The journey north from Acapulco to Puerto Vallarta, some 800km along the Pacific coast, is defined by languid, tropical beach life at its finest. There’s history here, to be sure, but it’s the buttery sands studded with palms, the makeshift bars on the beach, lagoons and torpid villages that dominate, topped off with heart-melting sunsets and a rich array of seafood. Separating these stretches of wild, untouched coastline – and in stark contrast – are some of the most popular and enjoyable resorts in Mexico.
- Acapulco beaches
- Pacific coast fiestas
- The Costalegre
- Bahía de Banderas
- Los Arcos
- PV zip lines (or "canopy tours")
- Zona Pacífico time
- Colima and around
- The Colima coast
- Comala
- Climbing the Nevado de Colima
- Ixtapa
- The beaches
- Ixtapa for kids – theme parks and dolphins
- Isla Ixtapa
- Puerto Vallarta and around
- The Michoacán coast
- Accommodation and eating in The Michoacan Coast
- Playa Maruata
- Colola
- Zihuatanejo
- The Virgin of the tree
- Barra de Potosí
Acapulco – the original, the biggest and, for many, the best of these resorts – is a steep-sided, tightly curving bay that, for all its excesses of high-rise development, remains breathtakingly beautiful. While tourists swarm the congested beaches, the city retains a local feel, with the coarse characteristics of a working port. Further north Zihuatanejo is an attractive, gentle resort where magnificent villas have popped up on the slopes overlooking inviting swathes of beach littered with palms, while the handsome colonial towns of Colima and Comala provide the allure (and dramatic volcanic scenery) inland. Further along the Pacific, the Costalegre contains some of the wildest and most beautiful stretches of coast anywhere, anchored by Barra de Navidad and its glorious sweep of sand surrounded by flatlands and lagoons. At the northern end of Jalisco state, international Puerto Vallarta feels altogether more manageable than Acapulco, with cobbled streets fanning out from a colonial plaza overlooking an oceanfront boulevard. With its party ambience and unbridled commercialism it’s certainly a resort, but if you travel far enough from the downtown beaches you can still find cove after isolated cove backed by forested mountains.
Tailor-made travel itineraries for Mexico, created by local experts

17 days / from1590 USD
The Magic of the Yucatan and Mexico City
Explore the magic of the Yucatan Peninsula: from colonial towns like Merida to Archaeological sites like Uxmal and Calakmul, close to the Guatemala border, to beaches in Bacalar and Tulum, this itinerary shows you the real Yucatan before heading out to explore Mexico City.
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15 days / from1430 USD
Mexico City, Oaxaca & the Yucatan
Explore Central Mexico with its ever-busy capital Mexico City, visiting Teotihuacan and the famous museums in the city. Further on to Oaxaca City, the gateway to the Archaeological Site Monte Alban. Afterwards, continue to the white beaches of the Yucatan: Cancun and Isla Holbox await.
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18 days / from1735 USD
Fascinating Mexico: From Guanajuato to the Yucatan
Discover Mexico from fascinating San Miguel de Allende over busy Mexico City all the way to the Yucatan Peninsula. This itinerary combines public transportation with domestic flights to ensure you can make the most of discovering fascinating Mexico within two weeks.
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18 days / from2190 USD
Marvelous Mexico: From Yucatan to Mexico City
Your trip starts on the wonderful coast of Yucatan, exploring the beaches and archaeological highlights like Chichen Itza and Tulum. From there on continue the exploration to Palenque and Oaxaca before taking a flight to Mexico City - 3 days in the capital await your discovery.
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10 days / from2147 USD
Mexico's Highlands and Coast
Discover Mexico City's historic highlights and the wonders of sites like Teotihuacan, Campeche and Palenque before you jet off to the Central HIghlands. Discover archeological ruins and traditional tribal villages, then fall for the charms of Mexico's old colonial cities and glitzy Caribbean coast.
