Zihuatanejo Forum: Where to Stay

As Cabo22 said, Zihuatanejo is much smaller than Mazatlan. Maz has about 400,000 people, whereas Zihua sits at about 130,000. Maz is Mexico's largest port city...so lots of action there. Zihua downtown is about 7 blocks by 7 blocks...remember how large you thought Olas Altas section of Maz was? Zihua is tiny!!

Zihua has a great Mexican feel, what so many of us love about it. LaRopa beach is beautiful, and so many good restaurants to check out in the LaRopa area as well as the downtown and surrounding walking area. You can spend $3 for a meal...or $200!! Your choice!

Lots of nice places to stay...nothing in Zihuatanejo is all inclusive...those are in Ixtapa...which is just a $5 cab ride away. Sort of like a 2 for 1 trip! Check them both out...Fun to do Ixtapa as a day trip to see the hotels, the beach and the shops...and then come back to Zihua and relax!!

Hope to see you in Z!!

Travel Judy

I see where you are on the Mazatlan board a lot as well as this board so you must know many things about both Zihuatanejo and Mazatlan.

We love Mazatlan but we are always game to try someplace new if we think it will be an area we might like.

Please give me two or three places that you would recommend to us as places to stay in Zihuatanejo. It seems like other than being smaller both places are similar. I know just about everyplace in Mazatlan to stay and eat but nothing about Zihuatanejo.

After your recommendations I will do some research and decide where to stay.

Thanks ahead of time for your help.

You can stay in El Centro which is the very small downtown area. It's basically 7 blocks X 7 blocks. Very clean, basic motel rooms are about $10 a night and a 1 bedroom fully furnished apartment is about $40 a night. Staying at Playa Madera or Playa La Ropa will be more. All three places are right by the beaches and within walking distance to dozens of great restaurants. Go to the top right hand corner of this page for Top Questions and click on Valuable Area Maps which will give you a better perspective of the different areas. Also click on Great Food-Under $10.

If you want an authentic Mexican feel and enjoy the local culture, Zihua is the place for you.

We've been here, mzt, pv, cabo, cancun, aca, etc., and aca is actually the closest you will find to mzt, only aca is much bigger. zihua is tiny in comparison, as stated. Very beautiful, though.

Well, we own a condo above La Ropa beach and we love it1 It is a kilometer of white sand and playful waves. The bay is a visual gem.

What I am looking for is something right on the beach. Many places seem to be up the hill or overlooking the bay. Are there any places right on the beach?

Almost all places on La Ropa or Madera are built on a hillside. Villa Mexicana is right on the beach as are some places in El Centro.

Try Bungalows Vepao or Casa Gloria Maria.

The tides is right on La Ropa.

Also Las Hurracas and Casa del Mar.

Brisas Del Mar on Playa Madera is nice, short walk to town. Number of steps depends on what floor your room is on.