Landing at Zihuatanejo Ixtapa International Airport in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo gives you an easy home base, with nearby cities and getaways close by. These are two very different towns sharing one stretch of Pacific coast. Zihuatanejo is an old fishing village wrapped around a horseshoe bay, with a cobbled waterfront, a daily fish market, and a sleepy rhythm. Ixtapa, a few minutes north, is a planned resort strip with a long sandy beach, a marina, and a palm-lined bike path.

Highlights around Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo: - Spend a lazy day on Playa La Ropa, the bay's calm, broad beach - Take a water taxi to Playa Las Gatas for snorkeling behind its rock breakwater - Walk the Paseo del Pescador in the morning when fishermen sell their catch on the sand - Try tiritas, thin strips of raw fish cured with lime, onion, and chile, the local answer to ceviche - Boat out to Isla Ixtapa from Playa Linda for snorkeling and beachside seafood - Ride the ciclopista bike path and look for crocodiles in the Playa Linda estuary - Surf or just watch the waves at Playa El Palmar in Ixtapa - Visit the small Museo Arqueologico de la Costa Grande on the Zihuatanejo waterfront

Beyond Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, the coast stays quiet. Barra de Potosi, about 30 minutes south, has a lagoon full of birds and a row of enramada seafood shacks, while Troncones, about 40 minutes north, draws surfers and yoga retreats to its long, empty beach. Petatlan, with its pilgrimage church and gold market, is also an easy outing. Every March the Guitar Festival fills the bars of Zihua with live music, which is as good a reason as any to book a trip.