Zihua

Hola
Have been coming to Zihua for only about 15 years. As most newbees do I stayed all inclusive in Ixtapa my first couple of times. Cheap flights and accomodations. I only stayed for 4 or 5 weeks. I had never heard of this place before. The reason I decided to come here was the movie 'The Shawshank Redemption'. Once I retired 8 years ago I started coming down for 5 to 6 months every year. Always stay in Zihua, gave up on Ixtapa pretty quick. So much for tourism attracting visitors. A movie got me here. I watch the movie over and over again.

Can i ask the details on why you gave up on ixtapa?

So many friends say "Zihuatanejo?"!sn't that from Shawshank?? yes it is & it's amazing!!!

Go to downtown anywhere!! go to see our friends & Franks, otherwise hate hate hate it!!!!

Hola
Ixtapa was not my cup of tea. It was too pompus for me. Once I started venturing to Zihua, it fit my personal lifestyle. A little more laid back.

It was mentioned in the movie but never in the movie.
Hope I don’t sound pompous, but if I do I am still on the beach in Mexico surrounded by other happy pompous people.
Get a life,!!!!!!!!

Stumbled on it from a cruise ship stop there years ago. We knew we liked it then, but didn't get the full flavor until spending a couple weeks there years later.

If you like crowds, noise, drunks at swim up bars, musical lounge chairs, rough water, AI's, crappy food and a Miami beach theme. Ixtapa is a great choice.

On the other hand, if you like a laid back atmosphere with no high rises, beautiful beach, abundant good restaurants, more elbow to elbow with locals and the hustle and bustle of things like the mercado and the early morning fish market. Then Zihuatanejo is your better choice.

Regardless, each to his own and each to his means. All should enjoy what they choose.

Anyone know if Elvira's on La Ropa is open?

Has not opened yet. A waiter at Paty's said it will re-open, under new ownership, but he didn't know when. Of course I am just passing that on and cannot vouch for accuracy.

--
Linda from Canada
check out my books at www.livingthedreaminmexico.com AND please have a look at www.cookingwithclaudiainzihuatanejo.blogspot.com as well as www.albertoinzihuatanejo.blogspot.com

Hola
Ixtapa was not my cup of tea. It was too pompus for me. Once I started venturing to Zihua, it fit my personal lifestyle. A little more laid back.

As a 29 year veteran of the area who has stayed everywhere, I find it crazy that someone would bash one area over the other. I am not sure I could be any more laid back on my 7th floor balcony in Ixtapa within 30 feet of putting my feet on Playa Palmar.

However maybe I would like my 1st or second floor place in Z with no ocean breeze and swatting mosquitos. Not with out wondering that after a walk on any beach in the bay I might have some type of nasty red rash. {Madera, La Ropa, Princiipal}

POMPOUS is as pompous does...............

D

Hola
Ixtapa was not my cup of tea. It was too pompus for me. Once I started venturing to Zihua, it fit my personal lifestyle. A little more laid back.

As a 29 year veteran of the area who has stayed everywhere, I find it crazy that someone would bash one area over the other. I am not sure I could be any more laid back on my 7th floor balcony in Ixtapa within 30 feet of putting my feet on Playa Palmar.

However maybe I would like my 1st or second floor place in Z with no ocean breeze and swatting mosquitos. Not with out wondering that after a walk on any beach in the bay I might have some type of nasty red rash. {Madera, La Ropa, Princiipal}

POMPOUS is as pompous does...............

