San Blas is a small, mosquito-haunted Pacific coast town in Nayarit state that offers exactly nothing in the way of resort tourism and everything in the way of authentic coastal Mexico. A colonial-era port that once controlled shipping along the Pacific, it is now a bird-watching destination with decent surf, a mangrove estuary and a … Read more

Zihuatanejo is the small fishing town that sits next to the planned resort of Ixtapa. While Ixtapa has the big hotels and manicured beaches, Zihuatanejo kept its character — a working waterfront, narrow streets, and Playa La Ropa, which might be the most pleasant swimming beach on the Mexican Pacific coast. The Beaches Playa La … Read more

Acapulco is a city with layers. The glamorous 1950s resort that attracted Hollywood is gone. The mega-hotel strip of the 1980s is faded. But underneath all that, there is a big, loud, Mexican beach city with genuinely interesting history and some of the best sunsets on the Pacific coast. Old Acapulco The historic center around … Read more

Mazatlan is the Pacific coast resort that Mexicans actually use. While Cancun and Los Cabos draw international tourists, Mazatlan fills up with families from Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City. The old town (Centro Historico) has been restored over the past decade and the Malecon boardwalk stretches for 20 kilometers along the coast — one of … Read more

Mazunte is Zipolite’s quieter neighbor. A small village on a hillside above two beaches, it went from a turtle-slaughtering port to an ecotourism destination after the government banned turtle hunting in 1990. The Mexican Turtle Center here is worth a visit, and the beaches are calmer than Zipolite’s for swimming. The Beaches Playa Mazunte faces … Read more

Huatulco is the planned resort that never quite became Cancun. The Mexican government developed nine bays along the Oaxacan coast in the 1980s, built an airport and a cruise port, and waited for the tourism boom. It came, but slowly, and Huatulco ended up as something more interesting — a beach resort with national park … Read more