Is it safe?

The honest ranking of risks in Puerto: the ocean first, sunburn second, crime a distant third. Zicatela’s current has drowned strong swimmers — it is a wave for experts, not a swimming beach. Swim at Carrizalillo, Puerto Angelito, or Bahía Principal, and mind the flags everywhere.

Town itself is relaxed. The usual beach-town advice applies: don’t leave a phone unattended on the sand, use lockers at hostels, and stick to lit streets on the walk back from La Punta bars at night. Rainy-season rivers can flood the road between beaches after a storm — wait it out rather than wading.