D

While I love Ixtapa, I find your absurd description of Zihuatanejo to be high on bias and short on facts. I live in a 2-story home. Practically a historic landmark. Surrounded by friends and family. Within easy walking distance of most stores and restaurants we care to do business with. There usually is a nice breeze in the afternoons with the heat rising over the hills drawing in the cooler air from the ocean. Makes for terrific sleeping weather. Haven't hardly seen a mosquito in months. While we wouldn't hesitate to live in our Ixtapa home in Las Garzas, a single level home where mosquitos are much more abundant because of the jungle that makes up our yard and the surrounding woodlands, that's what screens and skeeter tweeters (coils) are for. But Ixtapa does seem boring after Zihuatanejo, which is the center of the community for the region. However I love them both for what they are. Zihuatanejo's major pollution problems are behind it. The rebuilt treatment plant seems to be working fine. At least we can swim in Zihuatanejo Bay without fear of riptides and undertows. Haven't seen a shark in the bay in decades. So please don't crow praise for Ixtapa at the expense of Zihuatanejo. They both have much going for them, IMHO.

This is a reocurring theme that I will never understand. Zihuatanejo fans hating on Ixtapa and vise versa (although not nearly as often ). Zihua people seem to feel superior to or more sophisticated than Ixtapa folks and can appear rabid in their attempts to persuade them of their position. It often starts with the AI versus non AI debate and progresses from there and is never complete without the scornful "drunks at swim-up bars"put down. We have stayed in Ixtapa and at several of the best boutique hotels in Zihua and have run into fellow guests in both who have over indulged and are a little worse for it. It's never pretty but it happens and isn't more pleasant when done by a sophisticated Zihuatanejo enthusiast than a mere Ixtapa vacationer. I think that being able to stay in one and visit the other is one of the huge pluses of this destination. A cab is so reasonable that you can go back and forh every day and enjoy what each has to offer. I don't see the value in trying to convince someone to change their preferrance-why do you care where a total stranger stays on their vacation? What difference is it going to make in your life?

Hola
Sorry for stirring up a shit pot with my original post, that seems to happen a lot on this site. I only meant to say that no advertising or word of mouth got me here, it was a movie. I know that the famous last scene in the movie wasn't actually filmed in Zihua. It was filmed on a sanctuary on some beach in the Caribbean, The American Virgin Islands, I think. But that doesn't matter. Obviously I don't totally hate Ixtapa, I have stayed there about 5 times before settling on Zihua. It is just not my cup of tea. I still visit friends there, just don't want to stay there.

We fell in love with Pacifica and the beauty of Ixtapa on our first trip down in Jan. of 1999. We would take the bus to "Z" and taxi back if had gone shopping. Did this for a number of years until on our trip home, get to the airport and that Saturday morning Click had gone on strike(Aero Mexico used larger planes that day and since we had gotten to the air port early got on the first plane that morning). A friend of ours in sale's mother owns a small hotel in "Z". After that, we would fly in 1 or 2 days early and stay over 1 or 2 days on our way home. Now we love having both worlds having discovered "Z". Staying a week in "Z" enjoying real Mexico and then staying at Pacifica(2018 3 weeks) is how we enjoy the area. As Kathie says, she loves to be pampered and is she ever pampered by the Staff. Since switching to the Point System, we stay at the Grand in "Z" and use the advantages of the Resort in Pacifica. We love having the option of both worlds. One of the prettiest sites, coming over hill from "Z" and seeing Ixtapa and the ocean in the distance- we can never get enough of that view. I see no reason to criticize anyone for their choice. For both places have their advantages and disadvantages- everyone has a reason for their choice.

Well said

We used to stay one week in ixtapa and the next in Zihua and enjoyed both weeks. Different but both good.

Hola
Ixtapa was not my cup of tea. It was too pompus for me. Once I started venturing to Zihua, it fit my personal lifestyle. A little more laid back.

As a 29 year veteran of the area who has stayed everywhere, I find it crazy that someone would bash one area over the other. I am not sure I could be any more laid back on my 7th floor balcony in Ixtapa within 30 feet of putting my feet on Playa Palmar.

However maybe I would like my 1st or second floor place in Z with no ocean breeze and swatting mosquitos. Not with out wondering that after a walk on any beach in the bay I might have some type of nasty red rash. {Madera, La Ropa, Princiipal}

POMPOUS is as pompous does...............

