Excursions & Adventures

Sweet Retreats / Casa Chango Mexico

As a tourist destination, Puerto Escondido offers different activities. Here are some of the day trips we recommend during your stay at Casa Chango. We will help you to book them, and payment is direct with the tour operator.

• Baby Turtle Release
• Bioluminescence Lagoon
• Sunset Horseback Ride on the Beach
• Day Markets
• Night Market
• Trip to the River
• Playa Agua Blanca
• Playa Carrizalillo
• Playa Manzanillo
• Zipline Adventure
• Surfing
• Lagoon Bird Watching Tour
• Dolphin Boat Tour
• Walking Tour of Puerto Escondido

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Baby Turtle Release

Release a newborn baby turtle into the sea. These organizations work to fight against the extinction of sea turtles and to educate the public about the turtles and help us connect with this part of nature. It is a beautiful experience of nature. Your shuttle will leave Casa Chango at 4:30pm to take you to the beach with the turtles. You will return around 6:30pm for dinner.

Things to bring: Water, sunglasses, sunhat, bug spray, camera, $150-200 MXN for your turtle.

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Bioluminescent Lagoon Tour

7:30pm-10pm ( $500 MXN if the group is 7 or more, there’s a flat rate for the group if it’s less than 7).

Enjoy the magic of the glowing waters!! You will be picked up from Casa Chango after dinner around 7:30pm and drive 30-40 minutes up the coast to the Laguna Manialtepec where you will get on a boat out to the lagoon. The lagoon is fed by hot springs, the ocean, and a river, so it is warm water. Watch your body glow as you swim or float with life jackets!

This is a natural phenomenon that requires specific natural conditions (like rain, moon, tide…) to be visible  at 100%. When the moon it’s too bright they  have a floating roof (like a big camping tent) at the lagoon,  where you will swim in, that creates darkness and the visibility inside the roof is better.

The percentage of visibility and the use of the floating roof will be informed to you a day before the activity takes place. Anyway the experience of riding a boat at night is still great 🙂

Things to bring: Water, bug spray, towel, dry clothes for ride home. Best to leave your camera/phone behind or in a dry place. Cameras do not pick up the glow of the bioluminescence. Recommended tip for taxi driver and boat driver is $50 MXN each.

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Sunset Horseback Ride on the Beach

Horseback riding at the beach

Ride  for an hour along the beach. This excursion is only for people with extensive experience riding horses.

• Morning at 7:30am or afternoon at 5:30pm.
• Duration of the activity 1 hour.
• Transportation. It’s not included, we can book you a taxi to get there and come back. 
• Price per person $ 950 MXN. 
• Cancelation Policy.  Within less than 24 hours, a 50% fee will apply.

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Relaxing River Excursion

Just take a 10 minute walk from your room at Casa Chango down to the river where you can swim, bathe, relax, watch birds, and soak up nature. The clear, warm water will soothe you. Bring water, sunglasses, towel, Casa Chango’s friendly dogs, sunscreen, hat.

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Day Markets

Explore the colors, scents, and diversity of products at one of the local mercados in Puerto Escondido. To get a true Mexican experience, you can explore the Mercado Benito Juarez in the center of town (not the tourist part). Or you can visit Mercado Zicatela to get a taste of a Mexican mercado that is more accommodating to tourists.

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Night Market

Visit the Adoquin, a street market with many stores and artisans selling Mexican trinkets, textiles, arts, crafts, mezcal, ice cream, etc. Enjoy a michelada, buy gifts for your loved ones, or just explore the culture of a Mexican night market. We recommend this for people who want a true ‘Mexican’ experience. It may be loud and crowded, a taste of Mexican market night life. There is an ATM at the banco BBVA next to the market.

The night market is a 10-15 minute drive from Casa Chango. Your shuttle will leave Casa Chango at 8pm and return at 9:30pm.

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Playa La Punta de Zicatela

La Punta is a hip beach neighborhood know for surfing just 10 minutes drive from Casa Chango. It is one of the most popular areas of town and you can choose your own adventure.

Just off the beach there are plenty of great places to eat, shops, cafes, and interesting people to meet.  It is a neighborhood where you might find artisan beers, kombuchas, fancy coffee drinks and cocktails, bars with swings, ice cream, boutiques, thrift stores, hipsters, hippies, surfers, and everyone else. Spend the day shopping, sipping, swimming, surfing, or just walking around. It is a lot of fun. Playa La Punta is the best place (besides Casa Chango) to watch the sunset.

