SALINA CRUZ SURF TOURS Mainland Mex Secret Spot

The 200 km of coastline between Salina Cruz and Huatulco in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico is one of the last frontiers in Mainland Mexico. Salina Cruz locals Cesar Ramirez and David Ramirez are dialed into this area with over 30 years of combined surfing experience and will be your surf guides to its many classic surfing breaks. This coastline enjoys one of the most consistent swell windows in the world, picking up the same powerful southern hemisphere generated swells as Puerto Escondido. The surf is dominated by righthand, sand bottom point breaks, jetty breaks, and some mysto beachbreak that rivals Puerto with no crowds.

The arid badlands that border the Gulf of Tehuantepec are reminiscent of the Central Baja and are no more hospitable. This area has a strong, dominant N to NE wind condition caused by a tight pressure gradient between the Gulf of Mexico to the North and the Pacific Ocean to the south which are separated here by only a narrow isthmus of the Mexican continent. For much of the year (typically from October to April) these winds blow in excess of 25-30 knots often for weeks on end and blow out the surf in this region. During the rainy season from May-September, the wind velocities diminish to 10-20 knots or less and the wind direction is more variable. After rains, the winds will sometimes die altogether resulting in perfection at the points. There are approximately a dozen quality breaks in this region, most of them remote and not regularly surfed. Access in this area is difficult and sketchy, and because of the variety of set-ups and the mutability of wind, swell and tide conditions, an experienced surf guide is essential. Cesar and David Ramirez of Salina Cruz Surf Tours have grown up surfing this area and are totally dialed into this area.

The region has little to no tourism infrastructure whatsoever and is virtually untouched by development. Salina Cruz is a blue collar Mexican industrial town with an oil based economy featuring a large Pemex plant, oil refinery and commercial port. There are no 4 or 5 star beach resorts here, just Salina Cruz Surf Tours base camp which operates out of the remodeled, modern Haciendas Salina Cruz and Pescador in downtown Salina Cruz, which feature air-conditioned bedrooms w/private bathrooms, hot water, lounge w/TV/DVD/Direct TV and WIFI internet- all the essentials for the 21st century surfer. Décor is simple but clean. This is a trip for hardcore surfers who want to surf, eat and sleep, not people looking for a tourist vacation, so no high maintenance clientele please. The surf in this region ranges from intermediate to expert in difficulty level. There are many fast, hollow waves for shortboarding and also several classic points for longboarding.

The tours include airport transfers, accommodations at the Haciendas Salina Cruz and Pescador w/all delicious homecooked Mexican meals included, local surf guide, 4x4 truck transfers w/fuel to all Salina Cruz breaks, bottled water, refreshments and snacks. The tours operate from mid-April to mid-October only. A maximum of 12 surfers are booked w/Salina Cruz Surf Tours per week, and are divided up into smaller tactical groups for surfing averaging 3-5 surfers each.

Changes for 2008 season and beyond:

Due to crowds following the arrival of the WCT contest at “La Jolla” in 2006, Salina Cruz Surf Tours focuses on the more difficult to access and lesser known breaks several hours east of “La Jolla”. Salina Cruz Surf Tours will surf at “La Jolla” when the conditions are right and between crowds, but it is not the main focus of our surf tours. Salina Cruz Surf Tours operates further east in the Gulf of Tehuantepec region. We are no longer offering Huatulco-based tours.

Salina Cruz Surf Tours is owned and operated by Salina Cruz locals Cesar and David Ramirez who have lived here all of their life and have the blessing of the local people, surfers and governments to operate surfing tours in this region of Oaxaca. This is not a “rental car friendly zone”, not because you are not wanted here so much as the terrain itself is not forgiving on 2 wheel drive cars which are the only ones you will find in rental car fleets. (Salina Cruz Surf Tours has its own 4x4 fleet of off-road trucks). Additionally rental car insurance will not cover off-road accidents when you end up in the bottom of a ditch with a broken axle, so bottom line don’t try to do what these guys do or go where these guys go. This is not Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Just sign up for Salina Cruz Surf Tours and come surf with the boys!

In the interests of long term surfing tourism infrastructure development Salina Cruz Surf Tours has secured a parcel of land at one of the premier points of this region with the blessing of the townspeople and local and state government and has initiated construction on the first surf resort in the region which will open in the 2009 season. For the 2008 season, Salina Cruz Surf Tours will open the first phase of their project, a beach club with a palapa style restaurant and bar and some basic day use amenities at an undisclosed pointbreak. (For those of you familiar with the trip this will enable you to enjoy a lunch, drinks or relax at the beach for the whole day without the inconvenience of a midday return trip to downtown Salina Cruz).