D

While I love Ixtapa, I find your absurd description of Zihuatanejo to be high on bias and short on facts. I live in a 2-story home. Practically a historic landmark. Surrounded by friends and family. Within easy walking distance of most stores and restaurants we care to do business with. There usually is a nice breeze in the afternoons with the heat rising over the hills drawing in the cooler air from the ocean. Makes for terrific sleeping weather. Haven't hardly seen a mosquito in months. While we wouldn't hesitate to live in our Ixtapa home in Las Garzas, a single level home where mosquitos are much more abundant because of the jungle that makes up our yard and the surrounding woodlands, that's what screens and skeeter tweeters (coils) are for. But Ixtapa does seem boring after Zihuatanejo, which is the center of the community for the region. However I love them both for what they are. Zihuatanejo's major pollution problems are behind it. The rebuilt treatment plant seems to be working fine. At least we can swim in Zihuatanejo Bay without fear of riptides and undertows. Haven't seen a shark in the bay in decades. So please don't crow praise for Ixtapa at the expense of Zihuatanejo. They both have much going for them, IMHO.

Fact....You have no clue as to what a sea breeze is. For the last two years in a row for two weeks I watched your house from the deck of Hotel Suzie where I staid. You have ZERO wind compared to my location.

Fact anything up to about 5th floor needs screens for MOSQUITOS I run my doors wide open 24 hours a day 7th floor Ixtapa.

FACT Do you want me to re-publish the pollution reports for Z-bay?

FACT ANOTHER pompous person should of kept quiet.

FACT Enjoy your location don't bitch about mine and like my mother said....If you don't have anything good to say keep your mouth shut.

D

Hola
Sorry for stirring up a shit pot with my original post, that seems to happen a lot on this site. I only meant to say that no advertising or word of mouth got me here, it was a movie. I know that the famous last scene in the movie wasn't actually filmed in Zihua. It was filmed on a sanctuary on some beach in the Caribbean, The American Virgin Islands, I think. But that doesn't matter. Obviously I don't totally hate Ixtapa, I have stayed there about 5 times before settling on Zihua. It is just not my cup of tea. I still visit friends there, just don't want to stay there.

Careful we may require to a Visa to visit!

Agree with you Paulf except for the comment about Zihua "being the real Mexico". I have seen and heard the comment a number of times and after visiting quite a few places in Mexico I really don't know what or where the "real" Mexico is. Mexico is very diverse from the big cities of the center to the indigenous towns and villages of the mountains, Oaxaca and Chiapas etc.

I think it was Labrat who used to have a handle that said something about Zihua being a "quaint little fishing village" . But I am not even sure its just that anymore

here is a start: Draw a 60 mile circle around all the international airports. What lies outside those circles is more apt to be true native culture than the areas inside the circles which have had their culture skewed by outside influence.

JMHO

Paulf,
I agree with you...

I am a firm believer that everyone should have the vacation they want. No one vacation is better than another. We all have different wants and tastes. Do what makes you happy. Go where you want to go. It’s your time and your money and both are precious.

As for the movie, we had been coming to Zihuatanejo awhile before we saw the movie. Just the way Tim Robbins said “Zihuatanejo “. I could feel my job and my tension slip away. I could see it all in my mind’s eye. It could taste it and feel it and hear it. think I watched that movie 100 times just to hear him say “Zihuatanejo “.

I am a firm believer that everyone should have the vacation they want. No one vacation is better than another. We all have different wants and tastes. Do what makes you happy. Go where you want to go. It’s your time and your money and both are precious.

As for the movie, we had been coming to Zihuatanejo awhile before we saw the movie. Just the way Tim Robbins said “Zihuatanejo “. I could feel my job and my tension slip away. I could see it all in my mind’s eye. It could taste it and feel it and hear it. think I watched that movie 100 times just to hear him say “Zihuatanejo “.

maybe a quaint little fishing village with a drinking problem and all that comes with it?

