 

Speaking of risk, let me address the common fears of folks from the USA.  The water at the resorts is highly filtered, and I wouldn't even consider needing bottled water there.  Really, any place on the main Huatulco water system should be good.  In the outlying areas you may want to be more careful.  Some books warn against eating salads and other uncooked foods, but again this mainly applies in outlying areas.  We ate everything that was offered and had no trouble.  Of course some common sense should be applied.  If you find some out-of-the-way place with perishable food sitting out unprotected you should realize that this is risky anywhere in the world.

 

Water Sports

As always, my comments are limited by what I observed in one low-key week.

 

Sailing: many resorts have small boats which can be borrowed or rented.  I didn't see a lot of large boats.  Conditions are nice, with enough wind to move well and modest waves.  Most bays big enough to sail in are open to the Pacific, so there are probably some days when things get rough.  The big issue here is to ensure that you will have access to a decent boat.  Check with your resort about what they actually have on hand, or be prepared to pay substantial prices.

 

Kayaking:  Plastic kayaks are widely available.  Fun to cruise the bay in, but if you are accustomed to high-end equipment you may be disappointed.

 

Snorkeling:  Excellent, with caveats.  Fish life is abundant, varied, and colorful.  Both on our tour of the bays (see below) and right in front of the hotel, there were nice spots with plenty to see in water from 3 feet to 20 feet deep.  Some areas have coral reef and others just have good rock-based habitats.  We didn't see the variety of corals here that you might see in the Caribbean, but the reefs were definitely there.  Now for the caveats.  For a couple of days, there were small stinging jellyfish in the water in front of our hotel.  They didn't seem to invade the water closest to shore, so most swimmers were not affected.  Going out to a good snorkeling spot was another matter.  We got dozens of tiny stings, which were not terribly painful, but enough to turn us back.  We were told that this doesn't happen often, but I don't really know.  Second caveat: as with most locations, water clarity varies.  We had as much as 50 feet of visibility, but one day we could see only about 3 feet and had to give up.  There had been some fairly strong wind the afternoon before, but we had thought that the calm night would let things settle.  Not so.

 

Scuba: has to be good, but we didn't try.

 

Surfing/boogie boards/body surfing:  Where we were, the waves were too small and the beaches too steep for these activities.  We were told that one of the easternmost beaches had decent boogie boarding.  For surfing, all sources recommend Puerto Escondido which is some distance west of Huatulco and has a southwestern exposure.

 

Fishing: another thing we didn't try, but there are many boats available.  Some are large, and can be booked through the big tour operators at rates which seemed high to my inexperienced eyes.  The cheaper way is to let one of the guys who walk the beach hook you up with a smaller boat.  They appear to be set up for 4 to 6 customers.  They are equally willing to use these boats to do a custom tour of the bays for your party, or to take you somewhere for snorkeling.

 

Water skiing, parasailing, etc.:  We didn't see any of this.  Maybe if you ask.

 

Jet skis: These are available, but I didn't see anyone rent one.  Just as well.  I might have started throwing rocks if they ruined the peacefulness of the bay.

 

Tours

When we arrived at the hotel, our tour operator showed us a big book describing various tours we could book.  We selected two.  A more adventurous traveler might do some of these things more independently or more cheaply, but we were happy with what we did.  Well, mostly.

Tour of the Bays

They say you haven't seen Huatulco if you haven't seen the bays.  Excuse me while I fall completely into "this is what I did on my vacation" mode.

 

The tour started with a van ride to Santa Cruz.  We appeared to be the only customers from the Barceló.  In Santa Cruz we went through the rather confusing process of getting tickets and getting on the right boat.  Everything was prepaid, but there were vouchers and tickets going in several directions.  In any case, there were shaded benches for waiting, and after a short time we got on board the Tequila, a fairly large catamaran-hulled boat.  It seemed full, but not crowded with about 70 passengers.  3 of the passengers were light-skinned and didn't speak Spanish.  That would be us.  We were surprised that promotion of this trip to foreigners hadn't been more successful, but as always in Huatulco, it wasn't a problem.  A few passengers spoke to us in English, and the crew member who occasionally described things along the way was careful to translate most things into English, just for us.

 

Huatulco does have a beautiful coastline.  It would be best in the wet season with green foliage on all the trees, but even in February alternating rocky and sandy sections were interesting, and the missing foliage made the occasional large cacti stand out from the gray trees.  We stopped once to observe two humpback whales, which came fairly close to the boat.  We were also accompanied by a small pod of dolphins for a short time.  Jim saw a ray in the water, and we believe it was a small Manta Ray, since it had the characteristic projects from the head.

