The Best Beaches in Huatulco – 2022 edition
Throughout this site, I share with you many of the wonderful things about Huatulco, but if there is one thing that Huatulco is most famous for and most worth visiting – it’s the beaches! Huatulco is home to the best beaches in Oaxaca, and all 36+ of our sandy shores have something unique to offer.
If you are interested in learning more about all of Huatulco’s beaches, check out my post The 36+ Beaches of Huatulco – The Ultimate List. But if you are only here for a few days or weeks, it would be impossible to narrow them down so I will do it for you – here is my guide to the Best Beaches in Huatulco!
The Best Beach in Huatulco
The term “best” is obviously very subjective, so this is a nearly impossible category. However; whether you want to relax in a restaurant, my pick for the best beach in Huatulco has the perfect mix of everything.
Maguey Beach & Bay
Maguey is one of the 9 bays of Huatulco, and in my opinion, is the best “has something for everyone” beach in Huatulco. It is easily accessible by car, taxi, or even bike if you really wanted to, but is also a common stop for boat tours. It is half-serviced, but half the beach is empty of any restaurants or businesses if you want to relax on your own with a bag lunch.
To top it off, the waters are great for swimming and it has some great snorkelling for beginners or advanced snorkelers and free-divers!
Maguey is popular because it is so easy to access, but even in the busiest high season you can find a secluded space on the beach away from the restaurants. For me, these are the things that make it the best beach in Huatulco!
The Most Popular Beaches in Huatulco
The beaches in Huatulco that you will find to be the most popular are generally characterized by their accessibility. Here are the easiest to get to beaches in Huatulco.
#1 Playa Santa Cruz
Bahía Santa Cruz is a hub of activity in Huatulco. It is where you will find the recreational marina that all the tours leave from, a diving centre, and some of the best beach restaurants in Huatulco. It is a very popular place to enjoy the day because of its calm waters or to dance the night away at one of the many restaurants.
#2 Playa La Entrega
La Entrega is located in Bahía Santa Cruz and is an extremely popular beach because of its easy access from Santa Cruz. It is a great place to enjoy a full-service beach and snorkel in the shallow, never-ending coral.
The best time to visit La Entrega is first thing in the morning to beat the crowds. Later in the day (after 11am) the beach fills will young families, stirring the sand and affecting visibility. Playa La Entrega is also outside of the Huatulco National Park, so the damage to the coral is noticable (and heartbreaking!).
#3 Playa Tangolunda
Tangolunda is made popular because it is in the hotel district. Most of Huatulco’s all-inclusive hotels are in Tangolunda, as well as high-end hotels, and the golf course. This keeps the bay bustling with activity!
#4 Playa Chahue
Chahue is popular with tourists, residents, and locals, but for different reasons.
Tourists and foreign residents frequent Chahue beach because that is where the majority of the beach clubs are. Because the water is not safe to swim in here, many of Huatulco’s most popular beach clubs have set up shop here to take advantage of the amazing views, and offer pools for travelers to cool off in.
On the local side, Chahue is an extremely popular chill spot in the evenings. The southwest facing bay offers incredible views of the sun and moon rises during certain times of the year, and its pretty much the only beach close to town that hasn’t been taken over by restaurants, so there is room for plenty of people to put down their blankets and enjoy the evenings.
Best Serviced Beaches
The beaches in Huatulco are typically either full-service or unserviced, not really anything in-between. Full-service beaches have restaurants as well as places to rent snorkel gear, some salespeople selling artisan crafts, and boating adventures like the banana or tubing.
#1 San Agustin
#2 La Entrega
#3 Maguey
#4 Santa Cruz
#5 La Bocana
Best Unserviced Beaches
If you are truly looking to get away for the day, you might want to try one of Huatulco’s unserviced (sometimes called virgin) beaches. These beaches are much less popular because they require more prep and planning to get to, which is something people on holiday don’t often like to do! This means that even though you have to haul your own water, you are likely to be met with a near-empty beach.
#1 Bahía Organo
Organo beach is the closest unserviced beach to La Crucecita, and one of the most beautiful. The sandy bottom and protected waters give Playa Organo a Caribbean look. Blue waters and nothing but sand!
#2 Bahía Cacaluta
Playa Cacaluta is an exceptionally beautiful beach but is a little tricky to get to. The beach is long and wide, and the bay is home to Cacaluta Island which is popular with boat tours because of the snorkelling on the protected inner side.
Cacaluta is unique because the beach itself is part of the park, but a lot of the land between where the road ends and the beach begins is home to a small community and not a part of the Parque National de Huatulco.
To get to Cacaluta, you drive past Maguey for about a kilometre until the road ends. From there you have to hike, bike, or ATV into the beach. It’s a long trek, about an hour of walking that is best done in groups or as part of a tour. Remember to bring enough water!
Best Beaches to Snorkel in Huatulco
#1 San Agustin
The most northern bay in the Bahías and my personal favourite, San Agustín. It’s a little more difficult to get to, which is why it didn’t make the cut for the best beach in Huatulco, but it is absolutely worth the trip if you have the means to get there!
#2 Riscalillo
Just a little further down the road from San Agustín is Playa Riscalillo. The road only opened in early 2021, and now the beach has a couple restaurants so if you do make it all the way out here, you
#3 The Turtle Sanctuary (Playas Pescadores & Fandago)
If you have ever been on the beach in Santa Cruz, you may have gazed over to the left and noticed a few little beaches tucked into the rocks below Punta Santa Cruz. Hidden in plain sight, these little beaches are accessible by walking along the rocks and in the water, or by water taxi if you can find one.
The area inside the swimlines has been nicknamed the Turtle Sanctuary because – you guessed it – turtles love to hang out here! If you are willing to take the time to get there, these little beaches are a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. Just be sure to stay in the swim lines as the boat traffic for the marina passes alongside the ropes.
Turtle Sanctuary off playa Fandango
#4 Maguey – see above
Best Surfing Beaches in Huatulco
Yes, not only can you snorkel, scuba, and swim, there are good beaches for surfing too! And like, really good. Like global competitions held here good.
#1 Barra de la Cruz
While not technically in Huatulco, Barra de la Cruz (Copalita) is absolutely the best surf spot in our area. So great, that in 2021 the World Surf League held their competitions there. Not bad for a little spot on the Oaxacan Coast!
#2 La Bocana
check out my post
8 Things to do at La Bocana.
La Bocana is one of my favourite beaches for many reasons, but it is most well known for its surfing. Surfers gather here in the early mornings year-round to catch the waves as they curl down this long beach.
La Bocana is also my favourite beach to catch the sunrise, and is where the Copalita river meets the sea. I highly recommend checking this place out while in Huatulco!
About the Beaches in Huatulco
Not sure where some of these beaches are? For a full guide to the structure of nuances of Huatulco, check out my guide Where to Stay in Huatulco – Your Guide to the Bays here:
What are your favourite beaches in Huatulco? Let me know in the comments below!
I love reading your stuff! Super informative-well done!