What an odd response. Why didn't you follow your mother's advice?

Here's the most recent report on our bay's water quality taken during the first rains, which are usually the worst for pollutants. While I disagree with the methodology and the utility of only taking measurements a few times a year at the beginning of each vacation season, it is what it is and it doesn't support your "facts".
http://apps1.semarnat.gob.mx/dgeia/gob-mx/playas/destinos/zihuatanejo.html

I'm tickled pink that you love your Ixtapa condo so much, but my wife and I love our location, too, which is why we continuously strive to make it a better place.

Thank you, thank you!

Exactly. Both have good points and bad. We get to decide what is more important and go from there. No need to bash either one.

Well said ingrid.

Each of us have our own liking. My first five years I stayed in Ixtapa. Then one day my taxii driver asked me if I've been to Zihuatenejo. I said no. He took me to El Central. Since then Zihuatanejo is my place to stay. It gives me the opportunity to practice my Spanish with the most appreciated people that I've come in contact with and to know about the culture of Zihuatenejo and Mexico.

Gracias Rob!!

Great points & well put! I love my sister dearly, but her & hubby will only go to all inclusives, while I don't . So they go to PV or Mazatlan! Tried to get them to try Ixtapa instead for a change, even if they're welcome to stay with us, still haven't come this far south!! One day?!

What an odd response. Why didn't you follow your mother's advice?

Here's the most recent report on our bay's water quality taken during the first rains, which are usually the worst for pollutants. While I disagree with the methodology and the utility of only taking measurements a few times a year at the beginning of each vacation season, it is what it is and it doesn't support your "facts".
http://apps1.semarnat.gob.mx/dgeia/gob-mx/playas/destinos/zihuatanejo.html

I'm tickled pink that you love your Ixtapa condo so much, but my wife and I love our location, too, which is why we continuously strive to make it a better place.

[/b]

Hummmm... Most liberals are not confused by facts, so it must be selective hearing.

Remind me again why Playa Palmar is not tested?

My wife and I love our location as well. We don't feel a need to "fix it"

D

It is.

http://apps1.semarnat.gob.mx/dgeia/gob-mx/playas/destinos/ixtapa.html

Excerpt from Fly on the Wall

"Agree with you Paulf except for the comment about Zihua "being the real Mexico". I have seen and heard the comment a number of times and after visiting quite a few places in Mexico I really don't know what or where the "real" Mexico is. Mexico is very diverse from the big cities of the center to the indigenous towns and villages of the mountains, Oaxaca and Chiapas etc."

11/12/2017
@ Fly on the Wall
My translation/interpretation would be to use the word AUTHENTIC, instead of "real ", that may be slightly more on target, that one could say that comparing the two, since Ixtapa is in effect a tourist development, and Z is more of the natural "Real McCoy".
As U commented, there are so many Mexicos within Mexico, that finding a precise "real" or authentic one, could be MANY places.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

"I think it was Labrat who used to have a handle that said something about Zihua being a "quaint little fishing village" . But I am not even sure its just that anymore."

I think tacked on to the end of that saying, or at least a variation of it is:
"A drinking village with a fishing problem."

--
jaui

:
"A drinking village with a fishing problem."

Possibly a little closer to the truth i think.

"A drinking village with a fishing problem."

The unofficial motto of Homer, Alaska.

I agree with Fly that I don’t really know what “real Mexico” is. I don’t think you can say one place is real and one isn’t. It’s all Mexico. What would people say is “real America”? All of the US is real America (please don’t go there Rob - you know what I mean). And I think it’s all authentic. Miami Beach and LA are authentic. So is Chicago and the Ozarks and Montana, etc. And all of the diversity of Mexico is just as authentic. Even if some parts of it cater to tourists of varying tastes.

For me, Mexico is a diverse landscape like any other country’s landscape. The point is, I think, enjoy life, go where you want to go and have the experiences you want.

