Rissask Report to Zihuatanejo, August 2010

[LucyE]

Originally Posted by syl

Do i hear peepmeet anyone:

Instigator...lol

[LucyE]

Great report Maggie, Zihua has been on my list of places to visit. Hopefully some day soon.

[sharkbait]

Getting our "ducks in a row" for our Christmas Trip so reread your Trip report Maggie. You too Joanie. Couple of questions if you don't mind????

We're not arriving until 5:00pm and by the time we get to La Madera and check in it will be dark. Any restaurant recommendations in La Madera for dinner that first night??? Would Centro be hard to find for a 1st timer at night???

Are Fisherman Walk and the surrounding stores open in the evening????

Bus or Taxi to Playa Linda for the Isla Ixtapa Ferry. If Bus, any idea where to pick it up at??? Do you have a favorite beach bar on Isla Ixtapa???

Are there any beach bars in Ixtapa to hang out at???? Is it worth the visit if not hanging out at the beach there????

Oitilla's (sp??) it is for Playa las Gatas. Is it signed at the beach???? Got the feeling that it was towards the south end. We will get there early.

Where is Rincon de Guayabitos???? You guys find all the cool places.


Kevin.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by LucyE

Great report Maggie, Zihua has been on my list of places to visit. Hopefully some day soon.

Thanks, Lucy!

Originally Posted by sharkbait

Getting our "ducks in a row" for our Christmas Trip so reread your Trip report Maggie. You too Joanie. Couple of questions if you don't mind????

We're not arriving until 5:00pm and by the time we get to La Madera and check in it will be dark. Any restaurant recommendations in La Madera for dinner that first night??? Would Centro be hard to find for a 1st timer at night???



Kevin.

Hi Kevin!

I bet you are getting excited!

If I were you, I would not bother trying to get downtown after dark without first getting your bearing in the daylight.

I would recommend just sticking around Madera, there are several good restaurants in the area. Simply walking out the main lobby door, turn left, and head down that steep hill....at the bottom if you are lucky, you might find 'Rufo's Grill' open and you can have some BBQ.....or keep heading down Calle Adelita (main road to downtown) until you find something else that strikes your fancy. La Gula is supposed to be good, and La Perla Negra -but they were both closed for summer our last visit. My first/highest choice would be La Casa Vieja- down Adelita to the left and then it is down a side street, just watch for the sign (Madera is not a big area).

Or, you can turn right out of the lobby, head to the main road that goes to La Ropa and up on the hill in between the two beaches are a few great restaurants- Kau Kan (quite pricey) and Amuleto, and Il Mare- great views, good prices.

or, if you are really pooped, just hit the hotel restaurant, down on beach level, the Bistro el Mar. We only ate there once and while it was good, we felt it was overpriced compared to many other restaurants, for what you get.

if you are lively and want to head downtown, you just follow Calle Adelita all the way downtown, or grab a taxi. Definitely don't walk on the ocean walkway after dark- there has been some robberies.

[Rissask]

more restaurants!

http://www.ay-zihuatanejo.com/restau...o-restaurants/

Are Fisherman Walk and the surrounding stores open in the evening????

Bus or Taxi to Playa Linda for the Isla Ixtapa Ferry. If Bus, any idea where to pick it up at??? Do you have a favorite beach bar on Isla Ixtapa???

Are there any beach bars in Ixtapa to hang out at???? Is it worth the visit if not hanging out at the beach there????

Oitilla's (sp??) it is for Playa las Gatas. Is it signed at the beach???? Got the feeling that it was towards the south end. We will get there early.

Where is Rincon de Guayabitos???? You guys find all the cool places.

yes, the stores on Fisherman Walk stay open until 9 or so I think.

We love Isla Ixtapa- not sure of the name of any restaurants there, but we usually settle in at Playa Varadero, that is the 'back beach' that directly faces the mainland (you have to follow the path to it from the beach where the water taxi drops you)- great views, calm for swimming. If you want to snorkel, go early and go to Playa Coral.

Now, we always have caught the Playa Linda bus in Ixtapa. The downtown busy street where the buses pick up passengers in Zihua is...hmmm. Let me get back to you with the name, if I can find out! You maybe should just take a taxi!

Ixtapa- might be worth going to check it out, browse the market and shops, have lunch- but other than Carlos and Charlies there really aren't any beach bars, just the hotel ones. It is a lovely wide beach for strolling and people watching! And boogie boarding, if you are brave...big surf, usually.


