Zihuatanejo

Zihuatanejo is a city of 130,000 people (2020) on the Pacific Coast of Mexico in the state of Guerrero. It is a fishing village that has developed into one of the most-visited areas in Mexico. It is popular with sports fishermen. The small town vibe of the historic downtown area earned it a designation as one of Mexico's Pueblos Mágicos.

By plane
All domestic and international airlines share the same boarding gates (Puertas 1-4) which are assigned only minutes prior to arrival. Arriving passengers are directed to passport control & customs (international) or direct to luggage reclaim (domestic) and then come out into the public arrivals zone (llegadas), where there are desks for car rental and ETASA Taxis (see below) for transport into town. The following airlines offer regular service to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo:


 * Domestic Airlines/Aerolineas Nacionales Aeromexico Connect, Magnicharters, VivaAerobus and Volaris.
 * International Airlines/Aerolineas Internacionales Alaska Airlines and United Express offer regular year round service to Zihuatanejo from the U.S. The following carriers offer seasonal flights from the U.S. and Canada (Nov-Mar): Air Canada, American Airlines, Air Transat, Sunwing, Sun Country, Swift Air and Westjet. The carriers that offer regular year round service offer seasonal flights from additional cities in the U.S. or Mexico.

From the airport Elances Terrestre Aeroportaurio SA de CV (ETASA) provides the shared shuttle and airport taxis into town. The shared ride shuttles cost M$160 to most parts of town and M$180 to Club Med, Melia and Playa Linda. Private taxis (in small cars for 1-3) cost M$550 to Zona Centro or M$600-650 to Ixtapa and other surrounding areas; and M$1100 for a SUV or van (for 1-6 people) to Zona Centro and M$1200-1300 to Ixtapa and other surrounding areas. Taxis and ride share cars (such as Uber) coming in from town can only drop off and cannot pick up passengers at the airport. Going to the airport, the aeropuerto, playa larga colectivos pick up along Juarez near Gonzales and drop off outside the airport gate or a taxi from the city for M$250.

By car
Fed Hwy 200 bypasses Ixtapa and Zihuatenjeo along the north/west side of town as Careterra Zihuatanejo-Manzanillo and from the south/east side of town as Careterra Zihuatanejo-Acapulco. Avenida Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon goes into town from Hwy 200. Zihuatanejo is (4½ hr) north/west from Acapulco and  south/east from Lazaro Cardenas and  from Manzanillo.

Coming from Toluca (west of Mexico City) take Fed Hwy 134 towards "Valle de Bravo, Temascaltepe" from Paseo Cristobal Colon and Del Pacifico south of town. The Junction at Hwy 200 is 404 km/8 hr 46 min in the village of Pantla from Toluca and another 12 km north of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo.

Alternatively one can also go north on Hwy 55D towards 15D north of Atlacomuco and then go 146 km west on Hwy 15D towards the Hwy 14D turn off at Aramburao which goes through or around Patzcuaro. Take Hwy 37/37d just west of Uruapan towards Hwy 200 (202 km/2 hr SW of Uruapan) which is 56km north/northwest of Zihuatanejeo via Hwy 200. Going through Atlacomuco, Patzcuaro and Uruapan is longer, distances wise (200 km longer than Hwy 134) but quicker time-wise (6 hr). Because Michoacan and Guerrero states are in bad areas seek local advice regarding safety before setting out and preferably travel during the daytime, before dark, especially if traveling on Hwy 134 which is a libre road.

By bus
Bus service in Mexico is quite reliable and comfortable. Before the start-up of several low cost air carriers, bus was the main mean of transport across Mexico.

Several companies serve Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. Buses have air conditioning (except some "economy" ones), and often show movies and have refreshments. You can take a taxi (~M$100) or local bus (La Correa for M$8) in the city to the (Central de Autobuses) to catch an intercity bus to Acapulco (4½ hr); Lázaro_Cárdenas (2 hr); Morelia (5 hr); Pátzcuaro (4 hr); Uruapan (3½ hr); Celaya (9-10 hr); Mexico City (9-10 hr); Puerto Vallarta (14-14½ hr overnight) and to other locations. The main bus station is at Carretera Zihuatanejo-Acapulco (Hwy 200) and De la Parota a block east of Av Jose Morelos y Pavon intersection with Hwy 200. It is located 10 km west of the airport terminal and 2 km NE of the downtown core (el centro) in Colonia El Huja. From the bus station, buses going into Zihua or Ixtapa stop at the opposite side of the road under the pedestrian bridge. The following bus lines offer services into and out of the Central Bus Terminal:

The following has a separate bus station:

Get around
Most of the transportation is done on foot. There are plenty of taxis to take you out to the airport or the bus station. At the muelle, dockside, there are lanchas, open boats, to various points along the coast, most notably the Playa Las Gatas across the bay. Getting to the flashy sister resort of Ixtapa can be done easily by bus.