Fran, I think that there is a difference between areas people call "real or authentic" Mexico and those that are not so much. Places like Ixtapa and Cancun were created as vacation destinations by the government agency Fonatur. Tourist's wish lists in terms of weather and beaches were put into a computer and destinations that met the criteria were developed. The computers didnt lie and these destinations for the most part are well designed and extremely popular but I don't think that you could call them authentic anymore than you could call Frontierland in Disneyworld authentic U.S.A. Zihuatanejo existed as a thriving fishing village with families living their lives long before tourists were thought of. It has acccomodated tourism and all that goes with it but isnt a product of it. As for real America, the U.S.A. has hijacked American as their own identity when in reality the continent of North America shares it. Just saying.

11/12/2017

Excerpt(s) from Ingrid's post:

"Fran, I think that there is a difference between areas people call "real or authentic" Mexico and those that are not so much. Places like Ixtapa and Cancun were created as vacation destinations by the government agency Fonatur.

Tourist's wish lists in terms of weather and beaches were put into a computer and destinations that met the criteria were developed. The computers didn't lie and these destinations for the most part are well designed and extremely popular but I don't think that you could call them authentic anymore than you could call Frontierland in Disneyworld authentic U.S.A. Zihuatanejo existed as a thriving fishing village with families living their lives long before tourists were thought of.
It has accommodated tourism and all that goes with it but isn't a product of it.".........

@ INGRID
Very well explained, that was my point.

Though I understand what you mean, me, getting "Nitpicky", I would add one word to the last point:
"It has accommodated tourism and all that goes with it, but ORIGINALLY (wasn't) isn't a product of it." As nowadays, the economy for many people here revolves around tourism, so as time marches on, it now is a tourism "product", that needs to be sold.

--
jaui

That Bay is not clean and hasn't been for a number of years. While I know clean water is hard to come by no matter where you are, I find the cleaner water to be out at Potosi. However, that being said I love Zihua and have been staying there since 1987. I will continue to return. I swim in the pool when in Zihua.

The term Real Mexico may have been off a little. After having been in Cabo and Cancun, when we traveled the bus to "Z" the first years, we felt that "Z" felt like Real Mexico with the shanties on the side of the hills and the small businesses on the small streets away from the Bay. In Mexico no 2 villages or cities are the same. We fell in love with Patzquaro in its quaint settings. Then flying into Morelia and touring the villages on the old road between Morelia and Patzquaro. Each village was different with it's history- we loved visiting the Catholic Churches and seeing some had the original wooden floors with crypts and others had a tile floor. The Churches with tile floors, the State helped take care. The ones with the wood floors, the villagers did not want to cover the crypts and so they took care of them. For as someone said, most visitors just see the area between the airport and "Z" and Ixtapa. So to the ones that never venture out, "Z" represents Real Mexico. Years ago we saw pictures on another web site of Patzquaro and wanted to visit. We were at Pacifica and talking to a friend about renting a car and drive up. She said the first time we should go with someone. There was a salesman that loved going there. Was she ever right for a 1 day trip. The following year we rented a car and drove up there for 3 nights. The hotel we stayed in, the manager knew the artisans in the villages around the lake- took a group of us on a tour and did we hit the ATM each evening after the tours. Morelia is a story in it self by being the starting point for the butterfly reserves. I agree, the Real Mexico term can be deceiving, it depends on how much of Mexico one has toured.

I agree Paulf, When I got out of the army back in May 1969 I spent two months in my VW Bug traveling all over Mexico. To me Zihuatanejo has the same real feel of many towns that I visited on that wonderful trip.

