Beach Day in Acapulco, Mexico

[Freyward_Cruiser]

We were on the Norwegian Star and came into port in Acapulco, Mexico on February 25, 2019. (Sorry it has taken so long to write this topic!) We did not book a cruise excursion for this port. We went to the service desk on our ship and asked about any nice beaches we could get to relatively easily… they recommended taking the ferry on the West side of town. So we planned on finding a cab to take us to the ferry.

 

So when we got off the ship, we found a taxi driver (Miguel) just outside the port, he said he could take us to the ferry that goes to Isla de La Roqueta. It sounded good to us and the rate seemed fair. He drove us across town to the pier between Playa Caleta and Playa Caletilla. He helped us buy tickets for the “ferry” boat (it was just a passenger boat), and told us we could use it to return on any similar boat that stops at the pier on the island. He talked to the captain and then told us the boat was leaving in 15 minutes and to wait.  We told Miguel we were aiming to be back around 3:30PM and he said if we walked up to the road when we got back, he’d be there. Sounded like a plan.

 

We were ushered onto the boat 10 minutes later. We had a slow boat, I think the motor might have been dying… but we made it out to the island without incident. We were on the boat with another couple that looked to be locals or at least Mexican vacationers. The ride out was pretty.

 

Arriving on Isla de La Roqueta, we disembarked on a nice clean pier. We walked a short way down the beach (Playa La Roqueta) filled with tables, umbrellas, and plastic chairs. A man came up and offered us a set of chairs, a table and an umbrella to rent for the day. The price was good, so we did! He then offered us a cheap bucket of beer and left a food menu. So we dropped our stuff and relaxed.

 

The view looking out over the water is absolutely incredible! There are great city views. The water is a beautiful turquoise. We quickly headed for the warm ocean water with a beer in hand. The sand at the top of the beach is really fine and gets much more coarse towards the water. There were also some pieces of sea glass (they do serve the beers in glass bottles).  We enjoyed floating in the water and sipping on beer. It was a sunny, beautiful day.

 

The beach was fairly empty when we arrived in the morning, but as the day wore on the beach began to fill up. There were a lot of locals and a great mix of Mexican travelers and international tourists. I don’t think there were hardly any other people from the ship. 

 

The guy that sat us at the table when we arrived kept bringing us beer and we got food as well. Excellent service! We settled up at the end of the day. It was very reasonable for the whole day on a sunny beach, being catered to. We loved it. There are vendors on the beach as well, but they are not pushy or really even noticeable unless you flag them down. 

 

At 3PM we packed up, settled our tab, and headed for the pier at the end of the beach. We hardly waited at all for a passenger boat to pull up. We showed our ticket from earlier and hopped on. This boat was a lot speedier and we were back at Playa Caleta in no time. 

 

We walked up to the street and Miguel had just pulled up! He was a fantastic cab driver and we were really grateful to have such an honest and helpful driver. I don’t know about any other cab experiences in Acapulco, but our driver was fantastic. He drove us back to the ship and even stopped at a gas station to get us a Coke (since the boat only had Pepsi)!

 

Overall a very relaxing and beautiful way to spend our time in Acapulco! I highly recommend seeking out Playa La Roqueta for a relaxing beach day. It was well worth the effort.

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by Freyward_Cruiser

[iancal]

We spent a week in Acapulco in late Feb.  It is so easy to find a beach.  We stayed in a hotel beside the ocean. But, the fabulous beach directly in front of the hotels where we stayed is all public access.  We saw many locals and visitors renting chairs etc on the water.  When we walked along the beach (and in the area) we saw multiple well marked public access paths to the beach.  This could be a second option for anyone.

People were incredibly friendly.

 

Costs.  We took the yellow bus (A/C) from our hotel to the port and back after dark from our sunset cruise.  The cost of the the bus was 10 pesos.  They ran every ten minutes, sometimes more often.   Or you could take a cab for about 100-120 pesos. They yellow bus went right along the shore, past the cruise ship terminal, and on to the hotel zone/beach area.  About a 15 minute ride on the bus.

Edited April 1, 2020 by iancal

[Freyward_Cruiser]

@iancal These are great suggestions as well. There are so many beaches to choose from. We just really loved the view from this one!