Getting to Puerto Escondido is pretty easy — if you know a few tricks.

Flying: I recommend flying into either Puerto Escondido (PXM) or Huatulco (HUX). PXM is a 10 minute drive from Villa Puesta del Sol. HUX is an hour and twenty minute drive from Villa Puesta del Sol. PXM is served by Mexicana's subsidiary "Click" from Mexico City. The Mexicana (Click) flight usually leaves Mexico City by 2:30 PM and arrives 45 minutes later, turns around, and flies back to Mexico City. HUX is served a few times a day by Mexicana. Continental serves HUX once a day, five days per week, directly from Houston. Aero Mexico also serves HUX, as well as do several charter service companies in Canada (Sky Service (Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto) and the United States (Apple Vacations (Milwaukee, Chicago, Denver). The charter service to HUX is seasonal and usually flies direct, so you do not have a stop in Mexico City. The charter service is almost aways Saturday to Saturday. Most charters will allow you to book a one week or a two week trip, but usually not longer. PXM is also served by two small airlines (Aero Vega and Aero Toucan) which fly back and forth to Oaxaca early in the mornings.

The practicality of the matter, is that most people need to either fly Mexicana or Continental (or a codeshare partner) to make a commercial flight to PXM or HUX affordable. If you have American Airlines points, you can get to PXM on only 25K points (because Mexicana is a codeshare partner), but you will need to make the reservation via the Advantage Club telephone operator, because American won't let you book the route to PXM via their website. If you want to fly Mexicana, you can sometimes (usually) get the best rate by calling, instead of booking via the internet. Recently (2008) it has become much more cost effective to book seperate legs. For example, I'll book my flight from MEX to PXM and return on http://www.click.com.mx and will expect to pay slightly more than $100 each way for a weekday flight. Then I'll book the most cost effective way to get from my originating city to MEX. Click is a subsidiary of Mexicana, but don't try to book the Click leg on Mexicana, or you will pay a premium. Also, Click only books 6 months in advance. If what I explained above seems to make your head spin, please contact Gene at Vista World Travel. He is THE global expert on flying into PXM or HUX. He'll get you the best price you could possibly find without spending hours scouring the internet. Trust me.

When you fly into PXM, you will need to pass customs. From there, you will see two booths with ladies waving tickets for you. These are the ground transportation agents. Choose a company (both are the same price ($35 Pesos per Person)) and tell the driver "Calle Manzanillo Reef." This is a new street, and a lot of the drivers (both airport and taxi) don't know it yet. Tell the driver it (Calle Manzanillo Reef) is between El Pueblito and Playa Manzanillo. When you leave PXM, you can be dropped off at the airport by a regular taxi.

When you fly to HUX, you will need to arrange for transportation to Puerto Escondido. There are three options:

1). Car Service. For a car to pick you up at HUX, it costs $750 Pesos ($70 US) and $650 Pesos ($61 US) return. I can put you in contact with a company which provides this service.

2). Taxi. The airport taxis are a monopoly and they will charge whatever they like to take you to Puerto Escondido. Be prepared to pay in the neighborhood of $1000 Pesos ($95 US) although you might make some headway by negotiating. You can also grab a regular taxi by walking out to the highway and flagging one down. You will need to negotiate, but you can expect to pay in the neighborhood of what the car service costs, although sometimes you can get a cheaper rate by haggling and pay about $500 Pesos.

3). Bus. Walk out to the highway (do not cross, or you will be going in the wrong direction) and wait for a SUR buslines coach. They come by every 1/2 hour or so during daylight hours. While you wait, there is a shade tree next to the road and a little refreshment stand across the road, where you can get a snack and a drink. The bus will take at least 2 hours and you'll probably stop in Pochutla along the way. The bus costs $35 Pesos ($3.25 US) and I've done this trip a number of times.

Taking the Bus: You can get to Puerto Escondido by Bus from Mexico City, Oaxaca, and Acapulco. These trips usually take about 10-12 hours.