Playa San Diego (Surf spot) | Wild Camping

September 5th, 2023 by Kimball Stone

$200/person/night. Pay at the gate. Broken glass, bottle caps, plastic all over the beach, trash piles that occasionally get burned, billions of ants, horrible sand flies, mosquitos, ticks galore, and a pack of beach dogs that bark at all hours.
Locals doing their thing into the night (which is fine; it's their place). Beach (and the few beachside palapas) generally get taken over by surf guides and their customers during the day, plus truckloads of locals on the weekends.
Most other palapas are either roofless or being swallowed by the jungle. There was a comedor, but it's being washed out by the ocean and the lagoon. I'm sure they'll rebuild eventually.
There are at least a couple of abandoned bathrooms falling into disrepair, but nothing at all functional in any way, as the bowls are clogged with dirt.

I come here for the surf. The wave is fickle and often hard to paddle into unless you're right up in the rocks. On its better days, you can catch 10+ foot freight trains halfway down the beach, but the farther down the beach you go, the more dangerous the shore break is (at least from what I've seen over the past month). The current along the whole beach pulses and turns into a fast moving river a lot of the time, as well. Someone down the page called this a beginner wave. On a mellow day, sure, but otherwise, you at least need to be able to read waves a bit, paddle correctly, pop up, surf, keep out of the way, log roll/duck dive, etc.

There is also a smaller, second beach if you can figure out how to camp near it. Only good for the view, though, unless you feel like getting washed out and drowning in huge, thundering shore break.
If you zoom out, ignore the details, and look at the place large scale, it's objectively very very beautiful, though. Feels like southeast Asia. Not sure it's worth the $200 unless you're surfing or looking for a pleasant weekend beach scene with a bunch of people.

December 1st, 2022 by ComeDueVagabondi

The place is indeed beautiful, huge white beach, next to a lagoon with mountains in the background. There are a few things to consider though: 1. the road to get there. Is not bad, but when we were there everything was overgrown on the sides and it was super narrow, we scratched our 1.90 wide sprinter pretty much everywhere. 2. Apparently you have to pay to access the playa. We got there on Saturday afternoon and we had the place for ourselves. We spent a super quiet night and nobody bothered us. On Sunday morning though (around 11 am) a guy came escorted by the police asking for money. He wanted 100 pesos pp to access the playa. We honestly don't know if it was legit or not (he had tickets) but we did not pay and he politely asked us to leave which we did. The funny thing about this story is that 3 police officers came with this man and when we started recording what was happening, those officers went away trying to hide themselves. In the end, it is a beautiful place, but be ready to deal with something.

November 29th, 2022 by magnier.julie

We went all the way to the beach. Around 30min from pemex. There is no palapas anymore, there are all detroyed or there is a jungle under it. so you are in the sun all day and it’s insanely hot. The beach is a little dirty as well. No one was at the gate and we didn’t stay the night.
Waves were ok for surfs (beginners)

September 12th, 2022 by jamantullu

Still closed but the sign is missing. everybody welcomes you until after sunset. corupt police will come and ask for 1000 pesos to stay over night. we left with sleepy kids.

April 1st, 2022 by brookebeyond.com

Unfortunately, this spot is just not what it used to be. We were pretty stoked on all the rave reviews, but locals are now charging 200p/person per night to camp here (the guy wouldn’t haggle AT ALL, even though we stayed 2 nights). Even if you manage to get through the gate when it’s not “staffed”, they’ll find you in the afternoon on the beach and demand payment!

This spot is also incredibly popular with locals; they were all friendly, but it’s far from private or remote. And unless you have 4WD, the best spot to camp is on the hill above the beach— if you want any privacy at all from the dozens of locals coming in and out all day, you’ll end up parked without much of a view at all. For the lack of privacy, poor beach access, and zero facilities, it’s absolutely NOT WORTH 400 pesos a night!

February 19th, 2022 by ninothegreatmindboggler

Spent one night here, beautiful but windy. On the way out the next morning at 7am was waved over by a local police officer just before I got on the main highway. He said that I was not allowed in there and something about a gate (my Spanish comprehension is not that good). I told him there weren’t any gates or signs and it was all open. He wanted $200 and accepted $100.