Las Gatas- Otilias (with my main man Franco) is wayyyyy at the far end from where the water taxi drops you off. It is quieter down there, usually. Go early- xmas will be NUTTY BUSY! There is a sign.


And Rincon is about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta, in Nayarit. Very popular with Mexicans and Canadians. Supposed to be like PV was a few decades ago.

[sharkbait]

Thanks alot Maggie. You da best. We'll check out Rufo's first and then head down Calle Adelita if they are not open. It will be a long travel day (through Mexico City) so doubt that we will want to work too hard finding Dinner that 1st night. We will be arriving Christmas Day so not sure if that will pose any problems for places being open, guessing not so much.

Expecting it to be busy throughout the week as with most Christmas Vacay's. We're typically early risers (early to bed too) oldtimers so we should beat the rush to the Hot Spots. We'll probably just taxi to Playa Linda and then maybe take the bus back. Playa Varadero has been written down. Taking down the snorkels for Las gatas and Isla Ixtapa, doesn't hurt to try.

Found some maps on Rob's website so getting a feel for the lay of the land. Very excited for this trip. Something different and this looks like one cool location.

Is Rincon de Guayabitos close to Sayulita????

[Rissask]

A good day trip might be to take a taxi to Playa Linda/Isla Ixtapa, then the bus back and get off at Ixtapa and do your checking out and of Ixtapa then. The bus stop is on the road by the penned in crocodiles at Playa Linda.

If you are anything at all like us, I will bet that an hour or so of Ixtapa will be more than enough for you....let's just say it would be like staying in Playa and going to Cancun to check it out (although Ixtapa is nicer and smaller and much more 'Mexico' than Cancun is).

At Christmas it will be crowded all right, but hopefully not unbearably so. Madera and La Ropa should be less crowded than Isla and Las Gatas.


Have you seen Jared's Maps site? It is hard to find a decent map of Zihua, his seem to be the best.

La Madera

You can see where La Casa Viejo is located, 'R' down Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez off Adelita. I didn't even know that was the name of that street.


And yes, Guayabitos is about another half hour north of Sayulita. In Jaltemba Bay.

[sharkbait]

Yes, those are the maps I found. They look like good ones. Good idea to stop by Ixtapa on our way back from Isla, that's what we'll do. We take an All Inclusive vacation with my "Canadian" Family every March (Thank you Shammy) and would like to check out Ixtapa as a possible destination. Though I tried to get them to Puerta Vallarta for this March and they weren't biting. Caribbean Snobs they is.

Thanks again.

Kevin.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by sharkbait

Yes, those are the maps I found. They look like good ones. Good idea to stop by Ixtapa on our way back from Isla, that's what we'll do. We take an All Inclusive vacation with my "Canadian" Family every March (Thank you Shammy) and would like to check out Ixtapa as a possible destination. Though I tried to get them to Puerta Vallarta for this March and they weren't biting. Caribbean Snobs they is.

Thanks again.

Kevin.

You are very welcome.

Sadly there aren't any maps that can hold a candle to MapChick-type of maps for Zihua- that might be a money-making opportunity for some enterprising soul, though!

If they are Caribbean snobs, take them to Huatulco. They would love the beaches there. Gorgeous. And in March, nowhere NEAR the pesky wind you get on the 'other side'.

[AKFisher]

I loved reading your report! We went to Ixtapa for our honeymoon and spent a lot of time walking around Zihua. Brings back great memories
Looks like you had a wonderful time as well.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by AKFisher

I loved reading your report! We went to Ixtapa for our honeymoon and spent a lot of time walking around Zihua. Brings back great memories
Looks like you had a wonderful time as well.

Thanks for reading! We do love Z. It's a special place.

[sharkbait]

Back from Zihua. Loved it!!!! Franco remembers you guys Riz. What a cool guy, headed over there twice. Hoping to do a Trip Report but camera quit working on the 2nd day so had to take most of our pics with my phone. Not sure how they'll upload, we'll see.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by sharkbait

Back from Zihua. Loved it!!!! Franco remembers you guys Riz. What a cool guy, headed over there twice. Hoping to do a Trip Report but camera quit working on the 2nd day so had to take most of our pics with my phone. Not sure how they'll upload, we'll see.

yay!! I have been anxious to hear how you liked it in Z!

You better write one- or at least write it up in here if nothing else - I want to hear your views!

That is funny Franco said he remembers us- I bet he says that to all the tourists. Great guy.