An Insider’s Guide to Zihuatanejo

Zihuatanejo is simply a spot that lives successful the marrow of those who emotion it. It’s not conscionable the expansive Pacific, oregon the cobblestone streets of downtown, oregon the scent of brackish and grilled food successful the air. It’s however each of it forces you to dilatory down and pulls you into a coastal Mexico that feels forgotten successful the buzz and vigor of the much fashionable edifice towns.

Set on the Pacific seashore of Guerrero, Zihuatanejo is often mentioned successful the aforesaid enactment arsenic its shinier neighbor, Ixtapa. But marque nary mistake, they are antithetic worlds. Ixtapa was master-planned successful the 1970s arsenic a tourer zone, and contiguous it brims with resorts and play courses. But Zihuatanejo,  conscionable 20 minutes distant (and adjacent person to the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport), has managed to clasp its identity. 

Zihuatanejo, and adjacent Ixtapa (pictured here) offers a front-row spot to the Pacific Ocean from its 4 main beaches. (FEE Mexico)

For travelers seeking a municipality with past and a front-row spot to the ocean, combined with the entree of an planetary airport, this is the one.

Beaches, bays and Barra de Potosí

Zihuatanejo is built astir a serene bay with 4 main beaches, each with its ain character. 

Playa La Ropa, named for a shipwreck that erstwhile spilled silks onto its shore, is the astir celebrated and family-friendly. That’s acknowledgment to brushed sand, swimmable waters and a drawstring of beachside restaurants that telephone for micheladas nether palapas. It’s besides the champion formation for paddleboarding oregon hopping a h2o taxi to Playa Las Gatas, a rocky cove cleanable for snorkeling among coral and calm reef fish.

Playa Madera is simply a fashionable section beach, portion Playa Principal is wherever the sportfishing boats propulsion successful each morning, offering a model into regular beingness successful Zihuatanejo.

But for the wild, windswept mentation of the coast, thrust southbound to Playa Larga, Playa Blanca and Barra de Potosi. Barra de Potosi is simply a tranquil colony cushioned betwixt a monolithic mangrove lagoon and the ocean. Take a vessel circuit of the estuary, location to herons, spoonbills and egrets. Or works yourself connected the formation with a platter of freshly grilled pescado a la talla and a acold Victoria.

And for surfers? Troncones, astir 45 minutes north, delivers accordant waves, a boho-chic vibe and a quiescent agelong of soil wherever yoga studios and surf shops dot the coastline.

A municipality with a story

Zihuatanejo is simply a municipality with a story, opening with its name, which means “place of women.” (Unsplash/Eduardo Romero)

Zihuatanejo’s sanction comes from the Nahuatl Cihuatlán, meaning “place of women.” Before the Spanish arrived, it was a ceremonial center, and it inactive holds a heavy spirituality beneath its cobblestones. Today, Zihuatanejo is simply a sportfishing municipality astatine heart, with a arrogant section assemblage that’s profoundly rooted successful Guerrero’s culture.

Stroll done Centro, wherever the streets are lined with creation galleries, handicraft shops, and open-air cafes. Visit the beachfront Museo Arqueológico de la Costa Grande, a tiny but fascinating depository that traces the region’s Indigenous and assemblage history. It’s 1 of the lone museums successful Mexico connected the beach.

For thing much atmospheric, rotation the Mercado Municipal. There you’ll find everything from tamales and mangoes to buckets of just-caught shrimp and glistening reddish snapper. Don’t miss the murals on the pedestrian-friendly Paseo del Pescador, which hugs the shorelines and connects the municipality halfway with the beaches.

Where to eat

True to Mexico successful general, Zihuatanejo doesn’t scrimp connected flavor. Angustina is simply a standout. This blase yet grounded edifice is nether the helm of Chef Felipe Meneses, who puts a modern rotation connected accepted Guerrero flavors. The mole and expansive enactment of branded mezcals are worthy the reservation.

La Terracita is simply a lovable rooftop spot tucked supra Playa Madera. The paper leans toward Mexican comfortableness food, and the views are unbeatable. For beachfront dining, caput to La Gaviota connected Playa La Ropa. 

For casual section eats, Carmelita’s Cafe is simply a meal institution, and Any Mexican Restaurants has been astir for 35 years.

Suites astatine Thompson Zihuatanejo are a large spot to stay, portion onsite restaurants similar Ceniza and Hao are among the town’s galore fantabulous eating choices. (Thompson Zihuatanejo, by Hyatt)

Back successful Barra de Potosi, Enramada Teresita is simply a formation shack classic. Order the coconut shrimp, settee into your integrative chair, and ticker the pelicans dive-bomb the waves.

Where to stay

You won’t find mega-resorts oregon high-rises successful downtown Zihuatanejo, and that’s 1 of the champion things astir it. Accommodations present thin to beryllium boutique, eco-conscious and often family-run.

Catalina Beach Resort is simply a “Zihua” classic, known for its cliffside rooms, vintage aesthetic and dreamy hammock-strewn balconies. This is wherever generations of families (and much than a fewer honeymooners) person travel to unplug.

For a luxe, yet sustainable option, La Casa que Canta offers exquisite design, tiered terraces and stunning views of the bay. It’s adults-only and supremely peaceful.

If you’re looking for barefoot luxury close connected the beach, Thompson Zihuatanejo toes the enactment betwixt elevated and authentic, with a premier La Ropa determination and a chic cocktail scene.

What Zihuatanejo offers is thing that is becoming rarer these days: a consciousness of place, a dilatory pace, and the consciousness that overdevelopment is inactive a precise agelong mode away. Whether you’re sipping mezcal nether the stars, chatting with fishermen astatine dawn, oregon swinging successful a hammock, Zihuatanejo gives you a abstraction to dilatory down. 

Meagan Drillinger is simply a New York autochthonal who has spent the past 15 years traveling astir and penning astir Mexico. While she’s connected the roadworthy for assignments astir of the time, Puerto Vallarta is her location base. Follow her travels connected Instagram astatine @drillinjourneys oregon done her blog astatine drillinjourneys.com.