Destination Guide | Mexico's Pacific Coast
COASTAL PERSUASIONS
By Hunter Holcombe
Perhaps the Corona beer company captured it best, when it launched its successful TV ad campaign showing a pristine and tranquil beach, a bottle of icy-cold Corona and a vacationer in the deepest throes of relaxation.
The clever ads are designed to link drinking Corona with retreating from the stress of daily life and finding that perfect beach escape, but they could very well have been ads for Mexico.
For decades Americans have been happily dashing away to Mexico for just that sense of escape—an escape that can only come from an entire culture that is several degrees more relaxed, a coastline offering thousands of miles of curling blue waves and sandy beaches, and just the right amount of great dining, dazzling nightlife, authentic culture and outdoor recreation for when you’ve reached that blissful “staring off into the ocean” saturation point.
Because of this unique blend, Mexico is a magical place for almost everyone who visits, but the country has lately capitalized on this allure by developing the type of meetings infrastructure that allows you to create both a professional and modern meeting while still taking advantage of the timeless leisure appeal.
The Pacific coast of Mexico is unique in that just about every city, town or fishing village—from Ensenada to Puerto Madero—shares these same qualities, yet are different enough in tradition, cuisine and style that you will want to sample every one. The major meetings destinations are the same as those that cater to Western tourists, which means finding quality accommodations, restaurants and fun things to do is a cinch. At the top of this list is Los Cabos, less than a two-hour flight from L.A. at the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula and a long-time favorite for vacationers and meeting-goers alike. Close behind, however, and rapidly expanding their meeting facilities, are the cities of Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo and Mazatlan, all on the Pacific coast of mainland Mexico.
“These cities have been very successful in the leisure market,” explains Eduardo Chaillo, CMP regional director of the Mexico Tourism Board. “They slowed down for meetings in the past, but now there is a rebirth.”
As these primary destinations aggressively go after the U.S. meetings market, building not only high-end resorts but also brand-new convention centers, they are also evolving in terms of service. “There is a lot of improvement in the professionalism,” he says. “We are famous for our welcoming attitude and warmth. But that has to be complemented by a great level of professionalism. They [hotel and convention staff] are now attending events like MPI and PCMA. We are aware of what the industry is looking for.”
Los Cabos
An unknown fact for many, Los Cabos is actually a municipality that includes two large cities just a few miles from each other—San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. The latter is generally what visitors think of—the famous “El Arco” stone arch, perfect sandy beaches, spring break revelry and a buzzing nightlife—while the former is a laid-back, cultural, colonial-style town. In-between the two cities stretches a long resort corridor, filled with world-class golf courses, five-star resorts and exclusive gated communities sprinkled with million-dollar mansions.
The variety that these three distinct zones offer can be a boon to planners. A high-end resort hidden away on a semi-private beach in the resort corridor might be the perfect option for a focused executive retreat, while an incentive getaway for the company’s top producers might call for the festive mood of downtown Cabo San Lucas. And, finally, if some of your attendees are seeking something more than the Cabo lifestyle, San Jose is an easy escape filled with plenty of old-world charm.
“The cleanliness, the beaches, the cultural differences—it’s nice to take the [attendees] out of the states,” says Anabel Fairley, president of Master Events, an Austin, Texas-based event-management company. Fairley recently brought a group of 70 to Cabo San Lucas on a five-day incentive trip for a corporate sales team. She says bringing groups to Los Cabos is easy, because there is so much to do and the facilities and staff are of a higher caliber than in many other Mexico destinations. “It has a little bit more upscale feeling to me, a little cleaner, and not as many young people there; I don’t have to worry about spring breakers,” she says.
While the group assembled in the mornings for morale-boosting speeches, team building and other company-focused activities, the majority of the trip was pure incentive, and in this respect Cabo San Lucas was more than able to deliver. Fairley says her attendees loved the primary options offered—golf, spa, deep-sea fishing (which the area is famous for), whale-watching and ATV tours. They also regrouped at night for themed dinners, which, with countless beachfront venues and excellent dining options, were major hits.
