Pacific Coast (Mexico) Voyage Tips and guide

The Pacific Coast is the southwestern rim of Mexico.

Part of this coast, roughly from Puerto Vallarta in the north to Acapulco in the south, is highly developed. It has the country's largest concentration of beach resorts, is promoted as the Mexican Riviera, and gets millions of visitors a year. However, much of the beach traffic has moved on to the Yucatán Peninsula. Most of Mexico's best surfing beaches are found on the Pacific Coast and a number of port cities are famous for their sport fishing.

Colima Beaches, archeological sites, sport fishing, historic towns, and haciendas.

Guerrero A mountainous and rugged states with tourism focused on Acapulco.

Jalisco The origin of many of the characteristic traits of Mexican culture, such as mariachi, ranchera music, birria, tequila, and jaripeo.

Michoacan Home to the winter gathering of 100 million Monarch butterflies, its diversity is unmatched in Mexico.

Nayarit The beaches of San Blas and the so-called "Riviera Nayarit" are popular with tourists.

Oaxaca Well known for its cuisine, and its indigenous peoples and cultures.

• 16.86287-99.8870091 Acapulco — the original Mexican resort town remains a major tourist destination, especially for U.S. college students
• 20.676389-103.3422222 Guadalajara — the second-largest city in the country, it's Centro Histórico is filled with colonial-era buildings
• 17.661035-101.6009973 Ixtapa — a planned resort town set amongst rolling mountains and sparkling beaches
• 19.702778-101.1922224 Morelia — one of the most beautiful cities in Mexico, and a UNESCO World Heritage site for its colonial architecture
• 17.060556-96.7252785 Oaxaca — many colonial-era structures, significant archeological sites, elements of the continuing native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures, and the most vibrant Mexican cuisine scene
• 17.78-101.7222226 Playa Troncones — a small coastal town popular for surfing and snorkeling
• 20.6413-105.22337 Puerto Vallarta — modern resort town with beautiful beaches, lush jungles, and sparkling waterfalls
• 19.4122-102.05268 Uruapan — the center of Mexico's avocado growing region, its center has colonial architecture
• 18.55462-99.605929 Taxco — a beautiful silver-mining city built on a hill, with narrow winding streets and hundreds of silver shops

• 17.043889-96.7677781 Monte Alban – Monte Alban (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is the most significant archaeological site in Mexico's Pacific Coast region. It was established in the 6th century B.C. and inhabited by Olmec, Zapotec, and Mixtec populations for over 1,500 years. The site is located just outside the city of Oaxaca.
• 20.69883-105.585142 Islas Marietas National Park - A group of small, uninhabited islands in the Bahia Banderas, lying 8km southwest of Punta Mita. Fragile ecosystem that was closed to public access in 2016 but is now reopen.
• 19.606389-100.2416673 Monarch Butterfly Reserves - Each year, millions of monarch butterflies migrate to the hills of Michoacan to breed. Trees in the area become bright orange with the color of the monarchs. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• 19.568-103.61984 Volcan Nevado de Colima National Park - Twin volcanoes, one very active, one dormant. The dormant one is great for hiking, backpacking, and mountaineering.

• Tequila Trail - organized tours through the tequila producing regions east of Guadalajara, tours may include train or bus trips to the distilleries, guided tours of distilleries, tastings curated by master tequileros, dinners featuring regional cuisine, mariachis providing live music, and tours of agave fields (sometimes on horseback or using ATVs)

The Wikivoyage article on Mexico has general information on getting into the country. It is also possible to get to the Coast by car or bus from Mexico City. Bus service is also available between major cities throughout the region. See Bus travel in Mexico for more information about traveling between cities on long-distance buses.

The Pacific Coast region is very well connected with several airports that serve international flights (particularly from Canada and the United States). The region's six international airports includeː

• Guadalajara International Airport (GDL ^IATA) - Mexico's second largest city is in this region and it has the country's third busiest airport. Flights are available from many U.S. cities, from Toronto and Calgary in Canada, from Madrid Spain, from San Jose Costa Rica, from Panama City Panama, and from Bogota Colombia. The airport receives multiple daily arrivals from major domestic cities, including Mexico City, Monterrey, and Cancun.

• Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR ^IATA) - the largest and most popular Pacific beach resort receives dozens of daily flights from domestic destinations, dozens from cities in the United States, and several from Canadian cities.

• Huatulco International Airport (HUX ^IATA) - the coastal eco-resorts of Huatulco are most popular with Canadian travelers and most international flights to Huatulco are from Canadian cities served by WestJet. Travelers from other countries can find connecting flights via Mexico City.

• Oaxaca International Airport (OAX ^IATA) - Oaxaca is served by direct flights from Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles as well as by connections via Mexico City (Volaris has the most flights to Oaxaca).

• Acapuco International Airport (ACA ^IATA) - Acapulco receives international flights from Dallas, Houston and Toronto. Connections can also be made in Mexico City (both airports) with Volaris and Viva offering the most flights.