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7 days / from1499 USD
Mexico's Mayan Trail
Follow the Mayan Trail around Mexico on this archaeological adventure. Begin your journey with a refreshing taste of sea and salt air in the Yucatán Peninsula on one of Playa del Carmen's gorgeous Caribbean beaches before heading off to discover magical Mayan ruins and glorious colonial towns.
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12 days / from3057 USD
Magnificent Mexico and Mayan Treasures
From Mexico City down to the southern state of Oaxaca, this trip packs in all of Mexico's colonial charms and archeological wonders. You'll also get to take to the beach at Playa del Carmen, swim in the Caribbean Sea and under cascading waterfalls and boat along lovely Sumidero Canyon.
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7 days / from1518 USD
Mexico's Churros and Chiapas
Arrive in exciting Mexico City and get a taste of its surprising charms, imposing plazas and beautiful colonial old town. Then jet off to Chiapas where you'll spend your days exploring canyons, waterfalls and national parks. Then finish with a dose of Mayan culture deep in the jungle at Palenque.
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10 days / from890 USD
Los Cabos Self Drive
Take your rental car and explore the beaches and islands of Cabo. Located in Baja California Sur, Los Cabos, Todos Santos, and Cabo San Lucas do not only have excellent beaches to offer for your exploration but also a fascinating wildlife.
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15 days / from1450 USD
From Mexico City over Chiapas to Cancun: The Best of Mexico
This itinerary combines the metropolitan glamour of Mexico City with its fabulous museums and pyramids with an outdoor adventure in Chiapas visiting the Sumidero Canyon and the fascinating wildlife and cultural heritage of the Yucatan. Two weeks showing you the true highlights of Mexico!
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9 days / from1670 USD
Mayan Heritage Tour in Yucatan
Yucatán is calling you, and this trip is the way to do it; go into the jungle and know it like no one else has ever known it; enjoy incredible food, beautiful sunsets, and the warmth of its communities that will do everything possible to offer you a dream experience. Are you ready?
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8 days / from1516 USD
Mexico City to the Yucatán
Enjoy a whirlwind tour of Mexico City, taking in the museums, churches and colonial plazas of Mexico's vibrant capital. Then relax on Playa del Carmen's Caribbean beaches before you take off to explore some of the country's most amazing archeological treasures.
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10 days / from2307 USD
Mexico's Nature and Beaches
Explore the nature and wildlife of Chiapas and Tabasco by visiting the Sumidero Canyon and Agua Azul waterfalls before heading off to the Yucatan Peninsula: Chichen Itza awaits to impress you with its magnificent pyramids before ending the trip at the white beaches of Holbox.
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14 days / from1350 USD
Chiapas, Tabasco, Yucatan: Explore the Eastern Highlights
Explore the wide depths of Sumidero Canyon in Chiapas, the fascinating archaeological site of Palenque in Tabasco before moving on to the Yucatan to explore Merida, Chichen Itza and the peaceful island of Cozumel. This itinerary offers adventure and relaxation in 14 days.
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20 days / from1280 USD
Discovering Central Mexico: from Guanajuato to Oaxaca
With this itinerary, you will get to know the real Mexico: from magic towns to archaeological sites all the way down to the beautiful beaches of Huatulco - this itinerary combines history, cuisine, and relaxation, all compactly available in a 3-week trip.
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21 days / from1490 USD
Enchanting Mexico: from the capital to the beaches
Discover Mexico's capital before heading to your first Mexican beach: Puerto Escondido. After some days relaxing in the sun, head to Cancun to pick up your rental car and explore the Yucatan Peninsula in your own car. From archaeological sites to stunning beaches, the peninsula awaits.
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11 days / from2415 USD
Culture & Jungle in Chiapas
Get ready for an adventure through Chiapas with hosts who are prepared to welcome you and discover the natural beauty of canyons, waterfalls, lakes, and rivers! The magnificent archaeological sites will amaze you as well as the charming towns.