Caution: The waves can be very big and the currents can be very strong in La Punta. If you swim, please swim with caution, near a lifeguard and with a buddy.

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Playa Carrizalillo

This gorgeous cove beach, located about a 15 minute drive from Casa Chango, is delightful for swimming, long board surfing, and sipping yummy beverages. You can rent a surf board or paddle board or take a lesson. This beach is safe to swim. Although the waves can get big, there are no dangerous currents. The beach is surrounded by cliffs with 169 stairs separating it from the street above. It’s well worth the climb!

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Playa Manzanillo

Another beautiful cove beach, located about a 15 minute drive from Casa Chango, is wonderful for swimming, snorkeling, drinks and snacks. This is the safest beach to swim in town as there are almost no waves and no currents. There are stairs that bring you down to the beach. This beach is a popular destination for families. The beach neighboring Manzanillo is Puerto Angelito where you can see local fishing boats.

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Playa Agua Blanca

30 minutes south of Puerto Escondido is a stretch of beach with rock formations creating tide pools to float around in. There are plenty of restaurants where you can grab a coco frio (cold coconut water), cerveza (beer) or guacamole (mashed avocado that tastes like heaven) and totopos (chips). Bring sunscreen because you will want to float around for hours in the tide pools.

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Hot Springs

Horseback riding to the hot springs

Horseback riding to the foot of the mountain with 6 river crossings along paths of lush vegetation, agricultural and livestock lands, until reaching the hot springs, where we will enjoy a bath with sulfurous waters.

• Morning from 8am – 1 pm / Afternoon 2pm – 7pm
• Transportation is included
• 1 meal included.
• Price per person $3,000 MXN
• Cancelation Policy.  Within less than 24 hours, a 50% fee will apply.

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Zip Line Adventure

Embark on an exhilarating journey through lush forests, guided by breathtaking mountain vistas and aromatic coffee plantations. Discover a hidden waterfall for a serene swim, then take to the skies on thrilling zip lines (5) over lush canopies and rivers. Conclude with a flavorful Mexican meal in a charming town. Return with memories of nature’s majesty and thrilling escapades by early afternoon

• Pick up time is 6:00am
• Duration of the activity is 7 hours
• They require a minimum of 4 people booked in order to confirm and send out this tour. Tour minimum may be met by bookings from multiple groups.
• What’s Included: Professional Guide, Local Mexican Meal, Bottled Water, Ziplining equipment.
• Price per person  $3,000 MXN Because we are outside of Puerto Escondido, they charge an extra $1,200 per group to pick them up at Casa Chango (we could also arrange a taxi to take them to the tour company’s main office, it will be cheaper.)
• Cancellation Policy: Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.

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Surfing

Want to give surfing a try? Take a lesson from one of the best surf schools in town. Depending on the time of year and the swell, you may surf at Playa Zicatela or Playa Carrizalillo. Contact us for pricing for group and private lessons.

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Lagoon Bird Watching Tour

Take a relaxing and beautiful boat sunrise tour of the local Manialtepec Lagoon. You will leave Casa Chango at 6am to arrive at the lagoon to see the most beautiful sunrise and up to 45 different species of birds. Explore the different nooks and crannies of the lagoon where nature is waiting. Stop at the beach for a cup of coffee and breakfast before returning to the dock.

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Dolphin Boat Tour

You have to get up before sunrise, but it is worth it. This 2-3 hour tour of the Puerto Escondido coastline also takes you out far enough to see pods of dolphins, and if you are lucky turtles and whales! You can jump out of the boat and swim with the dolphins too! Bring snacks, sunscreen, water, and your camera! Pricing varies depending on group size.

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Walking Tour of Puerto Escondido

Gina Machorro, better known as ‘the Information Goddess’, will introduce you to the riches of Puerto Escondido.  Every town should have a Gina, but she’s one of a kind.  Gina has years of tourism experience, speaks perfect English, and knows the ins and outs of Puerto Escondido.  She will introduce you to local plants, stores, cultural points of interest and give you samples of local foods. The tour begins at the ‘playa principal’ and takes up up into ‘el centro’, the main part of town with shops, markets. Get a glimpse of life in Puerto!