Ixtapa Zihuatanejo is my idea of heaven. I have visited this place every year since I was born. It is home to me more than any other place in the world and it forever holds my heart.
It’s a beautiful natural place that is full of breathtaking sights, kind and warm people, and exciting activities. More than that, it is full of peace. It has a wonderful ambiance that makes you feel as if all your troubles are fading away with each wave. It’s truly heaven on Earth.
It also offers many beaches that are each amazing in their own way. Each has its own special beauty, so here is my list of 6 paradise beaches in Ixtapa that you cannot miss!
1. El Palmar
The main beach in Ixtapa is beach El Palmar. It is my favourite beach in all the world. This is where all the main stays of Ixtapa Zihuatanejo are. You can stay in a hotel or you can choose to stay in one of the many luxurious apartment buildings on this beach. Whenever I go to Ixtapa I always find the perfect place to stay through Hero Host, a wonderful accommodations service in Ixtapa that can help you find the best places to stay according to your needs. I’ve lived in different apartments along El Palmar with Hero Host, and I’ve loved every wonderful stay. I’ve stayed for months at the time and every day feels like a gift when you wake up in such a breathtaking place.
El Palmar is known for its big waves, its excellent atmosphere, and for the rocks that rise above the ocean on the horizon giving it a distinctive look that everyone can recognise. Once you’ve seen it, you can’t forget it.
Here you can relax, sunbathe, meet people from all over the world, bodysurf, play volleyball, parasail, have long romantic walks on the beach, and if you’re lucky you might get to see baby turtles hatching and making their way into the big blue ocean. There’s a baby turtle sanctuary on this beach so if you’re set on meeting baby turtles you can always stop by and say hello.
2. Playa La Majahua
In the map you can see La Majahua a bit further north from Troncones beach (blue pin).
This small but wonderful beach near Troncones is a hidden paradise. When you visit, make sure to look closely at the sand, it sparkles as if it has specks of gold mixed in with it. The sand is soft and warm. Walking on it I felt like my feet were sighing in relief and joy.
This beach is perfect to relax, bodyboard, or drink something while you look at the waves. There are also a few local restaurants you can eat at.
The beach is very quiet and it’s family-friendly as well as pet-friendly. Kids enjoy playing among the rocks and the waves are not so strong as the ones in El Palmar. There are, however, no palapas (big beach umbrellas made with dried palm tree leaves), nor lounge chairs, so remember to bring towels, or folding chairs with you for more comfort. La Majahua is the kind of beach I go to whenever I want to find some quiet, peace, and beauty.
3. Playa La Saladita
The main attraction on this beach is…. the surf! Playa Saladita is one of the most famous surfing beaches in all of Mexico. This is a common destination for Americans, Canadians, and Latin Americans that love surfing. On shore you will find a growing, friendly, bilingual (English-Spanish) surfing community who is always ready to offer a tip or two on how to best catch the waves, and in the water you will find wonderful waves that can delight both experienced and beginner surfers.
Truth be told, the sand is not as comfortable as in other beaches in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo as it has quite a few pebbles and stones, so does the ocean floor. However, the water is the main attraction! If you have always wanted to learn to surf, Saladita is the place to be. There are several schools of surf that offer classes and rent equipment. If you are a surfer but you forgot your board at home, you can also find lots of places around where they rent all kinds of boards.
For surfers: this beach is known for having one of the longest lefts in Mexico. You can often catch rides of over a minute. But this means, of course, that the paddling out is quite long, so make sure you’re in good shape to do all that paddling! If you get lucky, you will see a few big sea turtles on your way to catch the waves, as they often swim among the surfers. You will see their heads popping out of the water or their huge shells among the waves.
I assure you, once you’ve surfed here, you’re going to come back for more!
4. Troncones
Troncones is one of the most iconic beaches near Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. The ocean here is as wild as it can be. You can walk for miles and miles in this beautiful, unspoiled paradise and feel at one with nature. Here, you are transported into another world, one where nature was unbound and undisturbed by humans. On this beach, turtles lay their eggs unseen and undisturbed. Here, whales come close to the shore during the winter to mate. Here, all kinds of creatures live quietly in peace.
The community in Troncones lives in harmony with the ocean, making efforts to ensure that Troncones remains as paradisiacal as ever, unperturbed by too much human intervention. If you want to connect with nature and escape for a while from the human world, Troncones is the place to visit!
5. Playa Blanca & Playa Larga
As its name in Spanish indicates, Playa Larga is a “Long Beach”. It stretches for miles and it turns into Playa Blanca (“White Beach”). Similar to Troncones, these beaches are known for being natural paradises with little human intervention. However, there are many rustic and cozy restaurants in which you can find delicious food, especially fish and shellfish yummy dishes.
One of the main activities you can do here is horse riding. It’s a magical thing to ride at sunset on this wonderful long beach. Your spirit is set free by the wind, the speed, and the view. You can also enjoy a lively conversation with your friends as you ride together through nature.
We booked this amazing horse riding experience with Hero Host as one of their services is to arrange experiences for their guests. Riding the beach on horseback had always been a dream of mine, and I am so happy now it’s come true.
Here is the link to Hero Host’s Experiences webpage in which you can book your experiences in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo: https://en.herohost.com.mx/experiencias.
6. Barra de Potosí
Barra de Potosí is at the end of Playa Blanca and it has access both to the ocean and to the lagoon. This place is known for being a good spot for whale watching! It is also a wonderful place for an adventure since the intersection between the ocean and the lagoon makes it an exciting place where you can find both the soft side and wild side of nature!
Next to the lagoon you will find several restaurants where you can enjoy the view while drinking coconut water or a margarita!
I would recommend Tony Macarrony’s Restaurant. The owner and his family provide very good customer service and their food is great.
A great activity you can do on this beach is to take a tour of the lagoon. You can book a boat tour that will take you deep inside the lagoon where you can photograph and enjoy the local wildlife. If you fancy an adventure, you can also rent a kayak and explore the lagoon on your own. If you’re feeling daring, you can kayak out to sea.
The lagoon is quite shallow in some parts so you can also enjoy relaxing in it as you would in a pool. Families come here to enjoy the day out. It is very safe and it is a place where you can find everything together: relaxation, adventure, good food, drinks, and an amazing view.
For me, Ixtapa will always be my favorite place in the world. And whichever beach you decide to visit, you can never go wrong in Ixtapa. It is an amazing safe haven where people from all over the world can find peace in communion with nature. Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo is developed enough by human intervention to make it a comfortable place and yet it has also remained a natural paradise in which nature is still unbound, wild, and abundant to make it exciting, life-renewing, and magical.
Come visit Ixtapa, once you’ve stayed here, you will keep coming back!
Photos in this post by: @mariangel.photo
Book your stay with Hero Host. Visit their website: https://en.herohost.com.mx or contact them through their instagram account: @herohost.mx
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