I’ve been to Zihuatanejo six times and published articles about it for WestJet and Compass magazines (back when those magazine existed – lol). Now, because friends keep asking me for recommendations, I am adding a post about this most beloved destination here on Savour It All.
Zihua or Zi as it is known, is one of a half dozen resorts purposefully scouted and built by Mexican tourism in the 1970s. The goal was and is to help develop sustainable economies for the country and these areas in particular. The best times to visit is November through April. WestJet flies direct from Calgary several times a week. There are hotels at every price level.
Zihuatanejo has another claim to fame. It was featured in the movie The Shawshank Redemption as the place the main character, Andy Dufresne, dreamt of as a reason to “get busy living.” There are long, white, surf-pounded beaches up and down the west coast of Mexico and especially in the neighboring town of Ixtapa but I think the sheltered, scallop shaped bay of Zi is a little bit of paradise. Let me start this post that will share information about market tours, cooking classes and mezcal tastings, places to eat morning, noon and night, and favourite shops and activities by describing how it feels to land here.
Landing in Zi
Colourful houses dot sun-baked hills as you emerge from the coconut groves lining the airport road. The streets multiply and narrow as you draw closer to town. Life’s flow seems to funnel and slow along with the speed of your car. People sit and chat as they tilt back in white plastic chairs in the late afternoon shade in parks and shopfronts. You can’t see the beach but you know when you are getting close as salt tangs the air billowing through the open car windows.
Climbing the hill to Escénica La Ropa, the azul waters and panoramic vista of Zihuatanejo Bay blow a kiss of cool air to greet you. Within an hour of landing at Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport you can be plunging into the warm Pacific waters while an ice cold beverage does all the sweating for you back at your beach chair. You could go and do nothing else for a week but if you want to understand the local culture, for me, food is the key to unlock the door.
Key to the Culture
Mexican cuisine and culture (the ways of daily life) are inseparable. What you find on your plate today in Zi are foods that have been determined by the local geography and ecosystem over centuries. Beans, corn, and squash – the three sisters that feed people as they nourish each other – are still staples here. The town’s history as a sleepy fishing village means that a bounty of seafood is not only a part of the daily menu but the creator of the rhythm of life here as well.
Mercado Pescaderos
Early risers can make a sunrise trip to the fishermen’s market on the main beach in town. If you look out at night, you’ll see the lights of their boats bobbing in the black ink of the night sky. They return in the wee hours, pulling their boats up on the beach and their back into hammocks. They sell their catch early, nap some more, and start the whole cycle again with each nightfall.
Camarones (shrimp), mahi mahi, tuna, sailfish, snapper, squid, and octopus are favourite catches. Huachinango (whole silver snapper) is a breakfast specialty served in a savoury tomato Veracruzana sauce. Mahi Mahi is the favourite in a local version of ceviche known as Tiritas de Pescado. I’ll share that recipe in another post.
Mercados Centrale and Municipale
Mid-morning is a fine time to visit the town’s fresh markets. Mercado Centrale is the long-established market with extensive butcheries and dry goods as well as baking and a a few small eateries.
Mercado Municpale’s is the true farmers’ market. They make the trek down from the hills each day with their produce. Stalls are stuffed with green jalapeños, dusty red guajillos and bright orange Scotch Bonnet chiles. Women stand and dice tender nopales (cactus) with razor sharp knives. Pale green tomatillos, bright red tomatoes, and Haas avocados at various stages of ripeness gush their fertility. Mangoes, small deep red strawberries, and melons drip with sweet juices when my knife cuts into them back in my kitchen. Knobbly squash, golden zucchini blossoms, and fresh garbanzo and pinto beans seem to call adios to their sweet corn sister as she waits, across the market, to be ground for tortillas. Queso fresco is here, fresh and herbed. It is often, in a light sprinkle, the only cheese associated with many of the local dishes.
Mercado Centrale is the place for organic vanilla, coffee, and cocoa that make great take home gifts. A stall filled with an assortment of prepared moles (sauce bases ground in mortar and pestles from many ingredients) saves a lot of work should you want to buy a pound of fresh shrimp to fry.
Women with huge tubs of tamales – corn pudding wrapped in husks – are the local heroes for the time they save their compadres. Chicharrones – pork rind or cracklings – are purchased to top pozole, a local dish of white corn hominy soup that’s traditionally eat on Thursdays though nobody remembers why. A few taquerias can be found on the periphery of the market or you can seek out the local specialty of buns filled with slow cooked pork – a bolillo relleno.
Ask a local what they do on their vacation and they’ll tell you that they stay in Zi because it is their paradise. They like to fish and spend time in their hammocks and with family and friends.
A dip in the ocean, an afternoon in a hammock, an evening stroll to the town’s shops or festival plaza and you’re well on your way to living la vida local. Here are more specifics to help you enjoy your stay.