 

Our first stop was a snorkeling spot with a coral reef in San Agustín Bay.  Most people got a ride into the beach on the launch and eased in from the sand, but we went right off the boat and swam to the reef.  Either was okay with the crew.  There were plenty of colorful fish, but perhaps the most impressive sight was a large school of 6 to 8" fish at the edge of the reef.  There were many thousands, swimming very close together so that you could only see a foot or so into the school.  Swimming down into the school caused them to part smoothly, revealing that the school was in fact many feet thick.  They would flow back into a single school when not disturbed.

 

As with many tropical locations, time is not the same here as at home.  We made a point of returning to the boat after the announced one hour, but it was quite a while before the launch brought people from shore.  We could have explored a second location which a crew member had pointed out earlier.

 

Back toward our starting point, with one more stop to make.  On this leg I spotted a sea turtle swimming at the surface, allowing many others to see it.  Turtles and their protection are a big thing here.  We also saw another humpback.  We heard that this is common, and also that it's rare this time of year.  When not enjoying the quiet beauty of the sea life, we were treated to a fairly wild time on the boat.  There was very loud Mexican music, to which some of the crew started dancing.  It was quite a feat for them to do as well as they did as we plunged through some of the larger swells.  A few passengers joined in as well.

 

Our lunch stop at Maguey Bay was quite an experience.  The launch ferried us to shore for lunch, which was not included in the package (this was made clear in advance).  On hitting the beach, our group of 3 was snagged by an eager employee of one of the several restaurants, who guided us into the shaded rectangle of beach which was their dining area.  We feared that this might be a mistake, but things worked out well.  The waiter brought by a tray showing us some of the fresh items, including three sizes of snapper.  I had the smallest snapper, for 90 pesos.  Kathy had fish tacos and Jim had shrimp with garlic.  The meal was preceded by the usual chips and salsa, but the chips were whole corn tortillas and the salsa reminded me of one of the sauces Kathy made at home (with great effort) from our Oaxacan cookbook.  It was all good.  During the meal we were approached by many wandering vendors, including a man with a guitar, women carrying perhaps 20 dresses, children with trinkets, and a man with a huge Iguana who would let you take a picture with it for a fee.  This could have been very annoying if they were aggressive about it, but in fact they were all polite, and a quiet "no" was always enough to send them on their way.

 

After lunch came the big surprise.  No one had gone back to the boat yet, so Jim and I took a walk down the beach while Kathy stayed near the restaurant.  By the time we turned and came back, the Tequila was gone!  At first I assumed that it was just out of sight, waiting in a better anchorage, but that was just wishful thinking.  The boat had gone home without any passengers.  Some of the Spanish-speaking passengers seemed just as confused as we were.  After a while we observed that a larger catamaran which had followed the same route was loading up.  After some confusion, we determined that we were to return with them.  We had left our snorkel and some minor valuables on board the first boat and feared that they would be lost.  In fact, our things had been bundled into a large garbage bag with many other items, and everything was there.  That determined, we were able to relax for the return trip and dismiss our thoughts of sleeping on the beach with the stray dogs and crabs, or trying to hitchhike back to the hotel.

 

Apparently the different tour operators help each other out, and there was no need for two boats.  We just didn't know about that at the time.

Coffee Plantation and Cascades

 

This tour was a real winner.  Our guide picked us up at the hotel, and he let us know that this was not just the ride to the start of the tour.  He was our guide for the whole day.  A second group didn't show up after we waited 8 minutes past the designated time, so we moved on.  We stopped once or twice along the well-paved highway to see good views of some of the eastern bays, and then headed up into the mountains.  The turn was just before Rio Copalita, the river which forms the eastern boundary of Huatulco.

 

The upward road is gravel, and has some pretty good bumps in spots, but as the main access to many villages it is kept in decent shape.  It is a road where the driver makes a big difference.  As our comfortable vehicle rolled up the hill at a moderate speed we were glad not to be in one of the local "taxis" which consist of an open truck where passengers stand around the high sides of the bed as the driver careens along.

 

Our first stop was in a small village where we saw tortillas being made by hand, and had a taste.  As we prepared to leave, the other party caught up, by taxi (a normal car, not one of the open trucks).  They turned out to be a mother, her two daughters, and another girl from Mexico City.  They joined us for the rest of the day.  We no longer had a private all-English tour, but we gained some good company.  The mother and the youngest girl spoke Spanish and English, and the older girls spoke Spanish and French.  Actually, I suspect that they spoke English pretty well, but chose not to do it - must be a teenager thing.