This is a reocurring theme that I will never understand. Zihuatanejo fans hating on Ixtapa and vise versa (although not nearly as often ). Zihua people seem to feel superior to or more sophisticated than Ixtapa folks and can appear rabid in their attempts to persuade them of their position. It often starts with the AI versus non AI debate and progresses from there and is never complete without the scornful "drunks at swim-up bars"put down. We have stayed in Ixtapa and at several of the best boutique hotels in Zihua and have run into fellow guests in both who have over indulged and are a little worse for it. It's never pretty but it happens and isn't more pleasant when done by a sophisticated Zihuatanejo enthusiast than a mere Ixtapa vacationer. I think that being able to stay in one and visit the other is one of the huge pluses of this destination. A cab is so reasonable that you can go back and forh every day and enjoy what each has to offer. I don't see the value in trying to convince someone to change their preferrance-why do you care where a total stranger stays on their vacation? What difference is it going to make in your life?

By coincidence, our local newspaper had an article this week on Ixtapa/Zihua by Ray Chatelin of Travel Writer's Tales, presumably a syndicated article, that would appear in local British Columbia newspapers reaching perhaps a million or so readers.

The article is titled "Two Destinations in One", which I've always thought was the best way to market the area. The half page article shows two photos, one of Playa Principal, (looking VERY lush!) and one taken under a palapa at the old M&J Richies on Playa La Madera.

It boasts of the only 11 peso bus fare from Ixtapa to Zihua - never mentions taking a cab (good for them).
Most of the points mentioned are fairly accurate. Interestingly, the article includes the following:

" While Ixtapa has many of those elements that you'll find at major international resort destinations, it's Zihuatanejo that claims the hearts and the minds of many who visit the region. For this centuries-old fishing village has retained its charm, its ancient traditions, its congeniality, and its sociability while at the same time catering to the needs and standards of travelers seeking quality."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

11/12/2017

Excerpt(s) from Ingrid's post:

"Fran, I think that there is a difference between areas people call "real or authentic" Mexico and those that are not so much. Places like Ixtapa and Cancun were created as vacation destinations by the government agency Fonatur.

Tourist's wish lists in terms of weather and beaches were put into a computer and destinations that met the criteria were developed. The computers didn't lie and these destinations for the most part are well designed and extremely popular but I don't think that you could call them authentic anymore than you could call Frontierland in Disneyworld authentic U.S.A. Zihuatanejo existed as a thriving fishing village with families living their lives long before tourists were thought of.
It has accommodated tourism and all that goes with it but isn't a product of it.".........

@ INGRID
Very well explained, that was my point.

Though I understand what you mean, me, getting "Nitpicky", I would add one word to the last point:
"It has accommodated tourism and all that goes with it, but ORIGINALLY (wasn't) isn't a product of it." As nowadays, the economy for many people here revolves around tourism, so as time marches on, it now is a tourism "product", that needs to be sold.

Did you intern with KR? Just asking.....

Fonatur is definitely a part of modern Mexico. I understand that. Tourist destinations are a part of modern Mexico. My only point is that Mexico is real, including Fonatur. Not passing judgment. Just saying Mexico is not just one idea.

We have been coming down for over 20 years and go between the two locations of Zihuatenjo and Ixtapa as well as the "out skirts of town" Done All Inclusive and made our way about town with the locals and visitors. Spend our money, have some fun and enjoy what the area has to offer consistently and learn from the locals what has changed.
If my Flip Flops could talk what a story they would tell - I suggest trying it all and "you can find your own way!"

11 pesos? Its 7 pesos within Ixtapa and think i paid 17 pesos last time, certainly not 11 .

11 pesos? Its 7 pesos within Ixtapa and think i paid 17 pesos last time, certainly not 11 .

I think ixtapa to zihu and vis versa is now 13 pesos, thats what i paid for the last 6 weeks here

Outch, Outch, Outch! Some people are nasty! I love both places! They are both different and both have something special

Our maid pays 12 pesos from the Marina area to Centro.

In 1969 I was stationed at a Tri-Service Base on a small mountain surrounded by tea patches outside of Taipei, Taiwan. There was ASA, NSG and AF Security Service on this small base ran by the AF. The Navy Ops were always doing picket duty off Viet Nam. The fun part was spending 6 months with ASA at a site at the lower end of Taiwan.