Visitor Information

The State of Guerrero Tourism Office operates the Procuraduría del Turista.

• Location: on street level in front of the International Center (a convention center set back from the main Costera Alemán, down a long walkway with fountains)
• Information Available: maps and information about the city and state as well as police assistance for tourists
• The office is open from 9 am to 6 (Monday to Friday) and from 10 am to 2 PM (Saturdays).

Getting There & Departing

The airport (airport code: ACA) is 22 km (14 mi) southeast of Acapulco. It is located over the hills and east of the bay.
From this airport, there is almost hourly service to Acapulco from:

• Turistar
• Estrella de Oro
• Estrella Blanca

There is also daily service to:

• Zihuatanejo

Note that it takes 5 to 7 hours to travel to Mexico City from the airport in Acapulco, Mexico.

Car & Bus Travel Warnings Lifted

There used to be frequent car robberies and bus hijackings on Highway 200, south of Acapulco, on the way to Puerto Escondido and Huatulco. They are no longer common. Road warnings are also no longer common. Military patrols and greater police protection have greatly reduced the trouble. As in most parts of Mexico, visitors should travel on Acapulco highways during daylight hours only. They are unlit, so animals can wander on them.

City Layout

Acapulco stretches more than 6 km (4 mi) around the huge bay. Exploring it all on foot is impractical. The tourist areas are roughly divided into three sections:

- Old Acapulco (Acapulco Viejo), on the western end of the bay. Old Acapulco is the original town that attracted the jet-setters of the 50s and 60s. Today it still seems to be frozen in that era. But it is slowly starting to be rebuilt.

- Hotel Zone (Zona Hotelera), in the center of the bay. It follows the main boulevard, Costera Miguel Alemán, as it runs east along the bay from downtown. The Costera is filled with:

• Tall hotels
• Restaurants
• Shopping centers
• Strips of open-air beach bars.
• The golf course and the International Center (a convention center) are at the far eastern end of the Costera.

- Carretera Escénica (Scenic Hwy.). The third main area starts just beyond the Hyatt Regency Hotel. At this point, the Costera’s name changes. The Carretera Escénica then continues all the way to the airport. This section of the roadcontains:

• Lavish hotels
• Extravagant private villas
• Gourmet restaurants
• Flashy nightclubs with dazzling views

Acapulco Diamante, which fronts the beach here, is Acapulco's most desirable address.

Avenida Cuauhtémoc is the main artery inland. It runs roughly parallel to the Costera.

Street names and numbers in Acapulco can be confusing and hard to locate. Many streets are not well marked. They also change names unexpectedly. Street numbers on the Costera do not follow logically. Similar numbers are not necessarily located close together.

Getting Around

There are two ways to get around in Acapulco:

Taxis: they are flashy with Las Vegas-style lights. Taxi drivers vie to have the most colorful and pulsating lights.

Local buses: the best place near the zócalo to catch a bus is next to Sanborn's, 2 blocks east . CALETA DIRECTO or BASE-CALETA buses take visitors to the following beaches along the Costera:

• Hornos
• Caleta
• Caletilla

Some buses return to Acapulco along the same route. Other buses travel around the peninsula and return to the Costera.

Regional buses: to reach more distant destinations. They travel to Puerto Marqués to the east (marked PUERTO MARQUES-BASE) and Pie de la Cuesta to the west (marked ZOCALO-PIE DE LA CUESTA).