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Now visitors can skip the cheap souvenir shops and Hooters mentality of the old tourist strip and head south to the classy high-rise condos and secluded resorts of Diamond Point. Trendy hotels and inspiring new restaurants have cropped up to replace the run-down resorts that had long outlived their heyday in the 1950s and ’60s. At a handful of exclusive nightclubs, you’re more likely to run into Bono than Captain Stubing. 

What hasn’t changed is Acapulco’s stunning natural beauty. Its sparkling, crescent bay rising sharply to palm-covered mountains is still one of the best places in Mexico to watch a sunset and enjoy the perfect beach weather.

-- By Dave Roos

There’s no shortage of hotels in this booming resort town of 700,000 people. For a good value and great location, try Hotel Elcano, a reliable long-time favorite in the heart of the downtown hotel district. Check out the spacious junior suites with wrap-around balconies and terrific bay views. Another perennial favorite with an excellent downtown location – and a cool hillside pool – is the Fiesta Americana Condesa Acapulco.

Heading south, following the slow curve of the Acapulco Bay, you’ll find some more high-end choices. The 640-room Hyatt Regency is notable for its large rooms – many with glorious, unobstructed terrace views of the bay – and its Kosher restaurant. Las Brisas is the classic Acapulco fantasy with hundreds of pink and white villas dotting the steep hillside. The 251 casitas, originally built in the 1950s, have all been recently renovated, but maintain a certain time-warp charm. 

Even farther south in the ritzy Diamond Point area are several fashionable hotels on the scenic Revolcadero beach. The Fairmont Acapulco Princess is a towering luxury resort meant to remind guests of an Aztec pyramid. But how many Aztec pyramids had four-star restaurants and a full-service spa? Its sister hotel, the Fairmont Pierre Marqués, was built by oil magnate John Paul Getty as a tropical retreat and is a stylish collection of bungalows and open-air restaurants.

Set into the rocky hillside of the Puerto Marqués Bay is the Camino Real Acapulco Diamante, a secluded, family-friendly luxury hotel with three pools (one just for the kiddies), a spa, and lots of fun activities.

-- By Dave Roos

You can really work up an appetite lying on the beach all day. Acapulco has a little bit of everything from working-class Mexican joints to French haute cuisine. If you are looking for traditional regional dishes from the Pacific coast, please visit our food section.

In the old downtown area near the zócalo, or central plaza, are two local seafood favorites, El Amigo Miguel and Julio’s. Both restaurants are the kind of place you can get fresh-off-the-boat seafood like grilled whole sea bass, lobster and colossal shrimp cocktails for reasonable prices in an authentic, friendly atmosphere.

For an inexpensive, but satisfying lunch near the zócalo, try Santa Fe, a great spot for delicious mole poblano, enchiladas and other traditional Mexican staples. Not far away is Zorrito’s, a late-night favorite for unique green pozole and carne asada. 

For upscale dining, the trend right now seems to be Mexican-Asian fusion. Madeiras, which has been a fixture of the fine dining scene for 30 years, recently underwent a wholesale renovation, including its menu, which now features trans-Pacific flavors like achiote-hoisin short ribs. Zibu is a newcomer that specializes in Thai-inspired gourmet Mexican cuisine. And even Tabachin, the ostensibly French restaurant at the Fairmont Pierre Marqués, has gotten into the Asian act with dishes like bamboo-steamed Pacific sea bass in a banana leaf with coconut-lemongrass cream.

Of the newer restaurants, one of the favorites is the über-trendy Italian hotspot Becco al Mare, where the young, rich and beautiful go to sample homemade pasta and play spot-the-celebrity. Kookaburra is a romantic, if pricey spot for excellent Caribbean and international cuisine. And Zuntra, with its trendy roof-top bar, serves French and Asian-inspired seafood, meat, soups and salads in a minimalist, black and white dining room. 

-- By Dave Roos

The iconic image of Acapulco is of a lone cliff diver leaping off a rocky precipice into a perfectly timed wave. The famous cliff-divers of La Quebrada still do their thing every day starting at 12:30 p.m., diving a magnificent 130 feet into the shallow pool below. They return at night, this time carrying flaming torches.