February 5th, 2022 by odysseeetses5aventuriers

Lieu magnifique mais on confirme un commentaire posté y a un an…
A la sortie après les 7 km de piste nous attendait une dame …
Elle nous a dit qu il fallait payer … car ce lieu était interdit … que c était 200 pris par pers et que si on ne payait pas ça passerait à 1000… on a demandé à aller au poste de police … elle a préféré appellé ses 4 collègues de la police municipal en renfort. Elle nous a dit qu il y avait une interdiction de venir dans ce lieu sur une pancarte a 30 min de la où on était …. Elle nous a enfermé en fermant le portail devant nous pour nous empêcher de sortir … bref on a payé ! Dommage ce spot est magnifique mais pas accessible à l heure actuelle …

January 23rd, 2022 by Michel Forest https://www.facebook.com/groups/136111565003436

Wonderful place we are here for already 2 days with a lot of Mexican all around. No problems at all don’t see any signs about covid restrictions. See pics. Just a perfect place.

November 21st, 2020 by hansundkuns

wonderfull place. but CAUTION:

there is a 'prohibit to entry because of covid19' sign when you turn from the highway, in front of pemex.
We drove to the bay nevertheless, but some locals saw us. in an hour arrived corrupt local police, some of them with uniform and inforced 1000 pesos per person from us.

DON'T DRIVE IN IN COVID TIMES!

March 11th, 2020 by Wilde Weite Welt

Wow - a really great place for free camping - maybe the best at the Oaxaca Coast. Very few people, quiet, unspoiled beach, palapas for shade. Bring everything you need for some realaxing days, it is nothing there. You can camp at the palapas close to the beach or drive up on top of the hill for a 360° view and a steady breeze. The dirtroad from Mex 200 is narrow, bumpy with some sharp rocks. Campers higher than 10 feet will get some scratches and harvest some mangos on the way in but you don´t need 4 WD. Unfortunately at the lower palapas is lots of rubbish around. Please take out your trash, nobody will pick it up here!

February 21st, 2020 by VANWIVES

Hands down-
THE BEST CAMP SPOT WE HAVE EVER STAYED AT

December 30th, 2019 by Laura&Taavet

As described a very beautiful remote wild camping on the beach. Before the main parking lot take the road on the right that goes up the hill. To us it seemed the best place to stay. We didn’t see any signs prohibiting camping.

November 8th, 2019 by tanja.janssen85

Super remote paradise. I life in Mexico since 1,5 years and I feel like in another country what a wonderful spot with the mountains and the Pazifik. Don’t miss the sunset!

October 4th, 2019 by twopotsandastove.com

what a find! really amazing spot!!
There are newly looking signs now that say No camping, but there is one spot with palapa, that had no sign.. we stayed two nights, nobody bothered. The few locals there were very friendly. We asked one about the signs and he said it was no problem that we spend the night with our van.

July 5th, 2019 by mavros-odyssee

Beautiful beach in the middle of nowhere.
No shade but beautiful view from the upper parking.
Surfers during the day but nobody at night. We were three campers there. The 9 km lane to join the beach is a little bit rough but we did it with our 21 feet camper.

June 24th, 2019 by savanna_27

Best spot so far in mainland! The palapa up the top gets the best breeze and you have amazing waves all to yourself. Do not miss this place! Just please throw your garbage in the bins provided.

June 19th, 2019 by ninsche1

absoutely stunning.
dont follow google maps, it leads to the other spot on ioverlander. go all the way on the main road till the Pemex before u turn left.
road in is easy doable with 2wd, just takes a bit of time to get to the beach, but no big deal.
lots of flies (as usual on this coast) so bring some repellent.
we dri
we drove back out to get supplies and came back to stay a for more days, as it was such a dope spot.

June 18th, 2019 by ashmcmahon93

Incredible spot, one of my favorite in mexico so far! The sweetheart dog is still here, she is so nice, a little nervous and shy but learns to trust after a little while! Make sure you feed her and give her some fresh water! Road was a little choppy but easily done with a little patients. Might be different after heavy rain so keep that in mind! There were about 5 overlanders here, few locals and some Aussies from a surf camp near by. Plenty of good surf for everyone, or simply just to go swimming. only the overlanders a night, So magical watching the full moon! Apparently they shut a gate at night so nobody can drive down, not sure if true but always nice

March 3rd, 2019 by Loud and Slow

Wonderful spot! It’s quite hot here, but on the hill we had a palapa for shade and a cooling breeze most of the time.
The beach is perfect for beginner surfers and had barely any trash, but up the hill there was some (we took away the more obvious bits).
We saw dolphins and the timid dog others have mentioned. She is sweet and doesn’t seem too skinny, she turns up at dinner time and in the morning and sits a metre away just in case you feel like sharing your meal. She didn’t care about our dogs wandering around but ours didn’t pay any attention to her.
The road out isn’t especially rough but takes about 15 minutes to travel

February 26th, 2019 by trailmagic.de

Amazing spot, bring enough water and food because you want to stay longer than you think.
End of February it is very hot during day (34°C) and night (25°C).

