Zihuatanejo

Three slow days around the Paseo del Pescador and Isla Ixtapa

Start Zihuatanejo early at the fish market by the pier, where the fleet lands its catch on the beach, then visit the small Museo Arqueológico de la Costa Grande at the eastern end of the Paseo del Pescador. Late morning, take a lancha from the pier to Las Gatas to snorkel inside the old stone reef.

Rent a mask, eat lunch under a palapa and take one of the last boats back. In the evening, stroll the Paseo del Pescador and watch the basketball games and street life on the courts by the waterfront.

Day two. Walk the seaside path to Playa La Madera and continue up the scenic road to Playa La Ropa, the bay's longest and best beach. Spend the day swimming, then stay for sunset and dinner on the sand.

Day three. Take the bus or a taxi to Ixtapa and continue to Playa Linda, where boats leave for Isla Ixtapa, a small car-free island with calm coves, snorkelling and seafood shacks. At Playa Linda look for the crocodiles in the estuary near the dock. Back in Ixtapa, take a late-afternoon walk along the beach in front of the hotel zone before heading back to Zihua for a final seafood dinner. If you prefer nature, swap the island for a morning boat trip on the lagoon at Barra de Potosí, rich in birdlife.

Tiritas, pescado a la talla and green pozole on the Costa Grande

Zihuatanejo claims tiritas de pescado as its own: thin strips of raw white fish cured in lime with red onion and green chile, served chilled with tostadas or salty crackers, lighter and sharper than ceviche. Order them at the waterfront stalls and simple seafood places near the pier, where the fish is often that morning's catch.

For something cooked, try pescado a la talla, a whole fish butterflied, coated in a red chile adobo and grilled over wood or charcoal, a Guerrero coastal classic. Shrimp come many ways: al mojo de ajo in garlic butter, in tacos, or in a cold cóctel with tomato and avocado. Oysters and huge clams sell off carts along the beach.

Thursday brings pozole, the hominy stew that the whole state eats that day. Zihua's restaurants serve all three kinds: blanco in clear broth, rojo with dried chiles, and verde made with pumpkin seeds. Order it with all the extras, from crisp pork rind to avocado, oregano and lime.

The centre has the best value, in family-run comedores a few blocks back from the beach and in the covered market, where lunch is quick and cheap. For sweets, look for cocadas, coconut candies sold on the beaches, and finish the night with a Guerrero mezcal on the Paseo del Pescador.

Whale season, sailfish and the wet months on Bahía Zihuatanejo

Visit Zihuatanejo between November and May, when the coast is practically dry, from 17 mm in November to 1 mm in April, with blue skies and a flat bay. Temperatures barely change, with highs of 32 or 33 C every month and nights from 19 C in winter to 23 C in summer.

From November to May the coast is practically dry: 17 mm in November, 7 mm in December, 8 mm in February and just 4 mm in March and 1 mm in April. Skies are blue and the bay is flat, the best time for snorkelling and boat trips. From December to March humpback whales pass along the coast with their calves, and boats run whale-watching trips from the pier. This is also when the North American crowds arrive, many on seasonal flights, and hotels fill at Christmas, New Year and Easter.

In June the rainy season breaks with 186 mm, and storms continue through the summer, peaking at 327 mm in September before easing to 111 mm in October. The rain usually comes in late-afternoon or night storms, leaving mornings bright, and the hills behind the bay turn bright green. Hurricanes can reach this coast, mostly from August to October, so watch the forecasts.

The bay is one of the Pacific's best sport-fishing grounds, and the sailfish tournament, usually held in May, draws boats from around Mexico. For something gentler, sea turtles nest on the quieter beaches in the second half of the year, and volunteer turtle camps on the beaches south of town release hatchlings at dusk.