The dives are the biggest attraction in town, so get there early, or grab a seat at the El Mirador hotel, from where you will have spectacular unobstructed views to get great pictures. The divers free-climb the rocks before they jump into the water below. Seeing these athletes effortlessly move up the face of the cliff is a show in itself. Before the jumps, which ocurr from several different heights, with two divers jumping from the very top, these daredevils pray at a small altar at the top of the cliff. Admission to the viewing area is only a few dollars, and for an additional fee, you can sit at El Mirador and enjoy two drinks. After the diving performance, which lasts around 30 minutes, you will be able to meet the divers at the El Mirador entrance. Be sure to tip these fearless -- and very young -- divers.

The Acapulco Bay region has many different beaches to choose from. The most popular swimming beaches for locals are Caleta and Caletilla beaches at the entrance to the bay. Another swimmer’s favorite is the Puerto Marqués beach in the Puerto Marqués Bay, where clean, calm waters are perfect for snorkeling, jet skiing and other water sports.

Snorkeling gear can be rented almost everywhere, and Divers de México and the Acapulco Scuba Center both provide scuba equipment and guided trips. There’s waterskiing at Caletilla beach and Puerto Marqués. Parasailing and jet skiing are offered everywhere, and now there’s even beginner’s skydiving through a company called Skydive Acapulco.

Another popular family activity is swimming with the dolphins. The CiCi Waterpark is a huge water amusement park with a wave pool, tons of water slides and a well-known “swim with the dolphins” program. The Parque Papagayo is a fun family activity center adjoining the Hornos and Hornitos beaches. You can rent boats and roller-skate during the day, and at night there are inexpensive carnival rides for the kids.

One of the most popular Acapulco pastimes is deep-sea fishing, for which the waters around the bay are legendary. If you’re lucky, you can come back with black or blue marlin, sailfish, mahi-mahi, yellow fin tuna, and even several species of shark. Trips run between $200 and $300 for six hours, and you’ll need all six since a good-sized marlin can fight for five hours or more.   

Avid golfers can enjoy scenic fairways at several professional-quality local golf courses. The Acapulco Princess and Fairmont Pierre Marqués hotels each have their own courses, plus the Mayan Palace Golf Club and the less expensive Club de Golf Acapulco. For a more exclusive experience, try to negotiate a tee time at the ocean-hugging Tres Vidas Golf Club, only open to members and their guests.

 

-- By Dave Roos and Judy Jenner

Legend has it that the first disco was born in Acapulco. Whether or not that’s true, Acapulco’s always been a party town, ever since the first Hollywood stars washed ashore in the 1940s. You don’t have to look hard to find enough music, drinking and dancing to last all night and well into the morning.

If you like a little culture with your cocktails, check out the Gran Noche Mexicana, a big party thrown three times a week outside of the Convention Center. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday you pay a flat cover charge to eat dinner, patronize the open bar and enjoy a lively ballet folklórico performance.

Three of the hottest nightclubs right now are Classico del Mar Deck & Disco Boutique, the huge techno club Palladium, and Baby’O, an Acapulco institution (30 years and counting) and still one of the hardest doors to get into, unless you’re Madonna.

For a more laid-back party vibe, go to just about any of the major hotels and check out their beachside bars. Most of them go all night and include DJs and even live bands on the weekends.

-- By Dave Roos

Acapulco isn’t really known for shopping, unless you’re an avid collector of sexually suggestive T-shirts and/or shot glasses. There are some nice silver shops and a handful of art galleries in Acapulco, but people generally don’t come here for Mexican handicrafts, which are in abundance and of a higher quality elsewhere in the country. However, you can head to the Mercado de Artesanías near the zócalo to find a selection of local crafts.

-- By Dave Roos

Saying Acapulco has perfect weather is almost an understatement. Year-round, this legendary coastal city in the state of Guerrero is blessed with beach-friendly tropical temperatures. The rainy season with brief, tropical rains is May through September, and the winters are dry and sunny. Excellent climate awaits you every month of the year.

Best time to go: October and November (high 90°, low 73°)

Average annual temperature: 80 degrees

Hottest months: June, July, August

Coolest months: January, February, March

--By Judy Jenner