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16 days / from1850 USD
Mexico City and the Yucatan - from the city to the beaches
Take this trip to explore the best of Mexico City: From the museums to the pyramids of Teotihuacán. Afterwards continue to Merida to explore the famous Pink Lake and the Haciendas of the Yucatan. At the ed, take your time relaxing on the beaches in Playa del Carmen and Cancun.
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7 days / from925 USD
Authentic and unique Mexico City
Mexico City seems to have it all - over 50 museums, a beautiful historic city center, an extensive city park with a majestic castle, upscale neighborhoods like La Condesa or La Roma, bohemian Coyoacan and mouth-watering cuisine. This trip shows you the best of this mega city.
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7 days / from590 USD
Mexico City Explored
Mexico City is one of the most fascinating cities in North America. This week-long itinerary grants you an insight to the museums, restaurants, and events in the capital, as well as exploring surrounding cities such as Taxco or Puebla. Get ready for a true Mexican adventure!
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12 days / from3405 USD
Mexico's Tomb Raider Experience
Explore the caves, cenotes, pyramids, and beaches of the Yucatan Peninsula. Inspired by the famous Tomb Raider video game, this itinerary takes you exploring across the pyramids of Chichen Itza, Ek Balam, and Coba, before relaxing at the white beaches of Cozumel.
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10 days / from1695 USD
Oaxacan Coast Adventure
Adventure awaits you on this trip to the Oaxacan coast, a place as spectacular as the activities you will do. From a boat trip to the beautiful bays of Huatulco to a warm horseback ride on the seashore in Puerto Escondido. Enjoy freedom of traveling with your own rental car.
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12 days / from850 USD
The Gems of Yucatan - a Self Drive Trip
Go at your own pace and discover the Peninsula de Yucatan with its many archaeological sites, its colonial villages, and stunning beaches. Having your own car allows you the maximum freedom to explore and the easy road access makes driving yourself a breeze.
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11 days / from2846 USD
Amazing Mexico
This 11-day trip takes you from Mexico City, where you will enjoy the La Merced Market to Merida where you can discover Maya ruins...with more adventure along the way, such as Hierve el agua where nature will surprise you and Oaxaca city a great cosy UNESCO World Heritage City.
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7 days / from2251 USD
Baja: Pacific Coast Paradise
Baja California is an off-the-beaten-track unspoiled paradise. The area is home to mountains, deserts and thousands of kilometers of gorgeous Pacific coastline. Come here to explore, snorkel, dive or do a spot of whale watching (in season). Otherwise, sit back and relax on its soft sandy shores.
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9 days / from1475 USD
Taste of Mexico
Discover the most unique places in Mexico City before heading out to Puebla and Oaxaca, tasting the best Mexico has to offer: mole poblano, chocolate, a corn workshop - this is a hands-on tour, showing the variety Mexico has to offer, both in food and culture wise.
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8 days / from2230 USD
Small Group Tour: Yucatán Off the Beaten Path
This is a trip immersed in Maya culture, considering visits to essential places, accommodations in different Maya communities, and cultural and outdoor sports activities. Trip starts February 1st & April 29, 2024 - prefer to do this trip in private? Send us a request for individual pricing.
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9 days / from3035 USD
Mayan Heritage on the Yucatan Peninsula
Embark on a Yucatan self-drive adventure, blending renowned treasures like Tulum and Chichen Itza with hidden gems. Wander off the beaten track to discover local communities, engaging in community-based experiences. Delve into Mayan culture, sample authentic cuisine, and explore the region.
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7 days / from1800 USD
Immersive Mexico City
Discover the vibrant heart of Mexico City in 7 unforgettable days. A stroll through historic downtown, explore colorful markets, and savor delicious street food. Day trips to Teotihuacan's ancient pyramids and Chapultepec Park's museums offer cultural enrichment.