While the Los Cabos area is well-known for its nightlife, there’s even more to do during the day. Crystal-clear blue waters make for excellent swimming, kayaking, sailing, snorkeling and scuba diving, while inland the rugged desert terrain is wide-open, a perfect setting for top-notch hiking, mountain biking and ecotourism. And while Cabo’s reputation for its seemingly endless supply of golf courses is long-standing, it is also gaining a reputation for spas. Because of the abundance of activities, the area is populated with several professional tour operators, the most reputable of which have close partnerships with the resorts as well as the Los Cabos Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Examples of the caliber of resorts found in the area include The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos, which is designed after the famous Cabo stone arch and sits on a cliff right over the Sea of Cortez. The meeting space offers Wi-Fi access, and numerous beach settings are available.
In San Jose del Cabo, the Crowne Plaza Resort Los Cabos-Grand Faro is an example of Mexico’s many all-inclusive resorts—all dining, alcoholic beverages and activities included in the rate—which can make budgeting a cinch and make your attendees feel like they are kids in a candy store. The Crowne Plaza sits right at the beach, providing 20,150 sq. ft. of meeting space, including a 17,000-square-foot ballroom.
Puerto Vallarta
Accessed via abundant direct flights, particularly from the U.S. West Coast, and with a long-standing romanticized reputation, Puerto Vallarta is a favorite of vacationers from all over the world. In addition, its range of hotels, meeting space and plentiful activities give it a flexibility to handle any type of group.
Located halfway down the Pacific coast, Puerto Vallarta can offer all the amenities you would expect from a top-tier Mexico destination—world-class resorts, pristine beaches, limitless outdoor recreation and sizzling nightlife. But where this city really goes above and beyond comparable options is the variety and quality of its dining and its local arts.
Perhaps second only to Mexico City, the culinary scene is one of the most impressive in the country. Enthusiastic diners need not “resort” to hotel-hopping to find the best restaurants, as the city prides itself on food. A 15-minute walk from the Malecon (a beautiful seaside walkway downtown) brings hungry visitors to the quaint, cobblestoned Old Town, where a cornucopia of scents swirl onto the street from upscale Spanish and Italian restaurants, sidewalk taco carts and even healthy all-vegetarian cafes. Old Town is also a great place to shop for local arts and crafts, or simply to take in the romantic ambience of an area that beautifully blends European charm with Mexican friendliness and flavor.
After the sun has set, head back to the Malecon, where a famed street lined with bars and nightclubs draws revelers from all over the world, restaurants and shops stay open late, and a small public theater sunk into the ground provides passersby with free comedy, acrobatics and theatrical performances.
While Puerto Vallarta really started developing its meetings and hotel infrastructure in the ’70s and ’80s, it owes a lot to the year 1963 for its romantic and artsy ambience. It was this year that The Night of the Iguana, a John Huston film starring Richard Burton, was made just south of the city. The racy film, in addition to the media coverage of Burton and Elizabeth Taylor’s time in Puerto Vallarta, created a seductive allure to the town that remains omnipresent even today.
North of Puerto Vallarta, the numerous small towns spread out along the coast are known collectively as Riviera Nayarit, and have lately exploded in growth and popularity. Strong development is expected to continue over the next decade, but the area already offers more than 13,000 hotel rooms, the majority of which are high-end. Despite the growth, the region contains an abundance of quaint towns, such as Sayulita and Bucerias.
Acapulco
Another storied city, Acapulco can brag about being the original Mexico resort town, having drawn visitors from the U.S., interior Mexico and Latin America well before more recent destinations like Los Cabos, Ixtapa and Mazatlan. The ’50s and ’60s was the city’s golden era, when Hollywood stars and other celebrities came here to escape and live life large, but ambitious new development projects and millions of dollars in infrastructure revitalization are breathing new life into this timeless destination.
Only a 35-minute plane ride from nearby Mexico City, Acapulco is readily accessible, and its hilly terrain provides spectacular views from endless vantage points. Much like Puerto Vallarta, there is a romantic and old-world feel to much of the city, although brand-new hotels and resorts are also abundant. Because of its proximity to Mexico City, Acapulco is the weekend getaway for the capital’s well-to-do, and this money fuels a thriving dining, shopping and nightlife scene.
