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uatulco is Mexico’s only environmentally friendly Green Globe 21 certified

destination. It is definitely a smaller and quieter destination, although it is

growing in popularity. You won’t any find fast food or chain restaurants

here, as opposed to Cancun which is very commercialized. There are lots of

beautiful golden´ sand beaches and the water is very clear with plenty of marine

life in certain areas. Described by The New York Times as the Anti-Cancun,

Huatulco is an ecologically-friendly.

With its may secluded beaches and hot, dry climate, Huatulco is known as a laid

back, beach lovers paradise. Singles may find Huatulco a little too quiet, but it is an

excellent destination for couples and families.

Many of the nine bays and 36 golden beaches in the area remain undeveloped and

accessible only by boat, since much of the area is a national wildlife preserve.

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Santa Cruz Huatulco

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Tangolunda Bay has deluxe hotels, an 18-hole golf course, deep-sea fishing, reef

diving, and five lovely beaches.

There’s no big city here, but the two small towns of La Crucesita and Santa Cruz

make for a pleasant outing with their cafés and colorful shops.

Huatulco (wah-tool-co) is one of Mexico’s most relaxed tourist destinations,

located on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast at the edge of the Sierra Madre

Mountains in the state of Oaxaca. 22-miles of pictures beaches dot the nearly

virgin Pacific coast line while nine bays make Huatulco a watersports lover’s dream.

Be sure to take a trip around Huatulco’s nine bays to discover the stunning

surroundings, hidden beaches… Peaceful and romantic Conejos Bay offers golden

sand beaches and sapphire waters. The hemisphere’s first eco-tourism resort,

Earth Check certification has been awarded to Huatulco for its high environmental

standards.

It is a place of breathtaking natural beauty, ideal for peaceful relaxation and

outdoor activities that include snorkeling, rafting, surfing, scuba diving, deep sea

fishing, reef diving, bird watching, hiking, horseback riding and rappelling.

Flora and Fauna.- Nature lovers will thrill to the flourishing wildlife – with many

endemic species.

Birding In Mexico.- The national parks of Huatulco and the many protected natural

reserves, are the perfect place for a guided birding tour in Huatulco. Among the

bird’s you will likely encounter are the White throated Magpie-Jay, the Rufus

Motmot, the Lineated and Pale-billed Woodpeckers, the Cinnamon Hummingbird,

and the Orange Bunting.

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There are several bird species endemic to the area, making Huatulco a must stop

destination for anyone interested in bird watching in Mexico. In addition to the

numerous birds, there is an abundance of butterflyes that make Huatulco home.

La Crucesita Huatulco’s downtown area, is a charming town complete with a central

plaza and park, a picturesque church, excellent dining, internet cafes, ice cream

parlors, a mercado and many shops that offer Mexican handcrafts and souvenirs.

Several convenience stores, two supermarkets, liquor stores and bakeries also

cater to visitors.

Santa Cruz Bay is the port of call for the seasonal cruises that arrive in Huatulco,

and is the departing point for boats taking visitors on tours of the nine bays. It

also has a souvenir market, banks, beach club, discotheque and the famous Cafe

Huatulco, which serves delicious locally grown coffee.

Huatulco was a small settlement until the 1970s, when the Mexican government

chose it (along with four other coastal regions, including Cancún and Cabo) to be

transformed into a tourist destination.

From the beginning it was determined that the gorgeous bays in Huatulco

(pronounced “wah-tool-koh”) would be treated gently. Four would remain untouched;

the other five would be developed in a way that prevented the environmental

impact common in resort areas. That meant cappin g the height of buildings at four

stories and setting aside nearly 30,000 acres of land and sea to make Huatulco

National Park.

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And there’s another key attraction for travelers in search of cultural immersion.

Huatulco is located in the state of Oaxaca (“wa-ha-ka”); its capital city, which

goes by the same name, sits in the highlands, about 90 miles to the north. Oaxaca

city and state are both national treasures, rich in beauty, indigenous culture,

archeological sites and regional cuisine.

Artists in remote mountain villages create wool rugs, black pottery and fanciful

painted wooden creatures called alebrijes. Some have brought their talents to

the coast, setting up their looms and workshops in La Crucecita, Huatulco’s

commercial center. Visitors come here to shop for folk art from all over the state.

They can also buy Oaxacan chocolate, coffee, mole and mezcal, and feast on

tamales and tlayudas—crunchy tortillas topped with beans and cheese plus dried

beef, shredded chicken or pork.