 

Our next stop was for a small snack and a choice of hibiscus water or coffee at the plantation we would see in more detail later.  Then on to the cascades.

 

This was one of the most beautiful places I have seen.  The waterfalls are not impressive in their size, but the setting is amazing.  The river is surrounded with tropical foliage, watered by the river and by more frequent rains that the coastal area receives.  In combination with the light colored bottom and partial sun, the water had a beautiful color from above.  The water was chilly, but not cold enough to stop any of us from swimming.  I could see ten or twenty feet underwater without goggles, and it would have been more if not for air bubbles from the falls.  One of the charms of this spot is that the water flow is powerful enough to be fun, but gentle enough to be safe for most swimmers.  There is a series of cascades, each with shallow water above and deeper water below.  In places you can swim behind the falls, and there is a rope where you can swing out and drop into the water.

 

This place is so beautiful that I actually hope not too many people go there.  Efforts are being made to preserve the area, but I fear that an excess of visitors would damage the cascades themselves, which appear to be made of accumulated sediment which might be damaged by too many hands and feet.  The good news is that the locals are very protective of this little treasure.  In addition to our tour guide, a man from the local community joined us, partly to see that the rules were followed.  There is a locked gate on the road, and only approved groups may enter.

 

After a moderately strenuous climb back to the van we returned to the plantation.  Here we had a meal of local Mexican foods which was very enjoyable.  A couple of meats, salsa, tortillas, rice, beans, and more were included, with an optional shot of mezcal.

 

[Side note: Mezcal is the same as tequila, except for the name.  Only certain areas are allowed to label their product "tequila".  Like most drinks, it comes in a wide range of prices and qualities.  No relation to mescaline.]

 

Finally, we toured a lower portion of the plantation.  We learned about how coffee is grown, including some of the ways they control pests while keeping the "organic" designation for their products.  There were also other tropical trees, such as cinnamon, cacao, and banana.  We didn't make it to the upper slopes where the main crop is grown, but it was still informative.  We also saw the production equipment which turns the raw beans into a finished product.  At the end of the tour you have the option to buy their coffee beans for about $12 per kilogram.

 

That was it for the tour.  A long ride back to the hotel ended the day.  Actually, there was one interruption.  We were stopped by armed soldiers as we turned from the main highway into the resort area.  Apparently Chiapas rebels and their sympathizers are a concern here, and there are checkpoints where they check for them as well as for drug trafficking.  This was a non-nonsense check. We all had to get out of the vehicle and wait while they looked around.  They were serious but not aggressive, and within a few minutes we were on our way.  I look at this like security checks at an airport - possibly irritating but probably better than the alternative.

Other Tours

There were another half-dozen tours which we didn't go on, though they may be great.  I will chime in with one of the guide-book authors and suggest that you don't go on the tour which includes riding into the jungle on ATVs.  Why add that noise and pollution into the jungle when there are other good ways to go?

 

Economic Development

What's this?  An economics textbook?  Certainly not, but it may help you to envision what this area is like.  Huatulco is under long-term development by a central tourism authority, Fonatur.  Their goals include creating a major resort area, and preserving the environment and character of the area better than in previous developments such as Cancun.

 

What I see in Huatulco is perhaps typical of government-driven development everywhere.  Things are moving forward, but not necessarily in a balanced way.  There are well-built four lane roads with stop signs in places where there will be no cross traffic for years.  There are buildings meant for retail stores which sit empty.  An entire condominium building with provisions for a bar or restaurant on the first floor looks nearly abandoned, but it is being maintained.  Some businesses are thriving and with others you wonder how they hang on.

 

If Fonatur and other agencies are able to carry out their plans (especially a modern highway from the city of Oaxaca to Huatulco) this will probably become the thriving resort they have in mind.  If not, there will be a lot of disappointment, but it will remain a good destination for some.

 

What does this mean to you as a visitor in 2004 or soon thereafter?  Good roads, safe food and water, and excellent treatment of tourists.  Resorts which are very nice, but still finding out who their customers are and what amenities are important to them.  Employees who have been adventurous enough to move to a new area.

 

In short, if you go with the attitude that you will enjoy what is best and ignore the rough edges, you will have a good time.  If you want perfection, pay twice as much and stay closer to the beaten path.