While downtown Acapulco retains a firm commitment to its authenticity, this isn’t stopping the city from aggressively pursuing the meetings industry with new development. The crown jewel of this new side is Mundo Imperial, a new state-of-the-art convention center managed by SMG. Located in the new and exclusive Acapulco Diamante district, less than two miles from the airport, the mega complex will offer 240,000 sq. ft. of column-free exhibit space, 50 divisible breakout rooms, an 800-room attached luxury resort, a 4,000-seat performance venue, a spa and a wellness center. The convention center is slated to open October 31.
Acapulco Diamante plans to be the “new” Acapulco, with modern facilities, easy access from the airport and luxurious hotels, and will most certainly attract the bulk of the city’s meetings. This leaves Acapulco proper to do what it does best, which is party. The nightlife here is notorious, from exclusive private parties at mansions precariously perched on a bluff to all-night marathons at 5,000-strong nightclubs. In fact, Acapulco can boast some of the largest and most impressive nightclubs in all of Latin America, and many serve as excellent venues for partial or full buyouts.
The city is also famous for its death-defying cliff divers, who hurl themselves from seemingly suicidal heights into small pockets of surging ocean water below. While many Mexico coastal cities feature cliff divers, they rarely compare to those here, where they have been a draw since 1934.
Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo
Much like Los Cabos, the Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo duo offers two distinct destinations in the same area. Zihuatanejo, a quaint fishing village for centuries, has retained its relaxed and authentic ambience, thanks primarily to Ixtapa, a government-planned resort area just 10 minutes up the coast. All of the large resorts and meeting space will be found here, as well as convenient shopping, dining and warm, flat beaches. This leaves “Z” to evolve at its own pace (slow), and just a quick cab ride will give you access to its charming streets, excellent seafood restaurants and outdoor markets.
It’s clear that the sea is really the focal point of the entire area, with some of the best deep-sea fishing in Mexico, world-class coral reef and several small islands that make for great day trips.
Another pleasant surprise is taking a group through the Aztlan Ecological Park, a large nature preserve that includes an eight-kilometer paved bike trail, an excellent way to view the indigenous birds, crocodiles and other species.
Mazatlan
Directly across the Sea of Cortez from Los Cabos, Mazatlan is about to make a major play to the meetings market when it opens its new convention center, slated for July of next year. “We mainly attract incentive groups now,” explains Javier Paez, marketing and public relations manager of the Mazatlan Hotel Association. “But with the new convention center, we hope to get much larger groups.
Currently, the massive El Cid resort complex receives a substantial amount of the city’s meetings business, with more than 1,000 guest rooms, 27 holes of golf, a private marina and a plethora of restaurants, bars and on-site recreational options.
Paez says that many hotels have begun construction in anticipation of the new convention center, such as a Wyndham opening next year and the luxurious 716-room Riu Emerald Bay, slated for May of next year.
In addition to its abundant recreation, Mazatlan is also an excellent destination for cultural pursuits, including several tours of adjacent historical mining towns. The city is steeped in European heritage—the Germans started the Pacifico brewery here in the first few years of the 20th century. “From all these Europeans, there is a legacy you can see in the architecture, in the historic districts,” Paez says. Back to Top
World-class deep-sea fishing
Snorkeling in Cabo San Lucas
ATV touring through the inland desert
A photo op at Cabo San Lucas’ famous stone arch
Puerto Vallarta
Dinner or a walk in Old Town
Exploring or staying in Riviera Nayarit, to the north
A sunset walk along the waterfront Malecon
The phenomenal local cuisine
Acapulco
A visit to one of the city’s famous mega-clubs
The death-defying cliff-divers
Rubbing shoulders with the Mexico City elite, who fly in for the weekend
Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo
A visit to the lively fish market in Zihuatanejo
A bike ride through the Aztlan Ecological Park
Mazatlan
An architectural tour of the city, showcasing its European influences
A day trip to one of the many adjacent historical mining towns Back to Top
For decades Americans have been happily dashing away to Mexico for just that sense of escape—an escape that can only come from an entire culture that is several degrees more relaxed, a coastline offering thousands of miles of curling blue waves and sandy beaches, and just the right amount of great dining, dazzling nightlife, authentic culture and outdoor recreation for when you’ve reached that blissful “staring off into the ocean” saturation point.
