City Acapulco de Juárez, Guerrero Municipality of Acapulco de Juárez Acapulco Bay
Mexico's original beach resort: a deep Pacific bay, the old galleon port and cliff divers, the Costera and Diamante, rebuilding after Otis and John.
From Chilpancingo: 1 h 15 min by car (105 km by road) How to get there ↓
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Where to stay near Acapulco
Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Acapulco.
Tours to Acapulco
Day trips and guided outings from Guerrero often include Acapulco; with a local guide you can get there without a car.
Paddle Boarding At Acapulco´s Bay
★ 5.0 (246) · From US$24
How to get to Acapulco
- From Chilpancingo: about 1 h 15 min by road (~105 km)
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Popular tours to Acapulco
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About Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez is the largest city in Guerrero, a port and resort wrapped around a deep, semicircular bay on the Pacific, 380 km south of Mexico City; the 2020 census counted about 659,000 people in the city and 780,000 in the municipality. Its name comes from the Nahuatl Acapolco, usually read as "place of the big reeds" or "where the reeds were broken", and "de Juárez" was added in 1885 in honour of Benito Juárez. The resort has three parts. Acapulco Tradicional, the old town at the west end of the bay, runs from Parque Papagayo through the shady Zócalo, with its blue-domed cathedral of 1930, to the cliffs of La Quebrada and the beaches of Caleta and Caletilla. The Zona Dorada follows the Avenida Costera Miguel Alemán around the middle of the bay, past Condesa and Icacos, lined with the hotel towers of the 1950s to 1970s. Acapulco Diamante, the newest zone, starts at the Carretera Escénica in Las Brisas and runs past Puerto Marqués and Revolcadero to Barra Vieja.
The bay made Acapulco one of the key ports of the Spanish empire. From 1565 the Manila galleons sailed in each year from the Philippines laden with Asian silks, porcelain and spices, making it New Spain's second port after Veracruz, and the riches drew pirates; after a Dutch attack in 1615 the Fuerte de San Diego was built to guard the harbour. The trade ended with independence in 1821. Tourism began in the 1920s and 1930s, and after President Miguel Alemán brought power, drainage and the first highway to Mexico City in the early 1950s, Acapulco became the getaway of Hollywood stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra; Johnny Weissmuller and John Wayne were among the owners of the Hotel Los Flamingos. The town grew from 4,000 or 5,000 people in the 1940s to about 50,000 by the early 1960s, hosted the sailing events of the 1968 Olympics, and became a weekend escape for Mexico City once the Autopista del Sol opened in 1993.
Two hurricanes hit hard in quick succession. On 25 October 2023 Otis, a Category 5 storm with winds of about 260 km/h, made landfall nearby and wrecked much of the city, and in late September 2024 Hurricane John dumped close to a metre of rain, flooding neighbourhoods and damaging around 40,000 homes. Recovery has been steady: by April 2026, when Acapulco hosted the 50th Tianguis Turístico, the national tourism fair, more than 16,000 to 17,000 hotel rooms were back in operation, between roughly 82% and 90% of the port's capacity by different counts, though a few large hotels had yet to reopen, and hotels passed 70% occupancy over Easter 2026. New since the storms are the Marinabús ferry across the bay, launched in 2025, and works to renew the traditional zone. Crime remains a concern: the US State Department rates Guerrero "Do not travel" and bars its own staff from the whole state, Acapulco included.
How to get to Acapulco
Drive from Chilpancingo: 1 h 15 min, 105 km
By air, Acapulco's Juan N. Álvarez International Airport (ACA) is in the Diamante zone, about 10 minutes from Diamante's hotels and 25 minutes from the Zona Dorada; the flight from Mexico City takes about 35 minutes, and the state airline Mexicana announced direct flights from June 2026. By bus, Estrella de Oro, Costa Line and other lines leave Mexico City's Terminal Sur (Taxqueña) about every hour, a trip of roughly 5 hours. By car, the Autopista del Sol toll road (Highway 95D) via Cuernavaca takes about 3½ hours without stops; carry cash for the tolls. The US State Department advises against travel to Guerrero and does not allow its staff to travel there, Acapulco included. In town, buses, shared colectivo taxis and the Acabús bus rapid transit line run along the Costera; taxis have no meters, so agree on the fare first.
Directions to Acapulco on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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From the nearest cities to Acapulco
- Chilpancingo · 105 km by road, 1 h 15 min
- Iguala · 211 km by road, 2 h 45 min
- Zihuatanejo · 233 km by road, 3 h
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
What to see in Acapulco 9
Sights with their own page, closest to the centre first.
