Layout of Manzanillo
Manzanillo is built around two bays separated by a rocky headland, and almost everything about the place follows from that shape. The southern one, Bahía de Manzanillo, is the working bay: the old town sits at its western corner, and the container terminal occupies the shore immediately beside it. This is Mexico's busiest port by container volume, handling more than three million TEU a year, and cranes, rail sidings and truck traffic are part of the townscape rather than hidden away.
The old centre is compact — a zócalo, the malecón along the water, the sailfish monument that is the city's emblem, and the fishing and ferry docks. Behind it the ground rises steeply, and the residential city has spread inland and along the lagoons rather than up the coast. The Península de Santiago, the headland that divides the two bays, holds the resort development, including Las Hadas, the Moorish-styled hotel built by the Bolivian tin heir Antenor Patiño and opened in 1974, which put the town on the international map when it was used as a location for the film 10 in 1979.
North of the peninsula, Bahía de Santiago is the holiday side. Playa Miramar and Playa Olas Altas run along it, backed by the suburb of Salagua and the village of Santiago, and Boulevard Miguel de la Madrid links the whole strip to the old town about 12 km away. The pale offshore rock known as the Peña Blanca is the landmark at the north end. Behind the beaches lie shallow lagoons — Cuyutlán, San Pedrito and Valle de las Garzas — which are why the airport is well out of town: Playa de Oro International (ZLO) is about 35 km north-west near the Jalisco border, closer to Barra de Navidad than to central Manzanillo. Highway 200 runs along the coast, Highway 54D climbs inland to Colima and Guadalajara, and the rail line to the port, first opened in the late 1880s, still carries most of the container traffic north.
Distances from Manzanillo
| Place | km | Time | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playa Miramar / Santiago | 12 | 20 min | Boulevard Miguel de la Madrid, city bus |
| Manzanillo airport (ZLO) | 35 | 40 min | Highway 200 north, taxi or shuttle |
| Cuyutlán | 45 | 50 min | Highway 200 south-east |
| Barra de Navidad / Melaque | 60 | 1 h | Highway 200 north into Jalisco |
| Colima (state capital) | 100 | 1 h 15 | Highway 54D toll road |
| Volcán de Colima viewpoints | 140 | 2 h | Highway 54D, then the Comala road |
| Guadalajara | 310 | 3 h 30 | Highway 54D via Colima |
| Puerto Vallarta | 350 | 5 h 30 | Highway 200 up the coast |
| Morelia | 400 | 5 h | Highway 54D and 110 |
| Tepic | 440 | 6 h | Highway 200 up the coast |
| Mexico City | 800 | 9 h | Highway 54D and 15D via Guadalajara |
Beaches and the coast either side
The two bays give Manzanillo two quite different kinds of beach. On the sheltered inner bay, Playa Las Brisas and Playa Azul are long, dark-sand strands within sight of the port cranes, with a steep shelf and a shore break. On the Santiago side, Playa Miramar is the widest and the one with the surf, Playa Olas Altas next to it lives up to its name in the summer swell, and Playa La Audiencia, tucked into the south flank of the peninsula, is the calmest water in the city — the cove is said to be where Spanish ships anchored in the 1520s. Playa La Boquita, at the far north end by the mouth of the Juluapan lagoon, has a wrecked hull offshore that serves as the local snorkelling site.
Manzanillo calls itself the sailfish capital of the world and has run an international sailfish tournament since the 1950s; the fishing fleet works the deep water offshore for sailfish and marlin between roughly November and March. South-east along Highway 200, Cuyutlán is a black-sand beach on a 30 km bar in front of a salt lagoon, known for the heavy waves the locals call the ola verde and for a small salt museum and a turtle sanctuary. North-west, past the airport and across the state line into Jalisco, the twin villages of Barra de Navidad and San Patricio Melaque sit on a bay that was the departure point for Spanish expeditions to the Philippines in 1564. Inland, the Volcán de Colima rises to 3,860 m within 100 km of the sea. See also the Pacific Coast map and the beaches map.
Questions about Manzanillo
Where is Manzanillo on the map of Mexico?
On the Pacific coast at 19.05° N, in the western corner of Colima where the state meets Jalisco. It is 100 km from the city of Colima and about 310 km south-west of Guadalajara.
How far is Manzanillo from Puerto Vallarta?
About 350 km along Highway 200, five and a half hours by car, on a two-lane coast road with no toll section. Flying between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo usually means connecting through Mexico City or Guadalajara.
How big is the port of Manzanillo?
It is Mexico's busiest container port, handling more than three million TEU a year and roughly half of all the country's container traffic. The terminal sits inside the inner bay, immediately beside the old town.
Which beach should you go to in Manzanillo?
Playa Miramar, on Bahía de Santiago north of the peninsula, has the widest sand and the surf. Playa La Audiencia, on the sheltered south side of the peninsula, and Playa La Boquita at the far north end are the calmest for swimming. Playa Las Brisas, in the inner bay, is the closest to the old town.
Is Manzanillo safe to visit?
Colima carries a US State Department Level 4 advisory, do not travel, for the state as a whole, but the advisory exempts Manzanillo for US government employees when they travel by air or on Highway 200 north of the city. Read the current advisory in full before deciding.