Santa Cruz Bay (Bahía Santa Cruz)
The Basics
Santa Cruz is the perfect place to shop for artisan crafts, enjoy authentic Oaxacan cuisine, and experience the beauty of the coast. Beach-goers can rent kayaks and jet skies to tour the bay, or swim and snorkel from shore. Those looking for a more scenic escape can hop aboard one of the sightseeing cruises, which depart from the main dock. These excursions carry travelers across the bay, with stops at a number of popular beaches.
Things to Know Before You Go
English is widely spoken in almost all of the Huatulco tourist areas.
Most boat tours of the Huatulco Bays leave from the harbor in Santa Cruz.
The bay has restaurants, shops, and water-sports facilities.
Bring sunblock and a hat or sunglasses, as the beaches offer little shade.
Beach chairs and umbrellas are available to rent.
How to Get There
The Huatulco Bays stretch for 22 miles (35 kilometers) along Mexico’s Pacific Coast in the state of Oaxaca. Most visitors arrive by air or cruise ship. Getting there from Oaxaca City by car takes about five or six hours. Santa Cruz Bay is located on the same seaside boulevard as La Crucecita.
Trip ideas
When to Get There
Santa Cruz Bay is lovely year-round. The Huatulco resort area as a whole receives fewer tourists than other popular Mexican resort areas and overcrowding is rarely a problem, though Santa Cruz tends to get crowded on days when cruise ships dock here.
Boat Tours of the Huatulco Bays
A boat tour is one of the best ways to explore Huatulco. Sightseeing cruises typically depart from Santa Cruz and include stops at a number of popular beaches, such as Yerbabuena, La India, and Cacaluta. Small fishing boats calledlanchas wait in Santa Cruz to take visitors to the untouched shores of bays like Chachacual, which is only accessible by boat.
- Playa La Entrega (La Entrega Bay)
- La Crucecita
- Órgano Bay (Bahía Órgano)
- Huatulco National Park (Parque Nacional Huatulco)
- Maguey Bay (Bahía Maguey)
- Tangolunda Bay (Bahía Tangolunda)
- Finca La Gloria
- Chachacual Bay
- Copalita Ecological Park and Ruins (Parque Eco Arqueológico Copalita)
- San Agustin Bay (Bahía San Agustín)
- Copalita River (Río Copalita)
- Zipolite Beach (Playa Zipolite)
- Mexican Turtle Center (Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga)
- Cacaluta Bay (Bahia de Cacaluta)
- La Ventanilla