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10 days / from3275 USD
Flavours of Central Mexico
Start in Mexico City, exploring its rich history and vibrant markets. Journey to Cholula to uncover ancient pyramids and partake in cooking classes. Conclude in Oaxaca, where you'll dive deep into local markets and culinary traditions, forging unforgettable memories.
customize ⤍Acapulco beaches
Hotels and condos completely cordon off Ixtapa’s lovely stretch of 2.5km beach – Playa de Palmar – from the road, forcing those who can’t afford the hotels’ inflated prices to squeeze through a couple of access points or use the hotels’ facilities. The beach is fine for volleyball or long walks, but often too rough for easy swimming, and plagued by jet skis.
Playa Quieta
Powered watersports are also in evidence at the inappropriately named Playa Quieta, some 5km north of Ixtapa, which is dominated by Club Med and seemingly perpetual clans of inebriated spring-breakers. The water here is wonderfully clear and the surrounding vegetation magnificent, but with the exception of Restaurant Neptuno, which predictably specializes in fresh seafood, you won’t get anything to eat or drink unless you pay handsomely to enter the confines of the three luxury resorts that dominate the beach.
Playa Linda
Playa Linda is a huge sweep of greyish sand, with a cluster of enramadas at the pier end where the bus (M$8) drops you off. As well as the usual trinket vendors, you can hire horses or rent jet skis and surfboards at the shacks along the beach. To find all the space you need, keep walking away from the crowded pier end: the restaurants are supplanted by coconut groves, which in turn give way to small cliffs and an estuary with birdlife and reptiles.
Isla Ixtapa
Boats leave from the pier at Playa Linda for Isla Ixtapa, a small island a couple of kilometres offshore with two fine swimming beaches, a spot reserved for snorkelling (rent gear for M$120) and diving (you can easily walk between the three locations) and a few restaurants, but nowhere to stay.
- Día de la Candelaria (Feb 2). Celebrated in Colima with dances, processions and fireworks.
- Fiesta Brava (Feb 5). A day of bullfights and horse races in Colima.
- Carnaval (the week before Lent; variable Feb–March). Acapulco and Manzanillo are both famous for the exuberance of their celebrations; rooms can be hard to find.
- Semana Santa (Holy Week). Widely observed: the Palm Sunday celebrations in Petatlán, just south of Zihuatanejo, are particularly fervent.
- Cinco de Mayo (May 5). Celebrations in commemoration of the victorious battle of Cinco de Mayo, especially in Acapulco.
- Festival de las Lluvias (May 8). Celebrated in Mochitlán, near Chilpancingo, the festival has pre-Christian roots: pilgrims, peasants and local dance groups climb a nearby volcano at night, arriving at the summit at dawn to pray for rain. Manzanillo celebrates its Founder’s Day.
- Founder’s Day (May 8). The city of Manzanillo celebrates the day it was founded.
- Día de San Isidro (May 15). A week-long festival in Acapulco to celebrate St Isidore the Labourer, the patron saint of farmers, with dances and cockfights.
- Día de la Marina (Navy Day; June 1). Celebrated in the ports, particularly Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and Acapulco.
- Día de Santiago (Sept 28). Celebrated in several villages immediately around Acapulco.
- Feria (first week of Nov). Colima’s major festival runs from the last days of October until November 8.
- Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead; Nov 2). Widely observed, with picturesque traditions in Atoyac de Alvarez, just off the Acapulco–Zihuatanejo road.
- Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe (Dec 12). In honour of the patroness of Mexico. Acapulco has fervent celebrations, while in Manzanillo the celebrations start at the beginning of the month. In Puerto Vallarta they continue until the end of it.
Pacific coast fiestas
The Costalegre
Most of the Jalisco coast, between Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta, has been dubbed the Costalegre (the “happy coast”; costalegre.com), the wildest, most undeveloped stretch of Mexico’s Pacific shore. Beyond the low-key resorts of Melaque and Barra de Navidad, Hwy-200 snakes north for around 225km past lonely beaches, small villages and vast swathes of jungle-smothered mountains.
