A first time visit

Hola
my husband and I are coming down on November 7th. We have a rented place in Zhihuatanejo. We are used to visiting Rincon de Guayabitos in the north and can negotiate taxis but because this is new to us, can anyone help with suggestions for what we can do at the airport? Thank you!

After you leave customs look to your right for a place to purchase your taxi fare. At least that's where is was in Jan. The fee is regulated going out and into the airport. Once you purchase it you walk out the front doors and they will be all over you.Don't let anyone grab you before you purchase. There are timeshare sales people that will try. A couple years ago I was tired and one almost had me. My husband was so po'd at me. But I didn't feel so bad in Jan. the same one got a hold of a friend who's been going over 20 years. lol

Lilliana,

In Puerto Vallarta we have taken the expensive federally regulated taxi a very short distance to Plaza Neptuno and then flagged down a more normally priced city cab for the big trip to our lodgings because I am very frugal and even with shorter distances to the south end of PV in the old town we still saved margarita money over the federal cab all the way. The ZIH airport is difficult to find a place to ditch the expensive cab and grab a city cab.

There is a good ZIH airport transport page here,

http://www.zihuatanejo.net/airporttaxi.html

There is an option on the price chart for a collective service. I haven't used this service and my advice is from others but this service is for tourists and goes from hotel to hotel dropping passengers as it goes . This is sometimes called a shared shuttle in other markets and the taxi and suburban options are private shuttles. Your hotel location compared to your van mates dictates how long your trip takes. I would guess that an early November flight might not cause a super full collective van and your trip could be quite direct although this truly is a random process. Everybody is different but ifyou have a longer trip because of other passengers they may be a great source of information pointing things out as you go.

There also are micro buses that workers primarily use sometimes called combis and perhaps more confusing in this case sometimes called colectivos in other towns. This is your cheapest method but you will likely still need a short cab ride to your hotel. We have taken this public van service too but I had many bags and I felt a bit guilty taking up space that locals could have used. I way overpaid the driver to make up for this a bit. I felt that my fellow van mates thought that I was a bit of an arsehole but I realized it at least. With carry on bags this method is interesting and not too hot.

So, I believe I have established my credentials as a frugal traveller. My best proven advice is just suck it up and pay the federal airport cab rate this one time and get directly to your lodgings. It's a one time cost and cab rates in town are so cheap that your over all cab costs are still a total bargain and the return airport trip is roughly half the cost or less.

The beauty of Zihua is that it is guaranteed hot when some northern places like Guayabitos can have a nightime chill in the winter months. If you start schlepping bags in the sun the heat difference will immediately be clear to you . Enjoy your trip. I hope my second hand collective information is fairly accurate.

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Please be happy always

GOOD STUFF, JUAN!! Love your advice!

The taxis colectivos aka shuttle vans from the airport are what I would use if I didn't have someone waiting for me and I had luggage. If all I had was a backpack and a handbag I'd walk off the airport property and catch a combi. Slow is just fine with me.

Thank you so much for great suggestions and information.

Great advice! Agree!

Great info. The only thing I would like to add is that if you have any peso to take down with you from a prior trip, it is cheaper to pay in peso as they typically will give you a even $ to Peso exchange (we have friends who have picked us up past few years so not sure if this still applies). Or get peso at the ATM at the airport before you get a taxi.

Great to know there is an ATM in the airport. We usually bring pesos but our 'seed' money from the money exchange is quite expensive.