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Even if you plan to explore the surrounding mountains and seek out adventure, the

Coyula and Copalita rivers frame the 17-mile-long coastline and its nine bays. Lavish

resorts hug long beaches at Tangolunda and Conejos Bays, to the east, while more

moderate accommodations line central Chahué and Santa Cruz Bays.

The marinas here are packed with yachts, tour boats, pangas (skiffs) and the

occasional cruise ship.

Called the Mexican paradise, Huatulco has a great tropical climate, 340 days of

sunshine throughout the year; any day is perfect for going to the beach. The rainy

season is easily predictable in the months from July to October.

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Santa Cruz is the go-to place for a leisurely lunch or romantic dinner on

the sand. Try the piña rellena, a split pineapple overflowing with

seafood and cheese, beside the open-air church. Cappuccino and fruit

tamales are served at Café Huatulco, in the plaza's bandstand. Boat

tours from Santa Cruz take divers out to coral reef, other operators rent

Jet Skis for visitors.

If you have a few days, you can enjoy the beaches and bays DIY style.

PlayasLa Entrega and Maguey, accessible by road or boat, are good

places to lounge, swim and graze on seafood cocktail.

Boat captains at the Santa Cruz pier will ferry you to just about any

beach on the coast. You can cruise for hours around San Agustín Bay, at

Huatulco's western end, lingering to take in the sights, swim, snorkel or

eat at a beach. Distractions abound: the lighthouse near Maguey Bay;

the whooshing sound of La Bufadora ("blowhole"), made by waves

crashing into the rocks; and flying fish, dolphins and manta rays

splashing in the sea.

San Agustín is a nice place to stop fora few hours. It's one of the few

remaining seaside communities, with modest houses, a church on a

rocky point and a row of beach chairs and restaurants. Villagers sell

beaded necklaces and homemade tamales, and the snorkeling is great:

Puffer fish and tiny neons dart around coral heads right offshore.

Rivers race down the mountains above Huatulco, cascading over

boulders and trickling into endless streams. Rock-strewn roads lead to

towns, ranches and coffee plantations. As you go north from Huatulco,

the temperature drops a tad and the scenery gets lush and green. Tours

take visitors to coffee plantations and swimming holes at crashing

waterfalls.

Plant lovers should visit Hagia Sofia, a botanical garden 24 miles to the

north, hagiasofia.mx, including two meals; reservations required). The

trip starts with a drive into the mountains to a spot where the Río

Magdalena splashes through 321 acres of orchards, teak and bamboo

groves and medicinal herb gardens.

Hagia Sofia is an ambitious agro-tourism experimentconceived by

former clothing exec Armando Canavati Nader, who believes that the

region's small farmers can benefit from growing and exporting

rambutans,a nutritious fruit more common in Thailand and the

Philippines. Five types of rambutan are planted here, plus nine mango

varieties and 70 other exotic fruits.

There are many nice reasons to visit Huatulco, a quiet place in Mexico

where the nature is an important topic.

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SCUBA DAVING…

Excitement in every bubble

ho said learning how to dive is boring of difficult? You can be diving

right away, in shallow water, always under a certificated Instructor

applying Scuba Diving program. After some training you can even

experience the excitement of a dive in the open Pacific Ocean! But is important to

follow the professional program that introduces you into scuba diving in a safe way

for to taste the adventure.

On Ocean Park Huatulco Complex there are PADI Open Water Diver Course

practicing in shallow water. Knowledge development and four open water dives

complete course. Hurricane Divers Huatulco´s Premier Dive Center. They offer a

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half-day snorkel tour by boat, visiting two of the many beautiful snorkel sites, and

all-day snorkel excursion.

In the shallower areas you´ll find coral plates with an abundance of fish, ideal

for snorkeling as well as diving. A little bit deeper you´ll encounter big underwater

cliffs and seabeds of volcanic rocks full of “nooks and crannies”. For the more

experienced divers are walls and drop-offs. The Emerald Coast is very rich in flora

and fauna and is visited frequently by all kinds of bigfish and a variety of marine

mammals.

If you fancy a day out, with the family or a group of friends or maybe just for

the two of you, there is a popular all-day excursion including a tour of the bays,

that includes picnic lunch and the beverages for the day. Visiting San Agustin you

will take the lunch on a quiet beach, where afterwards you can snorkel, go for a

walk, sunbath or simply relax. This day out can be combined with diving and/or

snorkeling always accompanied by professional bilingual guides.