Bahía de Navidad
Some 60km north of Manzanillo, just across the border in Jalisco, the Bahía de Navidad is edged by fine, honey-coloured sands anchored by the twin towns of San Patricio-Melaque and Barra de Navidad at the southern end of the bay – here the beach runs out into a sandbar, forming a lagoon behind the town.
Barra is a small, sleepy place, where the main activities revolve around beaches. A continuous arc of golden sand joins Barra with Melaque, running along the bay for some 8km – at Barra it’s known as Playa de Navidad, a fairly narrow and steep section that is often washed away during hurricanes (the last bad one was Hurricane Patricia in 2015).
If you have time, it’s worth taking a panga across the Laguna de Navidad to check out one of the bars or restaurants in the Grand Bay Hotel on the Isla Navidad, back in Colima state, or Colimilla, a small village a bit further along the lagoon. Colimilla is popular chiefly for its seafood restaurants, and as a base for the 2–3km walk over to the rough Pacific beach of Playa de los Cocos.
Bahía de Banderas
Puerto Vallarta lies at the centre of the Bahía de Banderas, prime beach territory easily explored via rental car, or with more time, public bus and water taxi. Indeed, for the more peaceful and scenic beaches further south – Playa Las Animas and Yelapa are the most appealing – a boat is the only means of access.
To the north, over the state line in Nayarit, the bay arcs out to Punta de Mita, some 30km away. A summer preserve for Guadalajarans and a winter retreat for motorhome vacationers from the north, these gorgeous beaches offer facilities in just a few spots – Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerías and Punta de Mita – leaving many kilometres of secluded sand for camping and some excellent surf breaks.
Los Arcos
From the beach at Mismaloya boats are on hand to take you snorkelling at Los Arcos, a magical underwater park around a group of offshore islands, some creating the eponymous arches. A superb array of brightly coloured fish – parrot, angel, pencil, croaker and scores of others – negotiate the deep rock walls and the boulder-strewn ocean floor. In addition to ninety-minute trips from the beach, boats are rented to groups for unlimited periods. Operators usually charge M$250 for basic snorkelling trips.
PV zip lines (or "canopy tours")
PV boasts two zip lines (aka “canopy tours”) competing for your pesos. The oldest is Los Veranos Canopy Tour (322 223 6060), in the small village of Las Juntas y Los Veranos, above Boca de Tomatlán. This is a series of fourteen exhilarating zip lines along cables up to 60m high and 335m long over the Río Orquídeas; zip past coffee trees, vanilla vines and agave plants.
Competition is supplied by Canopy River (322 222 0560), twelve higher zip lines (200m) including the longest in Mexico (420m), a small river beach in the jungle and transportation to the site.
Zona Pacífico time
If you travel north of Puerto Vallarta you need to put your watch back one hour: Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerías, Punta de Mita and Sayulita officially lie within the Zona Pacífico (Pacific Zone), the equivalent of Canadian and US Mountain Time, which starts at the Jalisco/Nayarit state border, just north of Puerto Vallarta’s airport. However, because Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerías and Punta de Mita are so close to PV, most businesses work on Zona Central (US Central) times; Sayulita officially changed to Central time in 2011. If you are given a time followed by the word Jalisco, it means Zona Central; if followed by Nayarit, it is Zona Pacífico time.
Colima and around
COLIMA, capital of the state and 98km inland from Manzanillo, is a distinctly colonial city, and a very beautiful one too, overlooked by the perfectly conical Volcán de Colima and, in the distance, the Nevado de Colima. With a handful of sights inside the city limits and interesting excursions nearby, it’s a pleasant place to stop over for a night or two. Colima’s Old World ambience, favourable climate – cooler than the coast, but never as cold as in the high mountains – and several good-value hotels and restaurants add to its appeal.