Because of this unique blend, Mexico is a magical place for almost everyone who visits, but the country has lately capitalized on this allure by developing the type of meetings infrastructure that allows you to create both a professional and modern meeting while still taking advantage of the timeless leisure appeal.
The Pacific coast of Mexico is unique in that just about every city, town or fishing village—from Ensenada to Puerto Madero—shares these same qualities, yet are different enough in tradition, cuisine and style that you will want to sample every one. The major meetings destinations are the same as those that cater to Western tourists, which means finding quality accommodations, restaurants and fun things to do is a cinch. At the top of this list is Los Cabos, less than a two-hour flight from L.A. at the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula and a long-time favorite for vacationers and meeting-goers alike. Close behind, however, and rapidly expanding their meeting facilities, are the cities of Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo and Mazatlan, all on the Pacific coast of mainland Mexico.
“These cities have been very successful in the leisure market,” explains Eduardo Chaillo, CMP regional director of the Mexico Tourism Board. “They slowed down for meetings in the past, but now there is a rebirth.”
As these primary destinations aggressively go after the U.S. meetings market, building not only high-end resorts but also brand-new convention centers, they are also evolving in terms of service. “There is a lot of improvement in the professionalism,” he says. “We are famous for our welcoming attitude and warmth. But that has to be complemented by a great level of professionalism. They [hotel and convention staff] are now attending events like MPI and PCMA. We are aware of what the industry is looking for.”
Los Cabos
An unknown fact for many, Los Cabos is actually a municipality that includes two large cities just a few miles from each other—San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. The latter is generally what visitors think of—the famous “El Arco” stone arch, perfect sandy beaches, spring break revelry and a buzzing nightlife—while the former is a laid-back, cultural, colonial-style town. In-between the two cities stretches a long resort corridor, filled with world-class golf courses, five-star resorts and exclusive gated communities sprinkled with million-dollar mansions.
The variety that these three distinct zones offer can be a boon to planners. A high-end resort hidden away on a semi-private beach in the resort corridor might be the perfect option for a focused executive retreat, while an incentive getaway for the company’s top producers might call for the festive mood of downtown Cabo San Lucas. And, finally, if some of your attendees are seeking something more than the Cabo lifestyle, San Jose is an easy escape filled with plenty of old-world charm.
“The cleanliness, the beaches, the cultural differences—it’s nice to take the [attendees] out of the states,” says Anabel Fairley, president of Master Events, an Austin, Texas-based event-management company. Fairley recently brought a group of 70 to Cabo San Lucas on a five-day incentive trip for a corporate sales team. She says bringing groups to Los Cabos is easy, because there is so much to do and the facilities and staff are of a higher caliber than in many other Mexico destinations. “It has a little bit more upscale feeling to me, a little cleaner, and not as many young people there; I don’t have to worry about spring breakers,” she says.
While the group assembled in the mornings for morale-boosting speeches, team building and other company-focused activities, the majority of the trip was pure incentive, and in this respect Cabo San Lucas was more than able to deliver. Fairley says her attendees loved the primary options offered—golf, spa, deep-sea fishing (which the area is famous for), whale-watching and ATV tours. They also regrouped at night for themed dinners, which, with countless beachfront venues and excellent dining options, were major hits.
