Acapulco

Acapulco is perhaps the most important tourist center of the country due to its nearness to México City, but the truth is that it has always been a meeting place thanks to the magic that it encloses. Founded approximately 2 thousand years ago by the tiahualca indians, it served later on in the times of Hernán Cortés as a shipbuilding center, as well as a departure point for multiple expeditions along the Pacific throughout the XVI Century.

An important quantity of raw material coming from the far East also arrived to its coasts, but that seaport was destined to grow towards another direction: by 1945 the highway that would connect it directly with the great capital would be finished, making it possible in those times to simplify the long and exhausting trips to only 6 hours.

By 1964 the International Airport of Acapulco would be built, turning it into a real international jet-set paradise that, nowadays, keeps its worldwide fame. Acapulco recently received a millionary investment destined to the infrastructure‘s restoration and expansion, making it possible for the tourist area to be extended as far as Barra Vieja, including Punta Diamante too.

Big hotel chains and simple inns have increased visitors‘ registrations, making it possible to offer lodgings to all kinds of tourists.

However, it is for certain that the most famous and frequented hotels are located along the harbor‘s beaches, which is consumed by the swimmers‘ bustle, peddlers, and the multiple entertainments that emerge one after the other. Acapulco is a collection of attractions of all sorts: an endless party in all its discos, night clubs or restaurants along the Av. Costera Miguel Alemán, stores that offer all kinds of crafts and souvenirs, boutiques with the most recent European fashion and fine jewelry, exclusive residencial areas owned by famous artists, the Yacht Club, great capacity convention centres and, most but not least, an ideal location for organizing cultural and artistic festivals for the masses.

The diversity of water sports or of entertainment found in this famous port is so vast that it satisfies any visitor: sea fishing, water skiing, diving, parachuting, gliding, wind-surfing, jet skiing, bungee jumping, going for a trip on boat or on board of speeding boats along the Papagayo River.

And of coarse, we couldn‘t leave out the tennis courts or the golf fields, which have been the headquarters of multiple international tournaments and cups. Acapulco, being an ilimited diversion centre, is also a city which is rich in history and monuments with a legacy of past centuries. For example the Fort of San Diego, built in the XVII Century in order to protect the seaport from pirate attacks, serves today as the lodging for the Museo Histórico de Acapulco (Acapulco‘s Historical Museum).

In the so called Acapulco Viejo (Old Acapulco), where the zócalo is situated, remains with its architectural enchantment the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude Cathedral), surrounded by outdoor restaurants with live music. One can rent from this point a local motorboat with which one can navigate and appreciate the harbor fully, arriving to the cross that adorns the bay and that is part of the Capilla Ecuménica de la Paz (Ecumenical Peace Chapel).

And how can we leave out our appreciation for the audacity of La Quebrada divers! who jump from the top of a cliff with 40 metres of height in order to plunge with precision into a narrow canal of 7 metres wide and 4 metres deep. During the night the divers continue to amaze the spectators, by lighting the dangerous descent with lit torches.

There is no doubt that the natural environment of Acapulco was one of the reasons why it has received such attention.

For people who enjoy ecotourism, extremely interesting excursions take place on board of boats at the Laguna de Coyuca, looking over the canals which twist around the dense underbrush of the region. At the Laguna de Tres Palos the birds with multicolor plumage overfly the outskirts, developing in their own habitat another atraction which catch the atention of tourists. There is no doubt that in Acapulco one must sun bathe! At Bahía Santa Lucía tourists spread out their towels over the sand, abandoning themselves to repose while enjoying a refreshing drink or a seafood cocktail; the beaches of Pie de la Cuesta, Caleta ar Caletilla, are ideal for long stays either seated on a comfortable chair or enjoying the warmth of the sand; Revolcadero is the perfect location for those who surf, or Puerto Marqués offering jet ski emotions throughout its waters. It is Acapulco! The ideal bay to be enjoyed the 365 days of the year.