The city’s prettiest features are its chain of shady formal plazas or jardínes – Colima is known as the “City of Palms” – and a number of attractive courtyards, many of which are now used as restaurants and cafés and make wonderfully cool places to relax. The central Plaza Principal (known as Jardín Libertad) is where you’ll find the government offices and the unimpressive Neoclassical cathedral, which dates from 1941.
The Colima coast
The relatively tiny state of Colima has just 139km of coastline, stretching from the Boca de Apiza to the Cerro de San Francisco in Jalisco, but there’s plenty to tempt you off Hwy-200. The southern section boasts several laidback villages worth exploring, from the surf magnet of Boca de Pascuales to Cuyutlán, with a long beach lined with palapa restaurants. In stark contrast, Manzanillo is a major resort and another Mexican fishing port claiming the title “sailfish capital of the world”.
Comala
You can get a closer look at the regal volcanoes north of Colima by spending an afternoon at COMALA, a tidy, picture-perfect Pueblo Mágico 10km north of the state capital. Here, in the central plaza or Jardín Principal, admire the church of San Miguel del Espíritu Santo, completed in 1832, or just sip a beer or margarita while enjoying a stellar view of the mountains and listening to mariachi bands. Friday and Saturday are the liveliest times, when you can mingle with day-tripping, predominantly middle-class Mexicans from Guadalajara; on Sundays and Mondays there are craft markets in the square.
Climbing the Nevado de Colima
The Parque Nacional Volcán Nevado de Colima comprises two spellbinding volcanoes rising north of Colima. The Volcán de Colima (3860m), also known as Volcán de Fuego, is officially still active and smokes from time to time, though there seems little imminent danger. It is far less frequently climbed than its larger and more passive brother, the Nevado de Colima (4330m), which, with its pine- and oak-forested slopes, is popular with local mountaineers during the clear, dry winter months. Unless there’s a lot of snow – in December and January crampons and an ice axe are essential – and provided you are fit and can get transport high enough, it’s a relatively easy hike up to the summit. Joining an organized tour is the hassle-free alternative and recommended for less experienced hikers.
Independently, you’ll need to set three days aside for the climb, take a sleeping bag and waterproofs, pack enough food and water for the trip and walk from the village of El Fresnito. First, take a bus from Terminal Foránea in Colima to Ciudad Guzmán (about 1hr 30min) and from there catch a bus from stall #21 to El Fresnito, where there are very limited supplies. Ask for the road to La Joya – take this and keep right until the route becomes obvious. This rough service road for the radio antennae leads up through cow pastures and goes right past the cabin at La Joya (3500m), about six to eight hours’ walking (35km). You pay the entry fee and can tank up from the supply of running water here, but don’t expect to stay in the hut, which is often locked, and even if open may be full, as it only sleeps six – bring camping equipment. The usual route from here is via a steep climb to the radio antennae (“Las Antenas”), from where it’s another stiff but non-technical walk to the summit. Plan on a day from La Joya to the summit and back, then another to get back to Colima, though a very fit walker starting before dawn could make the trip back to Colima, or at least Ciudad Guzmán, in a day. Note that hitching isn’t an option as the logging roads up here are rough, requiring high clearance or 4WD vehicles, and see very little traffic.
Ixtapa
Just 7km north of Zihuatanejo, IXTAPA could hardly be more different. Ixtapa is a computer-planned “paradise” resort, established by Fonatur in the 1970s, and even today, a fairly soulless place. Its single coastal drive (Paseo Ixtapa) runs past a series of concrete boxes of varying heights, making Zihuatanejo far more appealing. Ixtapa does, however, sport some excellent beaches, nightlife and activities, including plenty to keep children entertained.
