Layout of Zihuatanejo
Zihuatanejo occupies a bay barely 2 km across, closed on both sides by headlands and open only to the south-west, which keeps the water inside it calm all year. The name comes from the Nahuatl Cihuatlán, place of women. The bay was surveyed for Hernán Cortés in the 1520s and used as a shipyard and a departure point for the Pacific crossing: Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón sailed from here for the Philippines in 1527. It stayed a fishing village of a few thousand people until the 1970s.
The town sits at the head of the bay, a flat grid of narrow streets a few blocks deep behind Playa Municipal, with the fish market, the pier from which the water taxis leave, and a paved seafront path, the Paseo del Pescador. From the eastern end of town a road climbs over the headland to Playa Madera, a short beach below a cliff of small hotels, and continues to Playa La Ropa, the largest beach on the bay at about 1 km, which faces north-west across the water and takes the afternoon sun. Beyond it, at the foot of the eastern point, is Playa Las Gatas, reachable only on foot along the rocks or by boat.
Ixtapa, 7 km north-west over the hill, is a different kind of place entirely. It was built from nothing by FONATUR, the federal tourism development agency, in the same programme that produced Cancún: a single boulevard, Paseo Ixtapa, with a row of large hotels facing the 3 km open beach of Playa El Palmar, a golf course and a lagoon behind them, and a marina at the north end. Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport (ZIH) lies about 12 km south-east of the town on Highway 200 and serves both. The long-distance bus terminals are on the highway on the eastern edge of Zihuatanejo. Highway 200 is the only road along this coast; the inland route to Mexico City runs north through Ciudad Altamirano and is slow.
Distances from Zihuatanejo
| Place | km | Time | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ixtapa | 7 | 15 min | Local bus, taxi |
| Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo airport (ZIH) | 12 | 20 min | Highway 200 east, taxi or shuttle |
| Barra de Potosí | 25 | 40 min | Highway 200 east, then side road |
| Troncones | 30 | 40 min | Highway 200 north-west |
| Petatlán | 35 | 40 min | Highway 200 east |
| Lázaro Cárdenas (Michoacán) | 120 | 1 h 45 | Highway 200 north-west |
| Acapulco | 240 | 4 h | Highway 200 south-east |
| Chilpancingo (state capital) | 370 | 5 h 30 | Highway 200 and 95D via Acapulco |
| Morelia | 380 | 5 h 30 | Highway 200 and the Siglo XXI road |
| Mexico City | 640 | 8 h | Inland via Ciudad Altamirano, or 95D via Acapulco |
Beaches and the coast around the bay
The four beaches inside the bay each behave differently. Playa Municipal is a working waterfront where the small boats land their catch in the morning and is not really for swimming. Playa Madera is short and steep. Playa La Ropa — named for a cargo of silk that washed ashore from a wrecked galleon — has the widest sand and gentle water, and the sailing and parasailing operate from it. Playa Las Gatas, at the far point, is the flattest of all because of the low stone barrier laid across its mouth, which tradition attributes to the Purépecha ruler Calzontzin; it is the snorkelling beach.
Outside the bay the coast is exposed. Ixtapa's Playa El Palmar faces the open ocean and has a shore break and a current that is often too strong for children. Playa Linda, at the north end past the marina, is the launching point for boats to Isla Ixtapa, an island with four small beaches and a reef on its sheltered side. Further north-west, Troncones is a village strung along several kilometres of open beach and point breaks, one of the main surfing stretches in Guerrero. East of the airport, the shallow lagoon and sandbar at Barra de Potosí sit under a 600 m hill and are used for birdwatching and small-boat trips.
The sport-fishing fleet works the deep water offshore for sailfish, marlin and dorado, with the main billfish season running from about November to May. Rain falls almost entirely between June and October, and this coast is inside the Pacific hurricane belt. Zihuatanejo is also familiar to English-speaking visitors as the place named at the end of the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, though none of the film was shot there. See the Southern Mexico map, the Pacific Coast page and the beaches map for the rest of the shore.
Questions about Zihuatanejo
Where is Zihuatanejo on the map of Mexico?
On the Pacific coast of Guerrero at 17.64° N, 240 km north-west of Acapulco along Highway 200 and about 640 km from Mexico City. It faces a small enclosed bay near the border with Michoacán.
What is the difference between Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa?
Zihuatanejo is the old fishing town on the bay; Ixtapa is a resort laid out from scratch by the government tourism agency FONATUR in the 1970s, 7 km north-west, with hotels in a single line along Playa El Palmar and a marina at its northern end. They share one airport and one name in the tourism brand.
Which airport serves Zihuatanejo?
Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International (ZIH), about 12 km south-east of the town on Highway 200. It handles domestic flights plus seasonal services from the United States and Canada, mostly between December and April.
How do you get to Playa Las Gatas?
By boat from the pier in Zihuatanejo town: the crossing takes about ten minutes. There is no road. The beach is protected by a line of stones across its mouth, traditionally attributed to a pre-Hispanic ruler, which is why the water there is flat.
Is Zihuatanejo safe to visit?
Guerrero carries a US State Department Level 4 advisory, do not travel, and US government employees may not travel anywhere in the state, Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa included. Check the current advisory in full before deciding.