Favourite Food Experiences
A Mezcal Tasting
Yesenia Pimental, food and beverage manager at Acopio at Hilton Grand Vacations’ Embarc Resort holds weekly classes to introduce you to tequila and its oft-overlooked twin, mezcal. In her classes you’ll learn that despite the rest of North America’s predilection for drinking these agave-based liquors in Margaritas, Mexicans prefer them reposado (rested and aged) or Añejo (extra aged). They sip it with their meals straight up. Pimental is a collector of Mezcal keen to share her passion for it with some of the rare bottles in her collection.
A Cooking Class
Embarc also hosts weekly cooking classes which usually start with the chef team hosting a trip to the town’s thriving fresh food markets. I’ve done this with amazing chefs like Edgar Navarro, Mario Ramirez, and chefs Huber and Antonio more recently.
The setting is an open air kitchen with a panoramic view of Zihuatanejo Bay. Each student is set up with their own cutting board and molcajete (lava rock mortar and pestle) and merriment ensues as the small group classes work on a multi-course lunch featuring fresh seafood from the bay.
Favourite Places to Eat
There are a lot of great restaurants in Zi. I’ve organized them here by what meal you might be looking for.
Breakfast or coffee:
- There’s lots of little cafes along the boardwalk at the Fishermen’s Market and Playa Municipale.
- A favourite breakfast spot, that’s bills itself as a health food spot and is right on the Paseo del Pescador seawalk, is La Terracita. My husband and I love this place. It’s like eating in a treehouse. An actual tree grows up through the center of it! Famous for their fresh pressed juices and fruit plates, everything we’ve tried is good. There’s always a line up but it is worth it.
- Carmelita’s Cafe has fabulous fresh food for breakfast.
- I love the breakfast at Acopio. The dining room overlooks the ocean and the food is beautiful.
Lunch:
Have ceviche on the beach. There’s so many good places on Playa Ropa.
Paty’s Miramar and La Perla are favourites.
Dinner:
- Mar Y Cielo at La Casa Que Canta is like something out of James Bond. We always eat here. Having the house Margarita made at your table while the sun sets over the bay is an indelible memory.
- Tentaciones – In a world, stunning! The menu changes weekly. You sign on for a world class tasting menu. Candles glimmer on the tables on a broad terrace with a 180 degree view of the Bay and twinkling lights of the town below. You walk across a lily filled pond and descend to your table. Service is personal. The food is as stunning as the location.
- Coconuts Restaurant and Bar – This place is FUN. And, it is also elegant with a beautiful architectural ambiance and garden, delicious food, and live music. The only cautionary tale is that it is seasonal and only open Mid-November to Mid-March.
- Bandido’s – Located in the very center of town, this is must for their molcajete (hot lava) fajitas. They are to die for. There’s also amateur local musicians entertaining and people will often get up and dance.
- Orient Bay – Middle Eastern meets Thai cuisine with a belly dancer thrown in the mix. It was awesome. Do give it a go, even though it sounds strange. The prices are very reasonable and the team are delighted to have you there.
Favourite Places to Shop
Rosimar Artesanias – This is the place for glassware and pottery. It always seems to move every year but ask around and seek it out if you love the hand blown glassware, earthen plates and hand painted ceramics.
Alberto’s Jewelry – The silversmith makes everything in his studio on site and will also do custom designs.
Cafe Caracol – Located inside the Mercado Centrale, Octavio Radilla Campos is the distributor of organic honey, coffee and cocoa in this shop. But, the piece de resistance for me is the organic Mexican vanilla. This is the REAL DEAL.
Favourite Activities in Zihuatanejo
We’ve done lots of fun activities. From Catamaran sunset cruises, to day-long boat trips to Isla Ixtapa and half day snorkeling trips to quiet bays. We’ve chartered a captain and his boat for a day of sailfishing 10 miles offshore where our 15 year old caught a prize fish and we shared it with the crew who told us it would feed their family for a week. We’ve paddle-boarded and kayaked and hiked to Playa dos Gatos, Mostly, we just love to hike the hills and walk the beach early in the day and then read books and plunge into the always warm waters. Friends have spent a few weeks and taken language lessons. Others love the spas and massages on the beach.
Places to Stay
La Casa Que Canta – Jennifer Anniston reportedly once booked the whole thing for her entourage.
Hotel Tentaciones – It’s exquisite. There’s only four rooms but at its sister hotel, Espuma, just down the hill there are more as well as Villas.
The Thompson – This is right on the beach. A friend stayed here and loved it.
These three are posh places I dream about staying. There are lots of Air BnB’s and VRBOs. Friends have had very good luck with these avenues in Zi. We stay at the Hilton Grand Vacations resort, Embarc, as we’ve been members of that Vacation Club since 2000. This is not an endorsement. But, it may explain why I don’t have more to suggest. Two other places we’ve stayed have both become private properties now.
These are all just my experiences in Zihuatanejo. We go to Zi to rest and rejuvenate. We walk everywhere and when we board the plane to come home we are already thinking about when we might go back. I hope this post might be helpful if you decide to go. This is a place where it is easy to Savour It All.
Please note: All photos are by me, Karen Anderson. This is not a sponsored post. It is editorial and I paid for all my travel and experiences.
