1st time to Zihuatanejo

Not to be rude, but if you can afford the airline ticket, surely you can afford the ride from the airport via Transporte Terrestre, which has a desk just past Customs and the vehicles just outside the exit.

Aha! Obviously, you are unaware of what I normally pay for the direct flight from TJ to Zihua! Using either of the Volaris subscription services, v.pass or the Pase Anual, I typically pay less then US$100 for a round-trip ticket. Check 'em out at Volaris.com. Before the peso rose against the dollar, it was typically around US$80.

We Official Tightwads must make every penny count! Also, as others have commented, I still get a thrill exchanging greetings with the locals on the combis. The culture is such that it is customary to issue a greeting when you board or leave the combi. The passengers already on board respond. Sometimes, you can strike up a conversation, giving you a chance to practice your Spanish. I will sometimes ask a question that I already know the answer to just to see if I can understand what they say.

Speaking of 1st times in Zihua, when I arrived at the airport for the first time, I surveyed the prices for the official taxis. They were quite expensive, I was certain. I asked a female security guard about buses or other transportation to Centro. She insisted that this was the only way to get downtown. I looked her in the eye and said in my poor Spanish that I was absolutely sure that the locals did not use these taxis at these prices. She blushed and quietly said that I should just walk across the parking lot to the exit and a combi on the right would take me downtown Zihua. Gotta' love Mexico!