• Morelia International Airport (MLM ^IATA) - the scenic colonial city of Morelia receives international flights from Houston and Dallas and frequent domestic flights from Mexico City and other gateway cities.

Additionally, the Pacific region has other airports served primarily by domestic carriers with flights from other Mexican Cities. The best connections are almost always via [[Mexico City (either AICM or AIFA). These smaller airports include Manzanillo (ZLO ^IATA), Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo (ZIH ^IATA), and Tepic (TPQ ^IATA).

The Pacific Coast is a large region. To drive along the coast from end to end is more than 1,500 km. An air trip from Oaxaca to Guadalajara is more than 1,000 km.

The most comfortable, affordable, and safe way to travel around the region is by bus (see also Bus travel in Mexico). Several regional bus lines operate in this region, in addition to companies operating nationwide. Regional bus companies in this area includeː

• Pacifico (part of Grupo Estrella)
• Vallarta Plus
• Los Galgos
• Autocamiones del Pacifico

In many cases, it is faster or cheaper to take a bus to one of the inland hub cities (usually Guadalajara, Morelia, or Oaxaca) and connect to another bus to your final destination. There are not as many buses traveling along the coastal highway in the southern part of this region, though those buses are more common in Nayarit and Jalisco.

Travel times on popular routes are about 3-5 hours. The fares range from M$1000 for the 3-1/2 hour trip Autocamiones del Pacifico from Puerto Vallarta to Manzanillo to about M$2000 on ETN for the 5-1/2 hour trip from Guadalajara to Manzanillo.

The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve on the eastern border of Michoacan is home to approximately 100 million Monarch butterflies from the Canada and the United States from November until March.

La Organera-Xochipala is the best known of Guerrero's archeological sites because of its monumental architecture. Teopantecuanitlan stands out as an early example of a planned city which extends from the intersection two main roads.

Monte Albán is a 2,500-year-old Zapotec city built atop a mountain outside Oaxaca City

The archeological site of Tzintzuntzán in Michoacan was the ceremonial center of the pre-Columbian Tarascan state capital. Five reconstructed yácata pyramids line up looking out over Lake Pátzcuaro.

Guadalajara, Morelia, and Oaxaca have beautiful historic centers with colonial palaces and churches.

A number of small towns in the Pacific Coast region are designated by the Mexican Tourism Ministry (SECTUR) as Pueblos Magicos for their romantic charm and cultural attractions. These towns include Taxco, Tequila, Patzcuaro, and Mazunte, among many others. These are excellent destinations for travelers who prefer getting off the beaten path, away from popular resort areas.

Sample the huge variety of tequilas available in — where else? — Tequila (Jalisco). The Tequila Trail provides two routes that explore the tequila producing area of Jalisco. The Tequila Trail can be explored independently or via train, bus, or van tours departing from Guadalajara.

Guerrero offers extreme sports in the Acapulco area including high-speed water jets, kayaking, canoeing, river rafting, rock climbing, spelunking, paintball, mountain climbing, and parasailing. Activities in other parts of the state include rafting on the Papagayo River, kayaking and canoeing in Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo, rock-climbing in Chilpancingo and Taxco, mountain climbing in Ixcateopan, rappelling in Zihuatanejo and bungee jumping and parasailing in Iguala.

Colima is popular with sports fishermen.

The beaches of Manzanillo are popular among those in western Mexico.

Acapulco in Guerreo is one of Mexico's oldest and most well-known beach resorts.

Puerto Vallarta is a busy resort city with beautiful beaches.

The beaches of San Blas and the Riviera Nayarit offer a quieter beach vacation.

In Oaxaca, surfers will head for the beaches near Puerto Escondido, while resort-goers will head to the bays of Huatulco.

Popular tourist areas are generally safe with only minor theft crimes or scams reported against tourists. Travelers to the states of Guerrero and Michoacan should check for current safety advisories as incidents of violence by crime cartels have been reported, mostly in rural areas. In Michoacan, the crimes are concentrated in the southern parts of the state and near the border with Guerrero while tourist destinations like Morelia and the Monarch Butterfly Reserves remain safe for tourists. Beaches in Nayarit, Jalisco, and Oaxaca remain generally safe for tourists. As always, take reasonable precautions and avoid unknown areas, particularly at night.

The Pacific Coast of Mexico has some spectacular and very famous beaches, but many are famous for their rough waters that attract surfers more than sunbathers. Be cautious swimming in unknown waters and prefer beaches with lifeguards on duty.

Be aware that some infectious diseases may be carried by mosquitos or by untreated drinking water. Check for recommended vaccines, particularly hepatitis A and typhoid and drink only bottled or purified water. Many of the upscale luxury resorts provide filtered water in their guest rooms, but assuming that the water is unsafe to drink is good preventive medicine.

• Yucatán Peninsula – popular tourist destination in the southern part of Mexico
• Baja California – northern Pacific coastal region of Mexico