The beaches
Hotels and condos completely cordon off Ixtapa’s lovely 2.5km stretch of beach – Playa de Palmar – from the road, forcing those who can’t afford the hotels’ inflated prices to squeeze through a couple of access points or use the hotels’ facilities for day rates of around M$100. The beach is fine for volleyball or long walks, but often too rough for easy swimming, and plagued by jet skis.
Powered watersports are also in evidence at the inappropriately named Playa Quieta, some 5km north of Ixtapa, which is dominated by Club Med and seemingly perpetual clans of inebriated spring-breakers. The water here is wonderfully clear and the surrounding vegetation magnificent, but with the exception a solitary seafood restaurant you won’t get anything to eat or drink unless you pay handsomely to enter the confines of the three luxury resorts that dominate the beach.
Playa Linda is a huge sweep of greyish sand, with a cluster of enramadas at the pier end where the local bus from the centre of town drops you off. As well as the usual trinket vendors, you can hire horses or rent jet skis and surfboards at the shacks along the beach. To find all the space you need, keep walking away from the crowded pier end: the restaurants are supplanted by coconut groves, which in turn give way to small cliffs and an estuary with birdlife and reptiles.
- Delfiniti Ixtapa (755 553 2736). Meet the dolphins through six interactive programmes, from 45min swims (US$124/M$2070) to 20min encounters (US$82/M$1065). There are packages for families and a special programme for kids 3–7 years of age.
- Mundo Mágico Acuaparque (1800 917 5292). Every kid loves a water park and though this is a small one, it delivers with fun slides and pools (entry M$100).
- Parque Aventura Ixtapa (755 115 1733). Rope ladders, Himalayan rope bridges and eleven zip lines (some 250m long and 30m high; US$45/M$750) provide the thrills at this popular theme park, though it’s fairly tame by international zip standards.
Ixtapa for kids – theme parks and dolphins
Isla Ixtapa
Boats leave from the pier at Playa Linda for Isla Ixtapa, a small island a couple of kilometres offshore with two fine swimming beaches, a spot reserved for snorkelling and diving (you can easily walk between the three locations) and a few restaurants, but nowhere to stay.
Puerto Vallarta and around
Thanks to its mesmerizing sunsets, kilometres of sandy beaches and a laidback, colonial centre, PUERTO VALLARTA is a small city dependent almost entirely on tourism; it attracts a mixed bag of North American retirees, Mexican families, spring breakers, cruise-ship day-trippers and gay visitors taking advantage of its emergence as one of the gay centres of Mexico. If you’re looking for traditional Mexico you might find this wholly unappealing, but while it’s true that PV (as it’s known) can be more expensive and certainly more touristy than the average Mexican town, it can also be lots of fun.
It’s smaller and more relaxed than Cancún and Acapulco, and its location, surrounded by lofty mountains, is spectacular. Behind the beaches there’s a vibrant Mexican city, largely undisturbed by the flow of visitors, which means that the choice of tasty, cheap street food – especially tacos – is some of the best on the coast, and in between the souvenir shops and chichi boutiques are some exceptionally good art galleries. The beach remains the primary attraction however, with the less crowded resorts and villages of the Bahía de Banderas fringed by endless stretches of sand and backed by the jungle-covered slopes of the Sierra Madre.
Brief history
The town was officially founded in the 1850s (when it was known as Las Peñas – it was renamed in 1918, after Ignacio L. Vallarta, former governor of Jalisco), but there had been a small fishing and smuggling village located where the Río Cuale spills out into the bay for years. Initially developed by the Union en Cuale mining company, it remained a sleepy place until the 1950s, when Mexican airlines started promoting the town as a resort (the first hotel opened in 1948). Their efforts received a shot in the arm in 1963, when John Huston chose Mismaloya, 10km south, as the setting for his film of Tennessee Williams’ play The Night of the Iguana, starring Richard Burton.
Over the last decade, frantic development has mostly overwhelmed the tropical-village atmosphere, though the historic town centre at least retains its charming cobbled streets and white-walled, terracotta-roofed houses.
