I'm backpacking Mexico's Pacific Coast in February. I have 7 days, which places would you classify as must-see

Question

Details: Travelers are 20 year-old males with interests in SCUBA DIVING, BEGINNING SURFING, BEACHES, NIGHTLIFE, FAMOUS/HISTORIC SITES, HIKING, ETC.

Remember, we have seven days... and I wouldn't mind going off the coast to Guadalajara and Mexico City but that's about it... should I see those cities? What about Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, Ixtapa, and Acapulco?

Thank you very much for the help all!

Answer 1

puerto escondido is a hub for the young surfer. big waves. the town is alive with night life and culture for young people. stay at the tower hotel. $50 american per night. steve is the owner. courtyard cabana with small pool.

    zipolite is also good for surfing. rip tides are a problem. the night life in zipolite is wild. lots of jungle hiking in this area.

    mazunte ahh mazunte lazy beach village with good night life.

    san del pacifico has magic mushrooms

(keep it simple in 7 days you don't want to spend time traveling between)

Answer 2

Since you only have seven days, you might want to limit it to one or two spots.

I would pick one base city - say either Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta or Acapulco. From there, you could pick a side trip or two. Here are my recommendations:

1) Acapulco - Great night life, great SCUBA diving and fishing (either deep sea or spear hunting) - Check out the Acapulco Scuba Center and ask for Pepe. They're a first-rate organization. (If you need an inexpensive, convenient and safe place to stay right off of the main drag, let me know. I know just such a place.) The clubs are a lot of fun at night. Then for a day or two of surfing, take a taxi or local bus down to Playa Bonfil. You can get surfing lessons there near the lifeguard station. Nice rolling wave usually, not too big for a beginner.  Acapulco has the Fuerte (Fort) as a historic site to check out, as well as an aquarium. I'd spend say four days there, then take a bus (overnight, so you don't cut into your vacation time, just sleep on the bus) down to Puerto Escondido for your final three days. There you can get exposed to some big-wave surfing (be careful!), great local sufing culture with lots of foreign travelers (from all over the globe) and a lot of fun nightlife. Also, fishing and SCUBA. OR, you could take a bus north to Zihuatenejeo. The nearby surf spot is Troncones. To wrap up your vacation, you could fly out from either Zihua or Puerto Escondido back to Mexico City. From Puerto Escondido, try to head up to Oaxaca City for a day. It's a beautiful city rich in local artisan culture, and to this day home of the best d**n coffee I ever had. Plus there are Mayan pyramids nearby.

2) Puerto Vallarta - the town isn't as big as Acapulco, but it's very pretty. You've got the same options for SCUBA and fishing. I can't speak for the nightlife, however, as I never overnighted there. For surf flavor, take a bus up the road to Sayulita, a cool little village with a fair size foreign community and a beautiful little bay that's a great place to learn how to surf. Nice consistent wave. You could spend part of your trip in Puerto Vallarta/Sayulita, then take a bus to Guadalajara for some taste of Mexican culture (the state where Guadalajara is is home to tequila and mariachi music, and there are nearby spots rich in local artisan crafts). If you had a bit more time, you could bus it up the coastal road to San Blas and then Mazatlan.

3) Mazatlan. This city is a lot of fun if you're new to Mexico, but it's got a LOT of American/Canadian expats there, so what you're getting in terms of culture is a bit diluted. There's SCUBA and fishing here too. For surfing, take a bus up to Las Brujas (a beach north of the main tourist drag) or have a taxi driver take you to the launchas (boats) that take you out to Stone Island. Mazatlan's nightlife is fun (anyone know if Joe's Crab Shack is still there?), plus the city has a beautiful zocalo (central square) where you can get some exposure to real Mexican culture (If you're there on a Sunday night, be sure to check out the local amateur hour where kids and other locals perform in front of the City Hall).

Any of those places are cool. Since you're going in February, however, you might want to think about water temperatures... The further south you go, the warmer it will be. Mazatlan's waters will be a bit chilly, so you'll need to plan on taking or renting a wet suit.

BTW, if you're traveling through Mexico City and can afford to spend some time there, it's a fascinating place - great great night life and LOADED with historic culture. Gotta check out the pyramids!

Answer 3

I do like mazatlan, puerto vallarta, manzanillo, and zihuatenejo/ixtapa.  i think you could do without acapulco.  they call it nacopulco for a reason, and it's not very safe lately.  i prefer zihuatanejo to ixtapa, and you can get a local fisherman to take you out and show you around.  i LOVE their beaches....very relaxing and pretty.  vallarta has cool clubs...i like Hilo and the Zoo...although what was cool a few months ago may not be cool now!  who knows.  manzanillo....i liked the relaxation, but i can't speak for the rest...i don't believe the nightlife is that great, and in ixtapa...it's just bad.  i think guadalajara would be a great place to go inland....from puerto vallarta.  take the ETN busline and stay overnight at hotel Don Quijote in el centro historico.  (about 40 USD) you'll see all you need right there (actually, there is a hostel about 2 blocks from that hotel if you want to go cheaper or meet cool people), and you MUST go to bariachi, on ave. puerto vallarta (about a 5 min. cab ride from the hotel.)

If i had seven days....I'd do mazatlan, puerto vallarta, go to guadalajara, from there i'd head to zihuat/ixtapa.   and then back home.  the bus blows hardcore from manzanillo to zihuat...that's why i recommend going to guadalajara and buying your ticket early, then going to zihuat from there.  

if you do buses...try to do ETN first, second choice is primera plus or flecha amarillo.  you don't really want to find yourself on one of those coastal roads in a 2nd or 3rd class bus.  seriously.  a 4 hour trip could turn in to 12 hours easily.  not to mentioned the items you may have to "turn over" to the military checkpoints for being the only tourist on the bus.

Answer 4

Im afraid to tell that 7 days won't be enough time for you to check out the coast, you can go up from the south from Puerto Escondido, Acapulco, Manzanillo, Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Playa Azul, Faro de Bucerias, Colima, Barra De Navidad, Tenacatita, Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta, Sayulita, San Blas, Mazatlan, etc.

Those are just some of the beaches you can visit, have fun in your trip =)