Your safety must be the first priority, then the environment. Most of the dive and

snorkel sites to visit are located inside the Huatulco National Park, and the guides

put a lot of effort into protecting the aquatic environment.. There is an specially

designed dive boat “Dignity”, it has room for ten divers and is equipped with a sun

roof, a comfortable ladder, tank racks and two outboard engines. Including all

necessary safety equipment on board, such oxygen, first aid kit, emergency plan,

mobile phone, radio, life jackets, drift line, safety stop bar, etc.

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Recreational diving is still a relatively young sport. Created in the 1950s, it gained

acceptance in the ‘60s and ‘70s, boomed in the ‘80s and took great technological

leaps in the ‘90s. If you’ve been diving for decades, there’s a good chance that not

everything you learned in your open-water class still applies. New research and

equipment have made diving safer and more enjoyable than ever—if you know the

rules. We thought we’d take a look at some of them and see how they’ve evolved.

1. Reverse Dive Profiles Are OK

New Rule.- It is permissible to dive deeper on your second dive than on your first,

and to dive deeper on the later part of a dive than on the early part.

Old Rule.- Most divers have been taught to go to their greatest planned depth

early in the dive and then gradually work upward in a regular “stair-step” pattern.

Similarly, they’ve been told to make the deepest dive of the day the first one. The

rationale was that the shallower depths later provided decompression for the

preceding greater depths.

Reason for the Change .- Dive computers. Because computers can track your depth

and time constantly and are pretty good at math, it’s possible to know your

nitrogen exposure accurately regardless of your profile. Tables, by contrast, can

account for only your greatest depth, and this crude approximation of nitrogen

exposure still mandates a conservative approach.

Exceptions to the Rule.- Obviously, divers using only tables must still follow the

old rules. And even when using a computer, it’s still smart to dive deeper first.

Ascending profiles give you more bottom time and a greater margin of safety

against DCS.

2. Lower Minimum Age.

New Rule.- The Recreational Scuba Training Council, which sets many industry

standards, dropped its minimum age requirement for junior certification near the

end of 1999. As a result, PADI, SDI, SSI and NASDS (which has since merged

with SSI) dropped their minimum age requirements for junior certification to 10.

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Ten-year-olds can get a PADI Junior Scuba Diver, and 8-year-olds can enjoy

PADI’s Bubblemaker and Seal Team programs, which are held in a pool in less than

6 feet of water. SSI has a pool-only “Scuba Ranger” program for 8- to 12-year-

olds.

Old Rule.- Minimum age for junior certification was 12. (Junior certification

requires supervision by a fully certified adult.)

Reason for the Change.- To promote the sport. Lots of divers have kids, and the

growing popularity of resort diving meant a market for family dive vacations. “The

future of diving will be determined by kids,” says Bret Gilliam, president of SDI,

the first agency to lower the age. “It’s a great step forward to recognize the

family unit as key to our sport’s growth.”

Exceptions to the Rule.- It’s still up to the instructor to decide whether a child is

mature enough to dive. Being 10 does not create a right to be certified. The new

junior certifications typically have various restrictions. In PADI, kids are limited

to 20 feet in confined water first, then 40 feet in open water. Juniors must be

accompanied by an agency-affiliated instructor, a certified parent or another

certified adult. Check specific agencies for their rules.

3. Universal Referrals

New Rule.- Getting certified? Beginning in 1998, you could take classroom and pool

sessions in your hometown from an instructor with Agency “A,” then fly to warm

water for open-water sessions under an instructor with Agency “B”— as long as the

agencies had agreements to recognize each other’s standards and instructors. This

means you can choose from many more warm-water resorts for your open-water

sessions.

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CAFÉ SURF.

urfing is a surface water sport in which the wave rider, referred to as a

surfer, rides on the forward or deep face of a moving wave, which is usually

carrying the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are

primarily found in the ocean, but can also be found in lakes or in rivers in the form

of a standing wave or tidal bore. However, surfers can also utilize man-made waves

such as those from boat wakes and the waves created in artificial wave pools.

The term surfing refers to the act of riding a wave, regardless of whether the

wave is ridden with a board or without a board, and regardless of the stance used

(goofy or regular stance). The native peoples of the Pacific, for instance, surfed

waves on alaia, paipo, and other such craft, and did so on their bellies and knees.

