|
|
The many hotels offer rooms for any taste and any
budget. From the luxury palaces to the budget hotels, there is a
room for everyone wishing a good atmosphere and good company. If
you plan on staying more than one week, you might want to rent a
villa or a condo. Whatever your choice, you want to enjoy your vacations
to the maximum. So you might want to know ahead how to dress, what
has to be seen, what not to be missed… One day in Paradise
Right picture : Condesa beach
Left picture : divers
of la Quebrada
If you go along the Avenue Lopez Mateos, you will
go up a hill where are located some old hotels, then you’ll
reach the two most famous beaches in Acapulco, Caleta and Caletilla,
with the Mágico Mundo Marino (open 9AM-6PM) on one of them.
It is a theme park with toboggans, kayaks, restaurants, swimming
pools, museum and a sea-lion show. Caleta and Caletilla are also
the “morning beaches”, because they are bathed in sunlight
in the morning. Right picture : divers of the Quebrada They are busy with Mexicans and Americans who don’t
belong to the "jet society". The ocean is quiet but not
especially clean. Between Roqueta and Caletilla, the bronze statue
of the Virgin of Guadalupe, set in 1959, is on the program of most
of the organized tours. You can sail to the Island in a transparent-floor
boat which lets you appreciate the marine fauna and flora as well
as the statue of the Virgin under the waters. You board in front
of the Zócalo ( Playa Tlacopanecha); the ride costs 85 pesos
and lasts over one hour if you don’t stop on the Island (you
can come back with any other boat; the last one leaves the island
at 5 PM). You have a little speech from the guide and a diver. Without
being exceptional, it is refreshing. Reservations at (744) 482 24
68 / 62 09. Departures at 11AM and 0130PM (1h30 time for visit).
Going back to Acapulco along the coast, via the
Gran Via Tropical, you’ll reach the Costa Alemán, by
the Yacht Club, that services the remaining part of the bay. So,
you reach downtown and the Zócalo via the Costera. The Zócalo,
a little bit back from the water front, is the barrier between the
east and west of the city. On one side of the Zócalo, the
cathedral Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, edifice dating from
the thirties was built on the site of an older church, in a hybrid
style that dared to have two byzantine towers with a dome like in
a mosque and bright blue-white-gold colors. If you stay on the Costera, you’ll reach
Hornos, the third big beach. It is the “afternoon beach”
because it is bathed in sunlight during the afternoon like the Caleta-Caletilla
beach in the morning. Beyond there, starts a set of many restaurants,
boutiques, rental offices, huge unsightly waterfront palaces, along
the beaches Francia, Icacos and the Beach “in” of la
Condesa – meeting place of conventional people as well as
gay people at the western end. The International Center of Acapulco,
by playa Icacos, organizes, several times a week, a Mexican fiesta
mexicana with folkloric dance and voladores or acrobats shows. Next
door, the CICI (International Center Convivencia Infantil) is a
huge water park with many amusements for children. It is open daily
from 10 AM to 6 PM, www.cici.com.mx,
Left picture : view of Puerto Marquès
Left picture : sunset next to Acapulco bay Right picture : flower of Acapulco
Like Cancun, Acapulco is one of those ugly sea resorts, with too many unstylish buildings, that we prefer to avoid.
State of Guerrero map :
|
||||||
Only
40 minutes by plane from 
We
wonder what the Marquis 
The
Creator did a good job when he took car of Acapulco. Thanks to a
faithful sun and to many beaches and swimming pools, the people
in vacation can hang out in beachwear from morning to evening, even
for lunch, around 1:30 PM at the earliest and often one hour later.
Don’t try to avoid the nap. Whenever you choose to nap, after
lunch or after sunset, as most of the tourists do, it is essential
to your survival. 
Water
skiing was invented in Acapulco. The diving spots are around Roqueta
Island. In Acapulco, deep sea fishing is excellent to catch whiting
and tuna but angling is also good all year long to catch barracudas,
mackerel and perch. You can rent a boat to go deep sea fishing.
You have a huge choice for activities : golf, tennis, parasailing
and horse riding.
Another
worldwide known curiosity of Acapulco is the show of the divers
of La Quebrada, every evening. You don’t need to go to the
top floor of the El Mirador Plaza hotel to have a nice view. You
can see the show from well laid platforms facing the cliff of the
divers. The bay of Acapulco rounds off the curb between two oblong
peninsulas. The western one faces the impressing cliffs of la Quebrada.
There, 40m (131 feet) above the ocean, intrepid divers practice
defying death. The word death is not too strong ! Not only do they
have to dive into the narrow gorge down the rocks but they have
to do it when the wave arrives : the slightest mistake of path or
timing could be fatal. This show has an admission fee now (37 pesos).
You can see it at 12:45 noon, 7:30 PM, 8:30 PM, 9:30 PM and 10:30
PM (with lighted torches during this last show). You can also watch
the show from the restaurant La Perla; you won’t have to buy
a ticket but you’ll have to have dinner there !
(744) 484 1970 / 01 800 701 41 86.
From here, there is a fantastic view of the bay, especially by night
with the lights all over the bay. 
Huge hotel complexes were built in this area closer to the airport
than to downtown Acapulco. We can mention Acapulco Princess, Pierre
Marquès, Vidafel Mayan Palace, Camino Real, all with nice
sporting equipment, golf courses, tennis courts and sumptuous swimming
pools.