February 14th, 2019 by bargelova.k

This place is unbelievable! If you will be around it is worth a stop and I am sure you will stay longer than you think. Bring food and water with you, this is a wild beach. If you meet the lovely girl dog give her some food and love, she need it! We stayed 2 days and I think that if we stayed bit longer she would go with us but we had to go.. she is very shy.. Except the dog and few fishermans at night we were alone. Barely few people during the day. Waves are ok for surfing in February! Enjoy the beauty of this place, peace.

January 18th, 2019 by agos.zampieri

The name of the beach is Playa San Diego. The road is right in front of the Pemex. No waves in January. Beautiful spot, super quite. There is a huge palapa on top of the hill and a nice bench to watch de sunset if you walk passing the church. We slept in the hammocks under the palapa.

October 7th, 2018 by cultivandosur

We stayed 3 night, place was amazing. Locals were helpfully and good.

August 23rd, 2018 by charlottemhamilton13

This place was. a. DREAM. We stayed two nights. The road in was a bit crazy and longer than we had hoped, but so worth it. We were able to wake up the first morning and surf without many folks out and about, and that evening we were the only ones out as it was a bit choppy. We parked right under the big palapa. This isn’t an abandoned village, the closest village uses it once or twice a year for a big camp out, party. Lots of trash everywhere around the paladas and the bathrooms are something left to be desired. A sweet female dog hung out with us both nights and during the day. She didn’t like us to get too close, but we could tell she was getting more comfortable with us. I actually was puking the second night (don’t know why) and she came over to sleep by me in the hammock, and even scared off a different dog that she felt was getting a little too close. I so wanted to take her with us, but she wasn’t quite comfortable with us to let us get that close by the time we were leaving, and I was so sick I couldn’t stay any longer. If you find her and she warms up to you, please consider giving her a home! She seems like she could be such a good dog and just needs some care and love. It broke my heart to say goodbye to her, and that’s the first time that’s happened on our trip (3 1/2 months now). Email me if you find her. Thanks and enjoy the beauty of this spot!

August 18th, 2018 by andree

We drove the road with our truck camper (7,5 x 2,5 x 3,3 m) without any problems. Yes, there are some potholes and low hanging tree branches, but nothing to worry about if you have a similarly sized vehicle. The first comfortable possibility to turn comes after approximately 4 km if you change your mind. 4x4 not required unless you want to stay at the beach. High clearance in my opinion also not required. Locals take their normal car to drive to this spot. We just had an intermittent Telcel 3G signal.

July 17th, 2018 by offroad-travelers.com

This is paradise! Huge sandy beach and cliffs where you can either camp on the beach or on top of a cliff. From the top of the cliff we saw sea turtles and rays swimming along the shore. But beware of the dunes, we got stuck with 4x4, but took us not even an hour to get out.
Lots of palapas around, it looks like a abandoned palapa village. One of the cleanest Mexican beaches we saw.
This is definitely a place to stay a couple of nights so bring food and water since there is nothing around. Pretty quiet during the week, Sunday night we were with other Overlanders, Monday night we were alone. During the day some local surfers and don’t be afraid when you see flashlights at night, local fishermen will come fishing. Love this place :)
Access is a partially narrow and overgrown dirt road, high clearance recommended and not for big big rigs or trailers.

May 13th, 2018 by desfenetressurlemonde

Top spot !!!
Very nice, a lot of free palapas.
One of our favorite spots in the Pacific cost.
Some locals and surfers by day, nobody by night...

March 31st, 2018 by michael.lafreniere

Nice beginner surfing beach spot. Not shallow for kids so perfect for bodyboard. There is a lot of space to park camper. 4x4 can go on the beach. Normal camper can park on the hill fot a good view. Just turn to the ocean side on the gravel road front of the Pemex on the road 200 at the kilometer 326. Phone internet 4g working