See
Zihuatanejo is a self-grown little resort on the Bahía Zihuatanejo. The feel of the place is very relaxed and Mexican, and it is very unlike its sister resort of Ixtapa, a planned resort to attract the gringo dollar. Expect to find backpackers and other individual travelers along with Mexican holidaymakers. The latter are also among the more relaxed, as the Mexico City jet-set fresas of course intermingle with the estadounidenses in Ixtapa. The main attraction of Zihuatanejo is the sheltered Bahía Zihuatanejo with safe swimming. Several lovely beaches surround the bay, including the Playa La Ropa ("Beach of the clothes") and the Playa Las Gatas ("Beach of the she-cats"), the first named after a shipwreck including Chinese silk, the latter named after little, harmless sharks called "she-cats" because of their whiskers.

Playa Las Gatas, across the bay from town, is reached by lanchas, open boats. You buy the tickets at the ticket counter, and queue up at the pier. This is usually a quick affair. The beach itself has white sands and plenty of palapas (thatched umbrellas). You sit down under one for free, as long as you order your drinks and your lunch from the owner of the palapa. Snorkeling is recommended from the snorkel shop located just off of the boat dock. A very nice artificial reef was created in precolumbian times.

The small community amphitheater and basketball courts provide great evening weekend events. Located along the pier near the fish market local families will attend Friday night basketball games (summer timeframe) and Sunday celebrations to watch folkloric dancing on the stage.

Do

 * Vicente Guerrero National Park is one of the newest Mexico national parks, having been created in 2023. The park preserves an area of 724 hectares between the Pacific resort destinations of Ixtapa and Zihuatenejo. The park includes the rocky hills of Cerro La Hedionda as well as 35% dense dry jungle and 26% mangrove swamp, along with coastal plains and savannah. The park provides natural habitat for thousands of plant species as well as 293 birds native to the state of Guerrero, 33 reptile species (mostly snakes and iguanas, but also crocodiles in the swamps) and several amphibian species (including several kinds of frogs). The park lies between Ixtapa to the northeast, Zihuatenejo to the southeast, and the Pacific ocean to the west (although the park does not include any beach area as it is developed. The park lands are east and north of Blvd Playa Linda, where you will find park entrance areas. There is no cost to enter the park.

Buy
A true Mexican tourist resort (i.e. a lot of vacationers from Mexico City), there are loads of things to buy in Zihuatanejo. In addition to swimwear and other beach accessories, you can buy a lot of Mexican handicraft. There is of course anything from cheap junk to high-quality artworks.

Visit the shops and market close to the Playa Municipal, fanning outward from the pier. There is an excellent textile shop right along the water.

Eat
If you've never tried pozole, you've never been to Zihua! Pozole is a regional favorite, and in Zihua you'll find it being served up anytime, anywhere, but especially on Thursdays, everywhere. There's usually 3 kinds of pozole available:


 * blanco - white pozole is the tradition classic. It's simply pozole served in a clear chicken broth. Simple and wholesome.
 * verde - green pozole is flavored with a rich mole sauce made from ground pumpkin seeds with a simmering heat of pipian chiles.
 * rojo - red pozole is what you'd typically find in most of Mexico, or at Mexican restaurants outside Mexico. It's got a little bite to it from ancho and guajillo chiles (which is the foundation of menudo spice mix, which some cooks use as a shortcut)

Regardless which color of pozole you choose, top it off with shredded cabbage (never lettuce---Guacala!), cilantro, onions, radishes, and a crushed tostada.

Many street vendors pop up around Zihua every Thursday. Fans of street food will find them on Avenida Benito Juarez, between Calles Nicolas Bravo and Juan Alvarez.



Go next

 * Ixtapa Ten minutes by taxi, 20 minutes by bus, location of the tourist resorts and other upscale hotels, restaurants and bars.
 * Playa Troncones 25 minutes north of the twin resorts of Zihuatanejo & Ixtapa and the Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa International Airport. It looks like Ixtapa but without the crowds. Troncones offers many miles of beautiful, unspoiled, golden sand beaches. Stroll, the virgin clean beaches and go barefoot in the surf where flocks of pelicans skim the crests of the waves and endangered sea turtles lay their eggs in the warm sand. Troncones is "the real Mexico".
 * Isla Ixtapa - Catch a boat to the island (which is totally separate from the Ixtapa tourist trap), which has just a few combo restaurant/snorkeling rental businesses. The snorkeling is good and the seafood (served to you on the beach) has probably only been out of the water for a couple hours by the time you eat it.  Very beautiful scenery all around.