Beaches
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Playa Condesa · Beach · 2 km from the centre
The lively heart of the Costera's Golden Zone: 650 m of sand facing the rocky Farallón del Obispo, with water sports by day and beach bars by night. -
Playa Icacos · Beach · 4 km from the centre
Acapulco Bay's longest beach, about 2 km of sand along the Costera below the Guitarrón hill, with gentler water and banana boats and parasailing. -
Playas Caleta y Caletilla · Beach · 4 km from the centre
Twin sheltered beaches at the tip of old Acapulco, calm enough for small children, lined with seafood palapas and the boats out to La Roqueta. -
Playa Revolcadero · Beach · 14 km from the centre
Long open-ocean beach in Acapulco Diamante where the port's surfing began, with grey sand, big summer swells, horse rides and wide sunsets.
Landmarks and museums
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Fuerte de San Diego (Museo Histórico de Acapulco) · Landmark · 2 km from the centre
The five-pointed Spanish fort that guarded the Manila galleons, rebuilt in 1778-1783 and now an INAH museum of Acapulco's history above the bay. -
La Quebrada · Landmark · 3 km from the centre
The 45 m cliff in old Acapulco where divers have timed their plunges to the incoming waves since 1934, with shows from early afternoon into the night. -
Capilla Ecuménica de la Paz · Landmark · 6 km from the centre
A 1971 hilltop chapel open to all faiths in Las Brisas, under a 42 m white cross seen across Acapulco Bay, with one of the widest views of the bay.
Islands
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Isla La Roqueta · Island · 5 km from the centre
Wooded island a ten-minute boat ride off Caleta, with a calm beach, snorkelling, a trail up to the lighthouse and the sunken Virgen de los Mares on the way.
Archaeological sites
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Palma Sola · Archaeological site · 3 km from the centre
Eighteen granite boulders carved with people, faces and calendar counts on the slopes of El Veladero above Acapulco Bay; free entry, run by INAH.
Map of Acapulco
Neighbourhoods and villages of Acapulco
Part of Acapulco or just outside it, closest first.
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Puerto Marqués · Village · 9 km from the centre
A round bay just south of Acapulco with calm, clear water, beach seafood restaurants and a village where some of Mesoamerica's oldest pottery was found. -
Pie de la Cuesta · Village · 15 km from the centre
A quiet sandbar village northwest of Acapulco between the open Pacific and the Laguna de Coyuca, famous for its sunsets and for surf too strong to swim in.
Day trips and tours from Acapulco
The closest Pueblos Mágicos and places to visit, with the drive from Acapulco and tours that leave from it.
All 4 Pueblos Mágicos within a weekend of Acapulco →
Times marked ~ are estimated from the distance. Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Before you go: getting to and around Acapulco
- The nearest airport is Toluca (TLC).
- 7 of the places on this page are more than 3 km from the centre: take a taxi, a ride-hailing app or a local bus.
- Isla La Roqueta: reached by boat or on foot, not by road (each page says from where).
- For day trips a rental car gives the most freedom; the tours above leave from Acapulco.
Before you go to Acapulco: hours, prices and tips
- Best time of day
- The Zócalo comes alive every night with street performers and mariachis, and is busiest with Mexican families on Sunday evenings. Lonely Planet · checked Oct 2026
- Best season
- Hurricanes and tropical storms are a threat from May to November; the winter months are the dry season. Wikipedia · checked Oct 2026
- Rules
- Taxis are unmetered: agree on the fare before getting in. Be aware that some local police have been reported to extort drivers, especially in rental cars. Wikivoyage · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting Acapulco: what to see and do
Watch the cliff divers of La Quebrada, a show since 1934.
Visit the Fuerte de San Diego and its museum of the Manila galleon trade.
Spend an evening in the shady Zócalo by the blue-domed cathedral.
Swim at the calm beaches of Caleta and Caletilla and take a boat to Isla La Roqueta.
Look out over the whole bay from the Capilla de la Paz in Las Brisas.
Watch the sunset at Pie de la Cuesta or eat pescado a la talla at Barra Vieja.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Acapulco
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Acapulco.
Tours & activities
Day trips and guided outings from Guerrero often include Acapulco; with a local guide you can get there without a car.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Guerrero: download a map of the way to Acapulco before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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Photos
Near Acapulco
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.