The modern-day definition of surfing, however, most often refers to a surfer

riding a wave standing up on a surfboard; this is also referred to as stand-up

surfing.

One variety of stand-up surfing is paddle boarding. Another prominent form of

surfing is body boarding, when a surfer rides a wave on a bodyboard, either lying

on their belly, drop knee, or sometimes even standing up on a body board. Other

types of surfing include knee boarding, surf matting (riding inflatable mats), and

using foils. Body surfing, where the wave is surfed without a board, using the

surfer’s own body to catch and ride the wave, is very common and is considered by

some to be the purest form of surfing.

Three major subdivisions within standing-up surfing are long boarding, short

boarding, and stand up paddle surfing (SUP), and these three have several major

differences, including the board design and length, the riding style, and the kind of

wave that is ridden.

In tow-in surfing (most often, but not exclusively, associated with big wave

surfing), a motorized water vehicle, such as a personal watercraft, tows the surfer

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into the wave front, helping the surfer match a large wave’s higher speed, which is

generally a higher speed than a self-propelled surfer can produce. Surfing-related

sports such as paddle boarding and sea kayaking do not require waves, and other

derivative sports such as kite surfing and windsurfing rely primarily on wind for

power, yet all of these platforms may also be used to ride waves. Recently with the

use of V-drive boats, Wakesurfing, in which one surfs on the wake of a boat, has

emerged. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized a 78 feet (23.8 m) wave

ride by Garrett McNamara at Nazaré, Portugal as the largest wave ever surfed.

Expert instructors trained to work with children and adults at all skills levels.

Each instructor is in the water with you to guide you all times and to help with the

wave selection to make sure you get the best training. You can drop the kids off

and walk to the nearby shopping area and restaurants.

Come and discover Paddle Board. The newest water sport, fun and easy to learn,

ideal for exercising and spending quality time with friends and family. In a class

you will learn to row and begin to explore the waters of Huatulco. Before you know

it, you will be experiencing the thrill of a lifetime.

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Venture into a unique and extraordinary tour to see the charming village of

Santa Cruz and different beaches. On paddles board will take you to coral reefs to

dive and admire the underwater life on a snorkel trip in La Entrega bay. It is a

natural sanctuary that is home to a lot of fish. A truly phenomenal experience for

any animal lover.

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WISDOM OF NATURE

nforgettable encounter with a natural paradise. Agro ecological

development where can be admired different phases from the cultive of

fruit trees and original flowers Mexican species and timber. It is a natural

sanctuary for butterflies and birds that makes of the place a paradise of

matchlees beauty that invites to return to nature and spiritual peace.

There is an agro-ecological development of over 130 hectares (at an altitude of

260 to 390m above sea level), where various stages of plantation of fruit,

vegetables and timber can be observed, as well as a wide variety of wildlife and

endemic species.

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Hagia Sofia is symbolized by a cross made up of eight turtles lined up in perfect

balance that evokes Mazunte, a small town that shelters a wide range of that

species. It is said that one upon a time, turtles arrived from the four cardinal

points to mark the site where a natural sacred wisdom shrine appeared. This cross

honor Huatulco, which means “place where de wood is venerated”, based on the

adoration of a cross in the area that, according to a legend, was placed there by a

mysterious character over 1,500 years before the arrival of the Spaniards.

In Hagia Sofia you can find the harmonious coexistence of more than 400 plants,

with about 100 varieties originating from Southeast Asia and Central and South

America, which form a combination of exotic vegetation that represents a

phenomenal encounter of two worlds.

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There are over 400 varieties of butterflies throughout the year, and 60 of them

are endemic. Also, for bird watching there are over 40 different species of birds

that can be appreciated in their natural habitat.

In Hagia Sofia are the first in Oaxaca State to plant rambután (Nephelium

lappaceum) with 200 trees and the first in Mexico to plant mangosteen with 500

trees. In addition there are more than 80 varieties of other tropical fruit.

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Video

Bahí as de Huatulco International Airport

(IATA: HUX, ICAO: MMBT) is an international airport located at Huatulco, in the

state of Oaxaca on Mexico. The airport handles national and international air

traffic for the Pacific coast south of the city of Oaxaca.

It is one of nine airports in southeast Mexico operated by Aeropuertos del

Sureste (ASUR), which lists the airport's name as Huatulco International Airport.

In 2012, the airport handled 473,262 passengers, in 2013 it handled 484,604

passengers.

Huatulco Huatulco Huatulco

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