The more developed areas of Huatulco due east of Santa Cruz and include bays of Bahia Chahue, Bahia Tangolunda and Bahia Conejos. Bahia Chahue is 2 km east of Santa Cruz and its name means “fertile or moist land” in Zapotec. It has a yacht marina for large and small yachts along with three principal beaches; Chahué, Esperanza and Tejón. Despite these being quite wide beaches, their moderate surf makes them less-visited than those in Santa Cruz. Just 3km east of Chahue is Bahía Tangolunda, which has five principal beaches; Ventura, Manzanillo, Tornillo, Tangolunda and Rincon Sabroso.

The particular attraction of these is the water which varies between cobalt blue and emerald green. Most of the most prestigious hotels are located on this bay. Residencial Conejos is 4 km east of Tangolunda and has some of the most impressive residential homes in the area, some of which are available as upscale vacation rentals. The mouth of the Rio (River) Copalita is slightly east of Bahia Conejos and it has a long zone of beaches. To the east of Río Copalita are beaches extending all the way to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

Two of these beaches are Barra de la Cruz and Playa Mojon. Some excellent surf waves can be found at these beaches which makes them particularly popular with surfers and Jet Ski riders. One of the best and easiest to access is the Barra de la Cruz beach. Playa El Mojon can, at certain times of the year, have some respectable waves for surfing and is also a great location to explore the surrounding coastline and valleys.

To the west of Santa Cruz, the beaches are less urbanized; in fact most of this area belongs to the Huatulco National Park, a federally protected area for wildlife and fauna. Huatulco National Park contains 6,375 hectares of lowland jungle and 5,516 hectares of marine areas, encircling the bays of Bahia Maguey, Bahia Organo, Bahia Cacaluta, Bahía Chachacual and Bahía San Agustín. A must for snorkelers and divers, these bays offer the most important coral communities of the Mexican Pacific. Over 700 species of animals live in the park as well as numerous species of colorful fish. Despite being a protected zone, it is open to scuba diving, bird-watching and hiking. Huatulco was awarded the Green Globe International Certification in 2005 as a sustainable tourist region. An impressive feat for Huatulco as it was the first sustainable tourist community in the Americas and the third worldwide, after Bali in Indonesia and Kaikoura in New Zealand. Bahia Organo is named for the cacti that grows here. It is 240 meters long and accessible only by boat. Bahía Maguey is about 1/2 km long and is accessible by car or on foot. Both of these bays have exquisite and pristine white sand and waters of various hues of blue and green. Bahía Cacaluta and Bahía Chachacual are only accessible by boat, and there are utterly no human constructions of any kind. Bahía San Agustin is the furthest west and the biggest of all the bays. It has 1 km of beaches between 20 and 80 meters wide. There are also small islets inside the bay itself which are popular with visitors who swim out to these with relative ease. Large parts of the Bahias de Huatulco resort area are located within an “ecological zone”; much of the area is protected from future development, and the area is supported by efficient modern water and sewage treatment plants so that no waste goes into its immaculate bays. Huatulco has been awarded the Green Globe certification, and it is the only resort in Mexico to receive this prestigious award making it a favorite with sustainable tourism visitors.