Playa Principal and the Paseo del Pescador

The Playa Principal, also called the Playa Municipal or Playa del Puerto, is the beach in front of downtown Zihuatanejo, at the head of the bay and right next to the port. It is short, about 400 m of sand, but from it you can see almost the whole bay. Fishing boats are pulled up all along it, and this is still a working beach: every morning the fishermen come in to the docks with the night's catch, and a small fishermen's market stands by the pier. At one end is the Muelle Municipal, the town pier, where water taxis leave for Playa Las Gatas and sport-fishing charters set out; at the other is the Museo Arqueológico de la Costa Grande.

Linking the two is the Paseo del Pescador (Fisherman's Walk), the town's malecón: a brick-paved, tree-shaded pedestrian promenade along the sand, lined with seafood restaurants, shops selling rugs, crafts and souvenirs, and a small shell market, with murals along the way. It is the heart of Zihuatanejo, and in the evening it fills with families and couples out for a stroll. Near the pier, a small community amphitheatre and basketball courts host Friday-night games in summer and folk dancing on Sundays, and the main plaza with its kiosk is a block or two inland. From the eastern end, a seafront walkway continues past little coves to Playa La Madera.

The beach itself is not a good place to swim: boats come and go all day, and pollution from the boats and runoff from the storm drain reach the water, especially after heavy rain. Come instead to watch the boats, eat on the sand and see daily life in the port. Zihuatanejo is known as one of the best places in the world for sailfish, and on the first weekend of May the International Sailfish Tournament brings hundreds of anglers and boats into town.