The beaches:

La playa principal, which is the public beach located in front of the town. The municipal pier is located at one end. The local fisherman beach their skiffs here during the day. They fish at night and in the morning display and sell their catch to the local market and restaurants.

Playa la madera “wood beach” gets it’s name from the spanish colony days when it was the shipping point for mahogany, oak, pine and cedar wood cut from the local forests. This beach is reached by walking along a narrow, seaside trail which you can pick up on the other side of the museo arquelógico.

Playa la ropa is the longest beach in the area. In the 16th century a spanish galleon called the nao made the mistake of entering the bay, which was then a den for british buccaneers. The pirates fired on the galleon without even having to pull up anchor and the galleon was scuttled. It’s cargo of chinese silk clothing washed up all over the beach, which is how “clothes beach” got its name. To reach this beach it is easiest to take bus from downtown zihuatanejo.

Playa de las gatas, which is at the extreme southern end of the bay, is accessible by water taxi from the municipal pier or a footpath along the rocky coast from la ropa. There is no road. According to local legend a tarascan king named iréhpan and his family used this beach as a winter vacation retreat. An invasion of man-eating sharks in the bay prevented his family from swimming. So iréhpan ordered his slaves to build a stone breakwater off of the beach to keep the sharks out. Today this breakwater is overgrown with coral and offers the finest snorkeling and diving in the area. This beach gets it’s name from a species of harmless, whiskery nurse sharks that used to be common in the area. Open air fresh seafood restaurants line the beach and lounge chairs are available for rent.

Golf:

Palma real golf course:

Ranked as one of mexico’s finest golf courses, this 18-hole course was designed by robert trent jones, jr. And has spectacular scenery and natural wildlife.

Marina golf course

The marina golf course in ixtapa was designed by robert von hagge, renowned golf course designer. This exclusive 18 hole, par 72 course is 6,793 yards long and is situated on 55 hectars of land characterized by attractive landscaping and natural canals requiring 12 bridges.

Fishing:

Offshore ixtapa zihuatanejo is mexico’s newly discovered, exciting sport-fishing destination and is home to many big game fish such as pacific sailfish, dorado (mahi mahi), black and blue marlin,

Wahoo and yellowfin tuna. Inshore species such as roosterfish, grouper, snapper, spanish mackerel and yellowtail jacks are also available throughout the year.