Guerrero

Most travelers head to the Pacific coast resort areas in Guerrero state to either Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa, or other smaller and lesser known beach locations.

Acapulco with its stunning bay and cliff divers was THE place to be seen by celebrities and well-to-do people, especially back in the 1950’s. Today, many Mexican nationals living in the central region of the country make Acapulco the place to go for a beach vacation. The reason is that it has the closest beaches from México City, a short 5 hour drive away.

Like Cancun, Ixtapa was built as a planned resort destination specifically for tourists to vacation on the beach. The local workers at the resorts, restaurants, and shops in Ixtapa don’t live there. They are transported in and out each day from surrounding towns. No local people actually live in Ixtapa.

Zihuatanejo (Zihua) was a small fishing village which eventually became a place for tourists to enjoy its peaceful bay. Unlike Ixtapa which only has a long row of commercial hotels on the beach, visitors can still experience Zihua’s Mexican charm. These two places are just 3 miles/ 5 km around the bay from each other.

On the eastern side of the state is also the popular destination of the city of Taxco. This town was build in a small valley with low hills surrounding it. In these hills, silver and other precious metals were discovered and mined. The town was basically constructed to house the workers of the mines.

An interesting side note is that Taxco has no sidewalks. Pedestrians walk only inches away from the moving vehicles on narrow cobbled streets.