Acapulco on our own?

[MyTMo777]

Can we do something in Acapulco on our own? Walking tour, cab to downtown and/or a beach? Is it safe, easy and affordable? All of the excursions in every port are adding up, so I want to do as many ports on our own as we can.

[njhorseman]

25 minutes ago, MyTMo777 said:

Can we do something in Acapulco on our own? Walking tour, cab to downtown and/or a beach? Is it safe, easy and affordable? All of the excursions in every port are adding up, so I want to do as many ports on our own as we can.

Acapulco is one of the last places in the world where I would walk or tour on my own.  It literally looks like an armed camp with heavily armed police and military everywhere. 

 

[ccletzgo]

We had a very scary experience in Acapulco.   I'm well traveled and would never do it on my own again.  We had to tell a guy that ALL OF OUR MONEY was on the ship, but if he LET US GO, we would go get it and bring him payment.  He literally walked us right to the security gate at the ship. We went through that gate, and didn't look back.    Dont do it on your own.

[Mary229]

 The last time I arrived in Acapulco I walked a few blocks and turned back around to take a ship tour. In my opinion the Mexican Caribbean is much safer and tourist friendly than the Pacific.  
 

Puerto Vallarta and Cabo are very easy to do on your own

Edited August 24, 2022 by Mary229

[WESTEAST]

 

On 8/20/2022 at 9:49 AM, njhorseman said:

Acapulco is one of the last places in the world where I would walk or tour on my own.  It literally looks like an armed camp with heavily armed police and military everywhere. 

 

Agree. Once we saw the police/military with guns driving by every 5 minutes, we did an about turn back to the ship and enjoyed time onboard.

[SDPadreFan]

The last time we were in Acapulco was 2009 on the Carnival Spirit. We sailed her, 2 times, down to Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, and Manzanillo. First time was in 2006. So this info is VERY DATED. 2009 was the first time we actually saw the Mexican Army out in force but we still felt fairly safe.

 

There is a fairly interesting museum/fort that is walking distance from the cruise ship pier called Acapulco Historical Museum of Fort San Diego.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/uyjjTiPS8ohZ7yETA

 

We also took a cab to a fairly famous (at the time) little beach restaurant (toes in the sand type) and spent half a day there. It was near a bungee jumping tower but looking at a google map, the bungee tower is still there, but the little seafood beach restaurant is gone. That whole area seems to have undergone a massive redevelopment with mucho high-rises.

 

Also on our 2006 cruise, we went to see the famous Acapulco cliff divers at La Quebrada

 

https://goo.gl/maps/sfvCPqYQon4B2Bwg8

 

That was definitely the highlight of our cruise back then. There is a fairly large public viewing area but it involves some steep (to me) stairs and a lot of standing. Instead - we went to the Hotel Mirador restaurant area and begged our way into some seats in the bar area (we didn't have a reservation at this extremely popular location). But we were able to have dinner there (in the bar area) and had a fantastic view of the cliff divers. Because of the time we arrived (late afternoon), we even got to see both a daytime and nighttime cliff diving show (but a crappy digital camera back then).

 

 

[SDPadreFan]

[SDPadreFan]

A few more. Last one is a view of the ship from the roof of the fort.

[SDPadreFan]

Found the pictures from our 2009 cruise. Beach restaurant that we took a cab to. This was on Playa Condesa

Edited August 30, 2022 by SDPadreFan

[SDPadreFan]

Here are some pics of the nearby bungee jumping tower (not for me that's for sure).

 

[SDPadreFan]

One thing to understand about Acapulco, this is not the American Acapulco of the 60's, 70's, and 80's jet set. This has become a Mexican tourist mecca for the citizens of Mexico City (for the most part) who drive down the mountain (or fly) to spend some time on the beach. Was it a violent place back in 2009 - yes as evidenced by the presence of the Army (with automatic weapons). But we survived ok. Not sure I'd want to go back now - but I can say "been there, done that, got the tee-shirt"

 

https://goo.gl/maps/YPqQf7LQhTvH45d56

 

There is also a malecon close to the cruise ship and also a nice little public square with a Cathedral behind it (all walking distance).

 

 

[SDPadreFan]

The picture of our ship Carnival Spirit was taken from the nearby Malecon.

[iancal]

We spent eight weeks in Mexico on our pre covid snowbird trip.  Independent travel.  Five weeks of which was spent going up the Pacific coast from Huatulco.

 

We are spontaneous travelers.  We originally booked three nights in Acapulco.  We enjoyed it so much that we extended it to six nights.  We used public transport.  We were out at night for dinner, etc.

 

We never felt unsafe or threated.   When we travel we are very aware of our surroundings and do not do things like wear expensive jewelry or flash money about where people can see it.  

[Montanagirlalways]

our ship changed its itinerary to stop in Acapulco. I hope things have improved there-safety wise that is. I have never been. Wondering if there will be restaurant's close by and shopping. 

[SDPadreFan]

Here is where the ship should pull in. To the right a short distance is the Fort I mentioned earlier (short walk). To the left is the Malecon and the nice Zócalo de Acapulco (pictures in earlier post). There will be shopping and restaurants in that area. The resorts and beach bars/restaurants are further away and would require a cab.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/gwbvYzSPY57JWg5n7

 

Also on the map is the fameous La Quebrada Cliffs where you can see the cliff divers. We watched them from the Mirador La Quebrada Hotel (google shows it as temporarily closed). Here is their website. La Perla is the restaurant we had dinner at and watched the cliff divers.

 

https://www.miradoracapulco.com/en/

 

La Quebrada is a short cab ride from the ship through some neighborhoods. Not walkable as it is a steep hike uphill to the cliff area.

 

You don't have to do the restaurant. There is also a public viewing area with great views. I believe there was a small charge to access the viewing area. After the show - the divers will swim across and climb the rocks to the viewing area to collect tips.