Dubbed the ‘Pearl of the Pacific’, the resort city of Acapulco on Mexico’s central Pacific Coast once served as the backdrop for the film Fun in Acapulco starring a young Elvis Presley and the popular television show The Love Boat. During its heyday in the 1950′s, Acapulco attracted celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne and Judy Garland. John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline even honeymooned there in 1953.
Acapulco continues to be a popular vacation spot among national tourists, especially during the busy holiday seasons. This past Easter occupancy levels reached above 80 percent in Acapulco due to an influx of national tourists, many visiting from Mexico City. But overall tourism to the area has suffered as foreign tourists are increasingly drawn to Mexico’s newer, more modern resort areas like Cancun and Ixtapa.
As a result, over the past few decades Acapulco has lost some of its luster. Buildings are worn and in need of repair or a new coat of paint — though some might argue that’s part of the city’s charm. It’s easy to imagine what Acapulco might have looked like during its heyday. Whitewashed buildings cling to the hillsides and autographed photos of celebrities from the 1950′s and 1960′s line the walls in many restaurants and hotels.
Known for being Mexico’s original party town, in the early 2000′s Acapulco experienced a bit of a revival and international tourists, particularly the more budget-conscious and hard-partying spring break crowd, began to return to the city. For a short time Acapulco even managed to replace Cancun as the number one spring break destination in Mexico, but recent travel warnings and reports of cartel-related violence in the region have played a large role in once again curbing tourism to Acapulco.
We arrived to find a friendly place with pretty beaches, some good restaurants and not surprisingly, very few tourists, which for us meant great deals at many of the hotels and resorts. While there are pockets of tranquility, Acapulco is a bustling, busy city home to more than one million people. Arriving in Acapulco by bus you’ll pass through much of the city before reaching the main tourist district which extends out along the coast.
If you’re not the big city type, the nearby beach town of Pie de la Cuesta offers a quiet escape that’s still close enough to check out all of the action in downtown Acapulco.
Acapulco is situated along the 11km Bahía de Acapulco, or Acapulco Bay. Old Acapulco comprises the city’s western end, Acapulco Dorado extends east around the bay and Acapulco Diamante is a newer, luxury resort area in the southeastern part of the city near the airport. We stayed in an ocean front hotel and resort toward the middle of the bay in the area known as Acapulco Dorado. Most of our time in Acapulco — a short two days — was spent on the beach, at the pool and watching the endless parade of souvenir vendors and musicians as they wandered up and down the beach.
Acapulco also has some interesting attractions, if you can pull yourself away from the beach. All are uphill from the downtown area and require a bit of hiking or a taxi.
- The Fuerte de San Diego is a well restored pentagonal fort located on a hilltop east of the zócalo in Old Acapulco. The original fort was destroyed in 1776 and rebuilt in 1783. Today it houses the Acapulco History Museum.
- The Palma Sola Petroglyphs are the most accessible of the 12 known petroglyph sites in the Acapulco area.
- The minimalist, open-air La Capilla de la Paz, or Chapel of Peace, offers panoramic views of Acapulco Bay. It’s also a great place to watch the sunset, as is the bar at Hotel Los Flamingos and the Sinfonía del Mar.
- And of course, you don’t want to miss a performance of the La Quebrada Clavadistas, or cliff divers, Acapulco’s most popular and well-known tourist attraction.
While I probably wouldn’t rank Acapulco among my very favorite beaches in Mexico, it’s also not somewhere that I would suggest should be avoided. Not once did we feel threatened or in any type of danger, and that includes being out late at night, early in the morning, taking taxis and public transportation. People were very kind and really do want to see tourism return to the city. Taxis would frequently pull up alongside us offering their services and signs reading habla bien de Aca (speak well of Acapulco) are posted above the entrance ways to a number of local businesses.
Given Acapulco’s close proximity to Mexico City, there’s a good chance I’ll be back.
If you go: Acapulco’s airport is located 23km southeast of the zócalo. Frequent first class and executive class buses make the five hour journey between Mexico City and Acapulco. Buses travel along well maintained toll roads. Acapulco’s bus station is located in the main tourist district. Taxi drivers work alongside the hotels and resorts for commission and are happy to suggest the latest deals and promotions — many of which are quite good.
Vegetarians should check out 100% Natural (several locations along Avenida La Costera) for a variety of fresh and healthy meat-free dishes. Eggs served with chiles and epazote are a spicy way to start the day. The vegetarian tacos are another good choice and the fresh fruit juices are excellent, try the cucumber with honey and lime.
Photos by Allie Lefebvre and Suzanne Delaney
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Funnily enough I read another blog post recently where Fun in Acapulco was mentioned. I was intrigued enough to buy it on DVD…I shall watch it in a few moments in fact.
I have to say I wasn’t overly enarmoud with Acapulco, but then I’m not a resort sort of a person to start with, and Acapulco does perhaps embody the worst elements of resortlandia. But I can see why it still attracts a following, and parts of it are quite charming.
But you’d always find me another couple of hours down the coast at Playa Ventura, scouring beaches in the hope of spotting a turtle.
I had heard a lot of negative things about Acapulco prior to visiting so I wasn’t sure what to expect (and maybe my expectations were set a bit low to begin with), but it turned out to be a fine place to spend a couple days. It definitely wasn’t the dirty, dangerous place that some people said it was — at least not where we stayed. I’d still like to check out Pie de la Cuesta and based on your recommendation, Playa Ventura. Let me know what you think of the movie!
I did go to Pie de la Cuesta too….s’ok! I guess! But still not a patch on Playa Ventura. Although it has to be said Ventura is getting bigger and busier, but it was still pretty quiet off peak last time I went. There’s the added bonus with Ventura that there’s a great lagoon just 20 mins drive away if the currents stop you from swimming in the sea.
The divers are absolutely nuts!!!
I haven’t been to Acapulco, although I’ve heard great things. Those cliff divers must be super brave… just looking at that photo scares the crap out of me!
Definitely! What really surprised me is how young they are — the youngest of the divers was only 14 years old!!
Hi Laura – Just found your blog and enjoy your posts. Please allow me to invite you to research about Mazatlan, Mexico, another beautiful beach destination which ever since I traveled down there decades ago, has been always called the “Pacific Pearl”. Even though I’m still active in the work force NOB, since I married a Mazatleca, Mazatlan has been my hometown for over 20 years now. Hope in the future you have the opportunity to travel down there. We have our share of bad publicity too, and having the opportunity to hear from trustable sources such your blog always help the undecided.
Thanks for the comment JP, I’ve heard so many good things about Mazatlan, and it looks so beautiful in photos! Hopefully I’ll get the chance to visit soon!