Seeing the look on my baby’s face as she played in the sand at the beautiful beaches of Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico totally made the long drive and flights to get there absolutely worth it. Huatulco is a collection of 9 bays on the coast of Oaxaca, and the protection of the bays makes many of the beaches great for swimming. But some are more friendly for families with small children and non swimmers than others.
With 9 bays and 36 beaches, it would be crazy to hope to get to visit all the beaches. But if you ask the locals, a few names will consistently come up.
We visited Playa Entrega, Playa Arrocito, Playa Santa Cruz and Playa Maguey over the days we were in Huatulco, and these are some of the best family friendly beaches in the area!
By far the best one was Playa Arrocito. This small beach has basically no waves, especially on the left side, and we were comfortable holding baby close to the water so she could splash with us. There were fish really close to the shore and for us non swimmers, we could float about with the snorkels and watch the fish without worry of large waves sweeping me away haha. As the day went on, the tide started to rise and that was our cue to chill under the umbrellas with some drinks and shrimp quesadillas.
Playa Entrega is the second favorite. It’s a pretty popular beach with many restaurants and families having a great beach day. We found that the right side of this beach had the least waves and baby enjoyed splashing there, as well as many other children and babies with their parents. We situated ourselves at Restaurante Entrega and the food and drinks were good there. But the best feature was the changing table right outside the bathroom where we could get away from the crowd to get baby into her swim diaper and swimsuit.
We spent little time at Playa Santa Cruz, but this is one of the closer beaches to La Crucecita, the main town. The proximity to the town, calm waves, and presence of restaurants and vendors make it a very lively spot that’s always buzzing with families. And even livelier when a cruise ship is in port! However, I would recommend going there in the morning, as the water was murky and full of plants and a bit of trash when we went again in the evening. With how busy it is, if you’re not a fan of crowds, avoid this beach on weekends and when there is a cruise ship in port.
Playa Maguey is also a popular beach, but was our least favorite. The waves were much bigger than promised, and it was a steep dropoff from the restaurant area to the shore and yet another surprisingly steep slope after you were in the water. Definitely not the best for letting little children and non swimmers enjoy the water. But all was not lost, we still had a good time, good food and drinks at the restaurant. And I got to get my baby to nap on my chest in the hammock – one of the most memorable moments of the whole vacation.
As you pack for your trip, be sure to check out this beach vacation packing checklist and video below.
