Sotavento Beach Resort Hotel Ixtapa

Parasailing in paradise

by toontown

This was the first time I had tried parasailing and I was a little nervous since I'm not great with heights. After watching other people do it a few times I thought I would give it a shot... and I'm so glad I did! It was breezy on the coast so I got great altitude. The boat went down the lenghth of the hotel zone and back - only about 15 minutes in all - and back again. I got instructions about how to pull the rope at the sound of the whistle below in order to land at the correct spot in the sand. It was surprisingly easy and right on target. These guys know exactly what they're doing. It was unbelievably relaxing up there - and what a view! After a bit of haggling it cost us $35 US (they asked for $50) for the two of us to get a trip each.

My First Visit to Ixtapa

by SuzienKy

"Ixtapa, A First Experience"

We flew into the airport at Zihatanejo which is about a ten minute ride from Ixtapa. We stayed at Pacifica. This is a timeshare which has belonged to my husband for many years. However, they do have rentals available. You may do all-inclusive. We did not. At the time we were there the NCAA tournament was going on and we enjoyed going into town to one particular bar/restaurant (Onyx) to watch the games and eat with the crowd.

Pacifica is built on a hillside and has a trolley type car which takes you up and down the hill or you may walk the steps to get from the different tiered levels. Some folks would not like this. Many on the staff speak primarily Spanish. This was not a problem for us as my husband speaks Spanish quite well. I can understand, but respond hesitantly. The view from any unit is breathtaking. The accomodations are very clean and well-kept. The staff is very friendly and quite eager to please. Both the housekeeping staff and those at the restaurants.

"Ixtapa, Things To Do"

It is most relaxing just to sit on the beautiful beach and take in the rays. There is a beach side restaurant with great service to bring drinks and lunch. They have palm tree shaded tables near the water's edge. There are comfortable chairs and body contoured lounging mats for the sand. There is also a beachside towel check out for resort guests. The pools are just beyond the restaurant and are also very nice. Pacifica is in a cove type area of the beach which makes it a bit more private--very relaxed.

You may walk thirty feet down the beach and come to an area where you can get a Swedish type massage for $20 per hour. I did this twice during the week. You go in your swim suit. It was great. They have about 8 tables inside a cabanna. Their technique is about as good as most I have had in the States.

There is an easy access by the massage cabanna to the city to walk on over to the town from the beach OR you can take a taxi from your room. A taxi only costs about $4 for two people. Some drivers charge more when they run the air conditioner.

There are some great restaurants in town to try. One or two of the places with Italian food are really good, but of course most folks want Mexican in Mexico. If you have kids with you there is a superb pizza place--in the La Puerta Mall you may eat inside or out. The fresh mushrooms were divine!

Very close to shopping as well. I walked about and felt very comfortable and safe at all times. It was easy to pick up some items to take for breakfast (sweet roll & coffee), as I like to sleep late and then go to the beach and have lunch beachside. The shopping area has everything for souvenirs. Be ready to bargain. It is expected. Vanilla is a good choice for your cooking friends. Nice silver is another good buy. Look around and wait until you go to Zihaut to make your purchases.

"Zihuatanejo"

Taking at least a day to go to Zihuatanejo is a must do. You can take a taxi, but for fun we took the bus I believe it was 12 pesos. You will want to spend some time just strolling along the marina. Take your camera with you. Select a restaurant for lunch. I don't know that you can make much of a bad choice. We shared three entrees and stuffed ourselves. The food was great--all seafood, of course. Then we shopped along the marina. It is a great way just to compare. I got some beautiful pink coral hearts set in silver--pendant and earrings. Remember, they expect to bargain with you and have fun doing so. This was in the shopping area near the marina. We also walked through the downtown market, there you see everything--before you go there make sure your stomach can take it!!! Trust me they have most everything, it is more primitive shall we say.

On another evening, we did a sunset sailboat trip out of Zihuatanejo which was beautiful. It included dinner and beer or margaritas. The trip out and back was great. The food was basic but tasty. The sunset was stellar. The tour bus picked us up at Pacifica and made stops at all the local places for the drive over and back. I don't know the cost as my husband handled it through the manager at the front desk for my birthday. On the way back in we did shots of tequilla. So everyone would give that trip rave reviews!!!

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo

by TRimer

Zihuatanejo is pronounce it "zee-watt-a-NEH-ho" which means "place of woman" in the nahuatl tongue. Ixtapa is pronounce it as "eeks-TAH-pa", which means "the white place" in the same tongue.

Ixtapa is a modern, world-class resort that was created from the ground-up in 1968. Ixtapa has many four and five-star hotels. The hotels strip is about 2 miles long and the Ixtapa beach is called El Palmar. Here, you can partake on all the water sports, including surfing.

Zihuatanejo is a small town with the friendly atmosphere of an old Mexican fishing village. The downtown streets are still cobblestones paved and most of the buildings have that tropical-coastal look.