Zihuantanejo: A Little Undiscovered Mexican Beach City

While beach cities in Mexico are well-known, many haven't heard of Zihuantanejo. During our recent trip, we enjoyed a few days in this charming town, which offers great shopping, dining, and warm, sunny beaches. Those familiar with Zihua, as it's often called, prefer to keep it a secret. Here is what we experienced on our first visit to this delightful Mexican city.

Getting to Zihuantanejo is fairly simple from the U.S. Most major cities have direct flights to the Zihuantanejo/Xtapa airport. The airport is small and you are through customs in minutes. Tip: if you have not pre-arranged ground transportation, look for the licensed taxi operators before walking out of the airport. The trip takes about 40 minutes depending on where you are heading in Zihua.

The tourist area of downtown is very cute, with tons of shops and restaurants. It is also very safe and very clean.

You will find, early in the day, fisherman, selling their daily catch right along the beach. Note the very patient kitty waiting for her share.

There are three main beaches in the “bahia” (bay) of Zihua. They are the “principal” (main beach), “madera,” (wood beach) and “ropa,” (clothes beach.) There is a fourth beach that is only accessible by boat called “playas las gatas,” (cats beach.)

Start at “Principal” beach and walk south. There is a very nice paved trail along the “Malecon” that takes you from beach to beach. In the late mornings, the fishing boats have come in for the day and the bay is very calm.

Throughout this city, especially in the tourist areas you will see lots of bronze statues. They are pretty to look at but very few have a descriptor as to their name or significance.

This was late morning in January. The walkway is very nice and not crowded at all for a great morning walk.

At one point the walkway ends and you have to walk along the beach to pick it back up again.

While walking along the beach you might get thirsty or hungry, there are plenty of options to enjoy. After getting to Madera beach, we found ourselves at “Madera’s Restaurant.” It was mid day the the restaurant was filled with happy patrons of all ages, locals and tourists. We met the owner who encouraged us to try the fresh, mahi-mahi sashimi that they had just pulled from the water that morning. It was delicious, as were the fish tacos. And, of course, we loved the margaritas.

Golf on the Beach, Why Not?

While enjoying our margaritas and the beach we watched some tourists take up a little golf, right on the beach!

Did you see the movie “The Shawshank Redemption?” Andy told Red to meet him in Zihuantanejo once he was released from prison. Well to burst your bubble, the movie scenes were actually filmed in the Bahamas! The only mention of the movie or Andy was this little store!

It was a fun day getting to know the old town in Zihua!

We stayed at a small B&B with 9 rooms that had nice views, but we wanted a beach day. We purchased a beach pass at “Thompson Zihuantanejo,” a Hyatt hotel. The pass was mostly for food and drinks, and the service was excellent, making it worthwhile. The pass included a designated beach area with lounge chairs, an umbrella, and a table for lunch, all set up by our server.

The location of this hotel is perfect, situation directly in the middle of the bay, offering beautiful sites to view while lounging on the beach.

The margaritas were just ok, but the food was delicious. We opted to share fish tacos and a poke bowl, which were both very good.

The grounds of the Thompson Zihua are absolutely beautiful. We will plan to come back and will definitely consider staying at this lovely hotel.

The highlight of this trip was our whale watching cruise. If you find yourself along the Pacific coast of Mexico in the winter, seeing the whales should be a priority, as they are magical. We chose a top rated company Picante, to take us on our tour. We often opt for private tours, but on a Thursday in January, the boat was only half full, so it was a great experience.

We boarded the boat on a small pier on the North end of the bay. We were underway by 9AM. The crew was great and the drinks were plentiful.

Tip: Don’t crowd on the folding chairs on the inside deck. Get out and enjoy the fun of being on a catamaran. We were the first people out here and eventually many followed. This was the front row seat to the whales.

On a lovely January day, we quickly spotted our first whale. Picante is a great tour company because they have experts on board to find and guide us to the whales.

The whales were spectacular. The guide told us that they were 4 young males and eventually a 5th joined them. They were playing and enjoying the day, as we were enjoying them.

Photo credit: Greg Cavanagh (you can find more of his work on Instagram)

Another beautiful shot taken with a telephoto lens from Greg Cavanagh.

We saw whales for over 2 hours. It was just magical. In addition, we saw a beautiful shoreline and more wildlife on a very calm day on the Pacific ocean. It was a great day.

Near the end of our tour we got a picture with the whole crew we were traveling with this week. The whale watching tour was a highlight of the trip, enjoyed thoroughly by all. We would highly recommend Picante as a top notch tour company in Zihuantanejo!

A look back at the beautiful bay of Zihuantanejo. It was a trip to remember, and we will be back. We hope you find your way there too!