The Michoacán coast
North of Ixtapa, Hwy-200 follows the coast for 100km or so before crossing the Guerrero border into Michoacán state and the industrial city of Lázaro Cárdenas. From here the highway continues for another 260km through a wilder, virtually uninhabited area: there are fabulous beaches, but for the most part the mountains of the Sierra de Coalcomán drop straight into the ocean – it’s the most spectacular, best preserved and least developed section of the Pacific coast. You’ll make the most of this region if you have your own transport, though experienced hikers often camp and walk large sections of the coast. If you do travel by bus, sit at the front and prepare for some severe hairpin bends. In all cases, avoid travel at night.
Accommodation and eating in The Michoacan Coast
You’ll find plenty of budget accommodation in Caleta, much of it close to the beach, and numerous places to grab a meal; there is a string of bars and restaurants down at the beach and a plethora of taco stands and mini-markets along the main street.
Playa Maruata
PLAYA MARUATA is by far the most enticing beach on the coast, and the best one for camping. Once an isolated Nahua fishing village, it has developed into a laidback backpacker and surfer resort, with locals providing cheap eats and accommodation, as well as leading the effort to protect the turtles that frequent their beaches.
The main beach is a 3km stretch of sand perfect for swimming and snorkelling, while the more intriguing middle section is riddled with boulders and caves, including an enigmatic finger of rock known as the Dedo de Dios (“God’s finger”). The third section is known as Playa de los Muertos, dogged by dangerous currents and waves. From Maruata it’s another 80km to the Colima border at Boca de Apiza – there are numerous surfer hangouts along the way (Playa La Ticla and San Juan de Alima among them).
Colola
A further 8km up the Michoacan coast from Plata Maruata is Colola, another long stretch of sand much favoured by wildlife spotters, as it’s far less known and tends to attracts more turtles than Maruata. During October and November both leatherback and green turtles make their way up the sandbar to lay their eggs, and hotel owners organize beach walks to see them.
Zihuatanejo
Around 240km along the coast from Acapulco, ZIHUATANEJO (“zee-watt-a-NEH-ho”) for all its growth in recent years, has retained something of the look and feel of the traditional fishing village it once was. In stark contrast to neighbour Ixtapa, what building there has been is small-scale, low-key and low-rise, and the town looks over an attractive bay, ringed by broad, sandy beaches excellent for swimming and snorkelling. This said, it is definitely a resort: taxi drivers are forever advertising for customers, trinket and tacky T-shirt shops are abundant and as likely as not there’ll be a cruise ship moored out in the bay. Despite the proliferation of luxury hotels, though, there are at least a fair number of small, reasonably priced places to stay as well as some inexpensive restaurants. For some, Zihuatanejo is the ideal compromise – quiet by night, yet with the more commercial excitements of Ixtapa nearby.
The Virgin of the tree
The car park at Playa La Ropa might seem an unlikely place for a miracle, but according to locals, on November 27, 2006 an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe – Mexico’s patron saint and most revered apparition of Mary – suddenly appeared carved into the trunk of a plum tree right here. The image was quickly deemed a miracle, and though officially unsanctioned by the Church, it is now a mini-pilgrimage site, with candles, offerings and bright flowers enveloping the tree.
Barra de Potosí
For absolute peace and quiet, the best thing you can do is to take a day-trip out of Zihuatanejo to Barra de Potosí, a tiny community situated at the southern end of the expansive, postcard-perfect, golden sandy beaches of Playa Larga and Playa Blanca, which curve steeply round the bay and keep going as far as the eye can see. There are plenty of enramadas (beach restaurants) here that sell delicious seafood for half the price of the restaurants in town, and boat trips into the Laguna de Potosí, a large mangrove estuary teeming with birdlife.
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Sharon
We bought the tour from Italy a few days before departure, the information was detailed and precise. Excellent organization from arrival until the end of t...
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