Zihuatanejo is a fishing town on a sheltered bay on the Pacific coast of Guerrero, paired with the planned resort of Ixtapa a few kilometres to the north-west. More about Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo →
October 2026 · from today · all times local (Central Standard Time)
No more ships are scheduled in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo this month
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Today and the next 7 days · all times local (Central Standard Time)
Thousands of people in port, guests plus crew. Crowd level compared with a typical Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo day.
The crowd calendar shows every ship and how busy the port is, hour by hour, plus the quietest and busiest days for the next 90 days.
Ships anchor inside Zihuatanejo Bay and tender passengers to the main municipal pier at the head of the Paseo del Pescador in the town centre; there is no cruise pier. Playa La Ropa is about 4.5 km by road, the Ixtapa hotel zone about 9 km and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Airport about 13 km.
0.5 km · ~6 min by car
Museum on the Paseo del Pescador waterfront in the town centre. Walk 450 m to the pier, about 6 minutes.
Typical prices, approximate. Fares change with demand, traffic and time of day.
Typical prices, approximate. Fares change with demand, traffic and time of day.
Zihuatanejo is a tender port: ships anchor in the bay and tenders land at the main pier in the town centre, next to the Paseo del Pescador, the museum and the main beach. Water taxis to Playa Las Gatas leave from the same pier. Taxis wait in town for Playa La Ropa and Ixtapa; boats to Isla Ixtapa leave from the small pier at Playa Linda, north of Ixtapa. Fares are not published officially, so agree the price before you ride. No cruise shuttle is published.
1 terminal
Zihuatanejo has no cruise pier. Ships anchor inside Zihuatanejo Bay and passengers come ashore by tender at the main pier in the town centre, at the head of the Paseo del Pescador. The museum, the main beach and the market streets are a few minutes' walk away, and water taxis to Playa Las Gatas leave from the same pier.
Meal prices are approximate per-person ranges at restaurants in the town centre.
Beachfront promenade by the pier with seafood restaurants and bars.
Ejido, Cuauhtemoc, Vicente Guerrero and Nicolas Bravo streets, with Mexican restaurants and cafes a few blocks from the pier.
Waterfront street along the lagoon channel with restaurants.
Beach restaurants along the sand on the south-east side of the bay.
Zihuatanejo is a fishing town on a sheltered bay on the Pacific coast of Guerrero, paired with the planned resort of Ixtapa a few kilometres to the north-west. Cruise ships anchor in the bay and tender passengers to the main pier in the town centre, where the Paseo del Pescador, the main beach, the market streets and the Costa Grande Archaeological Museum are all a short walk away. Water taxis cross from the pier to the reef at Playa Las Gatas, Playa La Ropa is a short taxi ride around the bay, and boats from Playa Linda reach the snorkelling beaches of Isla Ixtapa.
The Paseo del Pescador runs along the main beach from the pier, past fishing boats, cafes and the small Plaza Olof Palme. Here, in a simple mid-20th-century stone-columned building with a tiled roof, the Costa Grande Archaeological Museum shows pottery, clay figurines, obsidian tools and weapons from sites along the coast, with Olmec, Teotihuacan, Tarascan and Aztec influences, in six rooms that run from early village life to the colonial era.
Playa La Ropa is the long sandy beach on the south-east side of Zihuatanejo Bay, a short taxi ride from the pier along the scenic road that winds over the headland. It is one of the four beaches inside the bay, with restaurants and hotels behind the sand and hillside villas on the slopes above.
Across the bay from the pier, Playa Las Gatas is a sheltered beach facing the El Tinteral reef, where coral grows close to shore and a religious statue rests on the seabed. Collective water taxis run between the pier and the beach, and the reef makes it a favourite for snorkelling.
Isla Ixtapa lies just off Playa Linda, north of the Ixtapa hotel zone, and is reached by a short boat ride from the small pier at Playa Linda. Coral grows close to its beaches, which are among the most visited reef spots around Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo.