I'm half English/Argentinian so I grew up speaking Spanish. I chilled in Mancora, Peru for 6 months and worked remotely doing flash websites for American clients. I'm leaving NY this week on a whim indefinitely. I just need to know ... where to go.

I'm looking for:

Cheap
Non-touristy but safe (But I can handle myself :p )
Good Surfing
Somewhere where I can rent a room/whatever and get some Wifi or Ethernet sometimes

I'm taking the AmTrak then bus - do I need to present my (Before June 1st) Drivers License on the way in or just on the way out.?

Thanks everyone ...

Do you have your own board already? That will make a difference. You won't have any problem on Amtrak, but they can be a headache in Mexico.

There are really no breaks worth mentioning on the Atlantic side, so head for the Pacific. I spent last winter living in Puerto Escondido, way down in Oaxaca state. It'll take you a while to get down there on land transit, so you'll have time to hit places like Sayulita and Troncones first. Puerto Escondido has probably the best break in Mexico, called Zicatela. Summer is rainy season, and it gets absolutely huge there. Zicatela is a beach break, lightning fast and really shallow. If you don't know what you're doing, it can be rather dangerous, particularly in the summer. There's also a good point in PE on the other side of Zicatela from town, called simply La Punta. In the other direction, there is a pair of gentler breaks on either side of the cove at Carrizalillo. I've heard really good things about Barra de Navidad, further east in Oaxaca state, but haven't been there myself.

There's typically a good offshore wind in PE from dawn until 10-11 in the morning, when it comes back onshore. The town itself is low-rise; touristy in a very low-key kind of way, but nothing like the full-blown beach resorts in Mexico. It's isolated from the rest of the country by steep mountains - the access roads are either along the coast from Acapulco, or a tortuous track through the mountains to Oaxaca City. It really was escondido until fairly recently. Accommodations run the range, although there's nothing truly luxury there. If you spend some time there, particularly in the off season, you can find a place to rent for under $200/month, at today's (excellent) exchange rate. WiFi exists, but you'll probably have to stay in a hotel rather than rental to get it.

I think you'll need a passport to get into Mexico these days, although I'm not sure about it.

Yes, a passport is required.

By land until June 1st the consulate says that I just need license and birth certificate ...

Sorry, I assumed you were not a US citizen.

Thanks everyone, Puerto Escondido it is. Hey Felix, you said that you lived there ... how much do you think that I can rent an apartment for with roommates? Just because of travel I'm going to have to get a new board there :p

e319 wrote:Thanks everyone, Puerto Escondido it is. Hey Felix, you said that you lived there ... how much do you think that I can rent an apartment for with roommates? Just because of travel I'm going to have to get a new board there :p

How long are you planning on staying? If you speak Argentinian Spanish, you've got a head start ... kind of (I'm sure you already know everyone hates the portenio accent). Depends on what you mean by 'roommates' - I can refer you to a few places, but they'll be solo rentals, and more expensive than you can find on the ground in PE. Talk to Minne at Mayflower Hotel on the Adoquin, and crash there your first few nights. She knows everything about the local rental market - make sure she likes you, because she's important. I gave my longboard and shortboard to her employee Lupe. If she still has them, mention my name, and she'll rent or sell them to you cheap-like. The shortie is a piece of shit, but the longboard is awesome.

Anyhoo, rental is going to be 3000-6000 pesos a month, or more. There are some real shitholes over at Zicatela, with hotplates and little else. If you're comfortable living in Spanish, there are better places above the highway in the Mexican part of town, by the Super Chedraui and above. You'll get the best value up there, but it's a way from the beach. If you want to be near the sand, you'll pay for it. Haggle with Minne at Mayflower for a top-floor room, if you can afford them. Otherwise, ask her about a place in the town, and think about buying a motorbike.