Occasional muggings and robberies on the beach have eliminated virtually all camping on Puerto Escondido beaches (with the possible exception of Easter week, when such large crowds flock into town that they spill onto the beaches).

Nevertheless, beachfront camping space is available in small, palm-shaded trailer park Palmas de Corté (once closed, now re-opened, at the east side of Puerto Escondido’s Playa Principal, half a block downhill from the chain, no telephone, cortes [at] ptoescondido [dot] com [dot] mx, $15–25 for Rvs, $5 per person for tents). Facilities include security fence, night watchman, brand-new showers and toilets, all hookups, and room for about a dozen RVs and maybe some tents.

A good alternative for tenters and hostelers is Shalom Hostel (in Rinconada subdivision, west side of town, on the east end of Calle Benito Juárez, tel. 954/582-3234, rigeloo [at] yahoo [dot] com, $5 per person tents, $10 per person cabañas, $6 per person dorm). Besides tenting in their shady, green back garden, with heavenly pool-patio, they offer rustic cabañas with shared baths and dorm beds for $6, with snack restaurant and parking out front.

For central location, the best hostel-type choice seems to be Hotel and Youth Hostel Mayflower (tel. 954/582-0367, fax 954/582-0422, minnemay7 [at] hotmail [dot] com, www.tomzap.com/mayflower.html, rooms $35 d, dorm $9 per person). Find it half a block uphill on Andador Libertad, the stairstepped walkway a block east of the adoquín’s west end. Here you can choose from 14 plain but clean hotel rooms with bath or hostel dorm beds. Extras include communal kitchen, Internet access, and lots of local information.

Alternatively, nearby, you might consider the smaller, bare-bones but clean Hostal Puerto Escondido (tel. 954/582-3455, hostalpuertoescondido [at] hotmail [dot] com, www.mexonline.com/pehostal.htm, $5 per person), also on Andador Libertad within a block of the adoquín. Facilities (communal kitchen and Internet access) are spare, but the price is right.