While the Los Cabos area is well-known for its nightlife, there’s even more to do during the day. Crystal-clear blue waters make for excellent swimming, kayaking, sailing, snorkeling and scuba diving, while inland the rugged desert terrain is wide-open, a perfect setting for top-notch hiking, mountain biking and ecotourism. And while Cabo’s reputation for its seemingly endless supply of golf courses is long-standing, it is also gaining a reputation for spas. Because of the abundance of activities, the area is populated with several professional tour operators, the most reputable of which have close partnerships with the resorts as well as the Los Cabos Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Examples of the caliber of resorts found in the area include The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos, which is designed after the famous Cabo stone arch and sits on a cliff right over the Sea of Cortez. The meeting space offers Wi-Fi access, and numerous beach settings are available.
In San Jose del Cabo, the Crowne Plaza Resort Los Cabos-Grand Faro is an example of Mexico’s many all-inclusive resorts—all dining, alcoholic beverages and activities included in the rate—which can make budgeting a cinch and make your attendees feel like they are kids in a candy store. The Crowne Plaza sits right at the beach, providing 20,150 sq. ft. of meeting space, including a 17,000-square-foot ballroom.
Puerto Vallarta
Accessed via abundant direct flights, particularly from the U.S. West Coast, and with a long-standing romanticized reputation, Puerto Vallarta is a favorite of vacationers from all over the world. In addition, its range of hotels, meeting space and plentiful activities give it a flexibility to handle any type of group.
Located halfway down the Pacific coast, Puerto Vallarta can offer all the amenities you would expect from a top-tier Mexico destination—world-class resorts, pristine beaches, limitless outdoor recreation and sizzling nightlife. But where this city really goes above and beyond comparable options is the variety and quality of its dining and its local arts.
Perhaps second only to Mexico City, the culinary scene is one of the most impressive in the country. Enthusiastic diners need not “resort” to hotel-hopping to find the best restaurants, as the city prides itself on food. A 15-minute walk from the Malecon (a beautiful seaside walkway downtown) brings hungry visitors to the quaint, cobblestoned Old Town, where a cornucopia of scents swirl onto the street from upscale Spanish and Italian restaurants, sidewalk taco carts and even healthy all-vegetarian cafes. Old Town is also a great place to shop for local arts and crafts, or simply to take in the romantic ambience of an area that beautifully blends European charm with Mexican friendliness and flavor.
After the sun has set, head back to the Malecon, where a famed street lined with bars and nightclubs draws revelers from all over the world, restaurants and shops stay open late, and a small public theater sunk into the ground provides passersby with free comedy, acrobatics and theatrical performances.
While Puerto Vallarta really started developing its meetings and hotel infrastructure in the ’70s and ’80s, it owes a lot to the year 1963 for its romantic and artsy ambience. It was this year that The Night of the Iguana, a John Huston film starring Richard Burton, was made just south of the city. The racy film, in addition to the media coverage of Burton and Elizabeth Taylor’s time in Puerto Vallarta, created a seductive allure to the town that remains omnipresent even today.
North of Puerto Vallarta, the numerous small towns spread out along the coast are known collectively as Riviera Nayarit, and have lately exploded in growth and popularity. Strong development is expected to continue over the next decade, but the area already offers more than 13,000 hotel rooms, the majority of which are high-end. Despite the growth, the region contains an abundance of quaint towns, such as Sayulita and Bucerias.
Acapulco
Another storied city, Acapulco can brag about being the original Mexico resort town, having drawn visitors from the U.S., interior Mexico and Latin America well before more recent destinations like Los Cabos, Ixtapa and Mazatlan. The ’50s and ’60s was the city’s golden era, when Hollywood stars and other celebrities came here to escape and live life large, but ambitious new development projects and millions of dollars in infrastructure revitalization are breathing new life into this timeless destination.
Only a 35-minute plane ride from nearby Mexico City, Acapulco is readily accessible, and its hilly terrain provides spectacular views from endless vantage points. Much like Puerto Vallarta, there is a romantic and old-world feel to much of the city, although brand-new hotels and resorts are also abundant. Because of its proximity to Mexico City, Acapulco is the weekend getaway for the capital’s well-to-do, and this money fuels a thriving dining, shopping and nightlife scene.
