Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo

A Planned Resort Of High Rise Hotels At Ixtapa (Built In The 1970s) Beside The Older Fishing Town Of Zihuatanejo, With A Calm Bay, Playa La Ropa And Playa Las Gatas For Snorkelling, And The Isla Ixtapa Boat Trip. Quieter And Cheaper Than Acapulco, And Known In An American Film As The Place A Prisoner Dreams Of · Zihuatanejo, Guerrero

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo is two places side by side on the Pacific coast of Guerrero. Ixtapa is a planned resort of high-rise hotels, a marina and a golf strip built in the 1970s, while Zihuatanejo is the older fishing town with a calm bay, a pier, a fish market and small streets for walking. Playa La Ropa is the long town beach with restaurants, and Playa Las Gatas is a calm cove reached by boat where snorkelling is easy. Boats also run to Isla Ixtapa for clear water and fish. It is quieter and cheaper than Acapulco, and flights from Mexico City make it easy to reach. It suits couples, families and people who want a relaxed beach week without a party scene. It is worth the trip from November to May; it is less worth it in the humid, rainy months from June to October. Pacific currents and rip tides are real, so swim where it is calm, and calmly check current Guerrero travel advice before you go, then relax and enjoy the bay.

The resort strip of Ixtapa and the fishing town of Zihuatanejo on the Pacific coast of Guerrero, with Playa La Ropa and Playa Las Gatas; coordinates approximate, Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico

The beaches are open to the public at all hours and are FREE to enter, though some beach clubs and restaurants charge for chairs or have set hours, commonly from morning until evening. The Zihuatanejo fish market and pier are busiest from early morning until midday, and many stalls are CLOSED by late afternoon. Boats to Playa Las Gatas and Isla Ixtapa usually run during daylight, commonly from morning until mid-afternoon, and can be CLOSED to passengers in rough seas or after storms. Confirm boat times at the pier, since schedules shift with weather and season.

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