BootsnAll Travel Community

The following question was sent to me by a good friend and I haven't the faintest idea what to suggest. Does a place like this exist anymore?

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We loved loved loved Zihuatanejo on our previous two visits, but at the moment there aren't any condos or big houses on a beach that we can rent. (The big houses are all up in the hills and require a long walk to the beach and the condos are mostly in town.) I'm also reading lots of reports that Zihua is growing faster than the sewage system can keep up and the whole place is starting to smell -- not good. We are looking for an easily accessible place on the coast that is still a real town and not a manufactured Americanized resort like Ixtapa, but also not the overpopulated and overrun ugly-American hellhole that Puerto Vallarta has become. With 8 adults and 3 kids, we also don't want to be schlepping via car or bus for hours post-flight. We like beaches and ruins and snorkeling and diving and birds and eating good food. I've been studying a map and Manzanilla looks like a possibility, but that's all I've come up with so far. Do you know any Mexico experts or is there anyone on BootsNall who might have an idea? I'm looking for a Zihuatanejo-circa 1998-type destination. Am I asking the impossible?

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the overpopulated and overrun ugly-American hellhole that Puerto Vallarta has become.

That's a bit 'over the top' IMO.
If you get away from the airport, just a little bit, like the south side of town, or north a bit, you won't see many tourists.
As the poster said they didn't want a 'long walk' they will be reduced to going to over populated tourist areas.
Any

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easily accessible place on the coast

will be full of tourists, it's obvious.

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I'm looking for a Zihuatanejo-circa 1998-type destination. Am I asking the impossible?

Indeed.

Leif, as JR says, it depends on their willingness to travel even a bit away from a major beach/tourism airport. Even just an hour on a bus can make a world of difference. I have some thoughts. I'm gonna shoot you a pm.

The number of tourists in any town is proportional to the distance from an international airport. The vast majority of Gringo tourists here are not very good at walking, so, if you walk away from places that have tourists, or even take a local bus (they're scared of them as well), you can find neighborhoods without a tourist in sight.

That rule works just about everywhere. National Parks, for example.

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The vast majority of Gringo tourists here are not very good at walking

No they aren't. And it's a good bit of mean-spirited fun to sit yourself down with a michelada and watch them stumble trying to negotiate an irregular sidewalk.

Its been over 3 years but I liked the town of Puerto Angel that was just 2 hours south of Puerto Escondido. Try and stay at the hotel on top of the hill with the killer sunrises and sunsets. I think its the Angel Del Mar ($40).

But I also enjoyed the old town of Acupulco. I stayed at the old hotel Boca Chica (1960s) which is right on the beach and has kitsch and old charm. Great place for kids too. I have never been to the tourist section of Acupulco. I am sure its just like Cancun or any other tourist trap.

Hey

Try Huatulco or Puerto Escondido in the Oaxaca coast, both offer all comodities at a lower price and lower rate of people, even nicer locals and the beaches are more beautiful than Ixtapa's. There are airports in both so no extra buses are needed. I really recommend you both these places and the best thing is you can spend half your time in each as they are only 60 miles away from each other.

Have a nice trip!