 

Language

It would be polite as a guest in Mexico to learn some of their language.  That said, we went with a combined speaking vocabulary of about 10 words.  We could understand slightly more than that.  Everyone was very tolerant of our ignorance.  The key is to be patient and find out what words you have in common.  Even if you know only a little Spanish, try using it.  The effort will be appreciated even if the conversation ends up being in English.

 

  • Spanish (the Mexican version of course) is naturally the language of choice here, and not just among the locals.  Many guests were Mexican.
  • French is spoken by quite a few guests, both French Canadian and French.
  • English is spoken widely, but with varying levels of skill.  "Front line" employees at the big places speak clear English.  Taxi drivers and bartenders may speak just enough to do their jobs, or may be quite fluent.  Outside the resort, you may not get very far without knowing some Spanish.

 

An interesting fact is that Spanish is not the first language of everyone in Oaxaca.  Especially in more rural areas Mixtec or. Zapotec dialects may be the primary language.  Remember when someone is trying to help you that he may be working in his third or fourth language.

 

Money and Tipping

I'll leave it to you to figure out a strategy for your money, but here are some useful facts.

  • The exchange rate is close to 11 pesos per dollar at this time.
  • On the street, prices were usually in pesos, and they would happily accept 1 dollar for every 10 pesos, making the math easy.  Of course this meant an automatic markup for the sellers.
  • Haggling over prices is possible, but doesn't seem excessive.  Asking for a better price would usually yield a lower quote, but if you decided not to take that price they didn't argue or offer a new price.  This might have been a little different if we spoke more Spanish.
  • By using a credit card you usually get a good exchange rate but almost all establishments tack on an 8% service charge.  I'd like to know how much the credit card companies actually charge them.
  • ATMs are fairly common.  You can get various fixed amounts up to 3000 pesos.
  • Amounts in pesos are often written with the same "$" symbol we use for dollars.  Usually it's obvious which units they are using.  If in doubt, ask.
  • Small change can be in short supply.  Get change when you can to make small purchases easier.
  • We were very inconsistent tippers.  Sometimes we probably overdid it and sometimes we were out of small currency or weren't sure what to do and gave nothing.  Nobody seemed offended either way, so you probably need a better source if you want to know what's "normal" there.

 

 

People

We had great experiences with almost everyone.  There were a few Americans who drank too much and got loud, but that's the only negative thing I have to say.  Guests, employees, and local residents were all relaxed, adaptable, and helpful.

 

For lack of a better place, I'll mention crime.  As far as we could tell, there isn't any.  I'm sure this isn't strictly true, but we didn't see or hear of even a minor theft.  We felt safe everywhere.

 

Barceló Huatulco Beach Resort

We stayed at the Barceló, and didn't see much of the other resorts except their beaches.

 

Good:

  • Every thing was always clean and neat
  • Employees were always helpful
  • Plenty of food and drink
  • Pool and beach were not crowded
  • Nice location and view from the room
  • Tennis courts with racquets and balls available (but bring your own if you're picky)
  • Interesting snorkeling right out front
  • Quiet mornings and evenings

 

Not So Good:

  • Not enough shaded beach chairs at the pool or on the beach.
  • Nowhere to get a good Mexican meal in the hotel.
  • Mediocre food in many cases.
  • Disappointing workout room - okay weights, but the only bicycle was broken.
  • Only one worn sailboat.  I never even saw it with the mast in place.
  • Steep beach.

 

Your call:

  • Relatively few guests from the U.S.A.
  • Loud, colorful, slightly cheesy floor shows on many nights
  • There were nonsmoking sections in most restaurants, but they weren't well separated from the smoking areas.

 

Would We Do This Again?

Absolutely.  You might get the impression from some of the negative comments I have made that this vacation was not a success.  In fact, we got the overall experience we wanted.  We mixed a range of activities with some pure relaxation.  We got a taste of Mexico.  Transportation and hotel arrangements went smoothly.  We were physically and socially comfortable almost all the time.  We spent a lot less money than we would have in a more exotic destination.

 

Sure, some details were not what we hoped, but it was a great experience overall.

Bibliography

Disclaimer: I wrote this page for the enjoyment of family and friends and as a source of information for fellow travelers. I certainly didn't do it for the money, but if you buy something through the links below I'll get a kickback.

Susana Trilling's book triggered this whole adventure. The food is delicious, and reading the book is an education, but Oaxacan cooking is not for the lazy.

Rick Bayless is recommended by one of my "foodie" friends for Mexican cuisine in general.

The travel books we used are at right. Of course there are tons of others out there. For more, you can link straight to an Amazon search for books on travel in Oaxaca.