While downtown Acapulco retains a firm commitment to its authenticity, this isn’t stopping the city from aggressively pursuing the meetings industry with new development. The crown jewel of this new side is Mundo Imperial, a new state-of-the-art convention center managed by SMG. Located in the new and exclusive Acapulco Diamante district, less than two miles from the airport, the mega complex will offer 240,000 sq. ft. of column-free exhibit space, 50 divisible breakout rooms, an 800-room attached luxury resort, a 4,000-seat performance venue, a spa and a wellness center. The convention center is slated to open October 31.
Acapulco Diamante plans to be the “new” Acapulco, with modern facilities, easy access from the airport and luxurious hotels, and will most certainly attract the bulk of the city’s meetings. This leaves Acapulco proper to do what it does best, which is party. The nightlife here is notorious, from exclusive private parties at mansions precariously perched on a bluff to all-night marathons at 5,000-strong nightclubs. In fact, Acapulco can boast some of the largest and most impressive nightclubs in all of Latin America, and many serve as excellent venues for partial or full buyouts.
The city is also famous for its death-defying cliff divers, who hurl themselves from seemingly suicidal heights into small pockets of surging ocean water below. While many Mexico coastal cities feature cliff divers, they rarely compare to those here, where they have been a draw since 1934.
Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo
Much like Los Cabos, the Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo duo offers two distinct destinations in the same area. Zihuatanejo, a quaint fishing village for centuries, has retained its relaxed and authentic ambience, thanks primarily to Ixtapa, a government-planned resort area just 10 minutes up the coast. All of the large resorts and meeting space will be found here, as well as convenient shopping, dining and warm, flat beaches. This leaves “Z” to evolve at its own pace (slow), and just a quick cab ride will give you access to its charming streets, excellent seafood restaurants and outdoor markets.
It’s clear that the sea is really the focal point of the entire area, with some of the best deep-sea fishing in Mexico, world-class coral reef and several small islands that make for great day trips.
Another pleasant surprise is taking a group through the Aztlan Ecological Park, a large nature preserve that includes an eight-kilometer paved bike trail, an excellent way to view the indigenous birds, crocodiles and other species.
Mazatlan
Directly across the Sea of Cortez from Los Cabos, Mazatlan is about to make a major play to the meetings market when it opens its new convention center, slated for July of next year. “We mainly attract incentive groups now,” explains Javier Paez, marketing and public relations manager of the Mazatlan Hotel Association. “But with the new convention center, we hope to get much larger groups.
Currently, the massive El Cid resort complex receives a substantial amount of the city’s meetings business, with more than 1,000 guest rooms, 27 holes of golf, a private marina and a plethora of restaurants, bars and on-site recreational options.
Paez says that many hotels have begun construction in anticipation of the new convention center, such as a Wyndham opening next year and the luxurious 716-room Riu Emerald Bay, slated for May of next year.
In addition to its abundant recreation, Mazatlan is also an excellent destination for cultural pursuits, including several tours of adjacent historical mining towns. The city is steeped in European heritage—the Germans started the Pacifico brewery here in the first few years of the 20th century. “From all these Europeans, there is a legacy you can see in the architecture, in the historic districts,” Paez says. Back to Top
Getting There
Back to TopNot To Be Missed
Los CabosWorld-class deep-sea fishing
Snorkeling in Cabo San Lucas
ATV touring through the inland desert
A photo op at Cabo San Lucas’ famous stone arch
Puerto Vallarta
Dinner or a walk in Old Town
Exploring or staying in Riviera Nayarit, to the north
A sunset walk along the waterfront Malecon
The phenomenal local cuisine
Acapulco
A visit to one of the city’s famous mega-clubs
The death-defying cliff-divers
Rubbing shoulders with the Mexico City elite, who fly in for the weekend
Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo
A visit to the lively fish market in Zihuatanejo
A bike ride through the Aztlan Ecological Park
Mazatlan
An architectural tour of the city, showcasing its European influences
A day trip to one of the many adjacent historical mining towns Back to Top
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Tempting Turkeys
Gobble up the iced sugar cookies yourself or bring them to a holiday party, they are the perfect treat to satisfy any sweet tooth.
