DISCOVER ACAPULCO
Acapulco (Officially: Acapulco de Juarez) is a city and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, 300 km southwest of Mexico City.
Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay. It is a port of call for shipping and cruising lines running between Panama and San Francisco, California, USA.
The municipality, which has an area of 1,882.6 kmē (726.88 sq mi), includes numerous small localities outside of the city. The tourist resort city of Acapulco is the largest city in the state, by far larger than the state capital of Chilpancingo, in second place.
 GEOGRAPHY
The town was built on a narrow strip of low ground, scarcely half a mile wide, between the shoreline and the lofty mountains that encircle the bay to the north and east. Access to the town from inland is through the mountains via a 2-km tunnel that was constructed in the 1990s. A passage through the mountains, called Abra de San Nicolas, has been constructed and it allows cooling sea breezes to reach the city.
The climate is tropical, with warm to hot temperatures year-round. Precipitation is heavily concentrated in the high-sun period (northern hemisphere summer), while the low-sun period (northern hemisphere winter) is mostly dry and sunny.
ACAPULCO AS A HOLIDAY RESORT
For most of a century, exotic and historic Acapulco has been a popular resort for tourists taking long holiday weekends and cruises from the United States, the Mexican interior and countries in South America. Eventually, it began competing directly with the east-coast (Cancun) as a super-tourist destination. In the past three decades, air fares have become increasingly affordable as international airlines added flights and infrastructure to support the increasing air travel. The two beach resorts are essentially located on opposite coasts oriented due East and West from the other at essentially the same latitude.
The city has had its star-spangled times, prompting none other than Frank Sinatra to give the place a mention in his all time classic "Come Fly With Me". Modern Acapulco has a great appeal and is a featured destination for many Pacific cruise ship packages and international air carriers. The vast majority of the tourists are Mexicans, but its balmy subtropical climate and pleasant year round temperatures draws in many other foreign nationals year round providing the volume to support the numerous bars and clubs dotted around the bay.
Whether seeking a break from northern climes, winters or heat, or the southern hemisphere's seasonal analogs, the resorts proximity to the equator on the narrows of the North America continental isthmus gives it an economically important geographic centrality rivaled by only a few resorts in the world.
In recent years, within the younger crowd, Acapulco has made up some ground on Cancun as a popular spring break destination. This growing popularity may be because Acapulco offers a different unknown experience and a larger, international student crowd than Cancun due to its prominence as an international tourist mecca with many available international transatlantic and transpacific flights.
Apart from just the beach, Acapulco's best known island Roqueta, is a great attraction which is typically reached by transparent-bottom motor boats (enabling clear view of the bottom sea). As in Cancun, water sports such as water skiing, para-sailing, scuba diving, deep sea fishing, sailing and snorkeling excursions are available in many price ranges amongst the picturesque coastal waters.
Several real estate, hotels and timeshares had been developed in the Acapulco Diamante (Diamond Acapulco) zone. A very important development has been built by Mayan Resorts the largest vacation club and golf operator in Mexico.
ATTRACTIONS OF ACAPULCO
Since 1934 the La Quebrada Cliff Divers have performed their impressive jumps into the shallow stream of water of dangerous tides that forms in the bottom part of La Quebrada. The Acupulco cliff divers were seen regularly on weekend sports programming in North America during the 1970s.
There is a very vibrant night life in Acapulco which caters to all comers.
TRANSPORTATION
From the U.S. many airlines now fly to Acapulco year-round. While in the city there are many buses and taxi services one can take to get from place to place but most of the locals choose to walk to their destinations. However, an important mode of transportation is the government subsidized 'Colectivo' cab system. These cabs cost 10 pesos per person to ride, but they are not private. The driver will pick up more passengers as long as there is space, and will transport them to their destination based on first come first serve rules.
These cabs each have a designated areas of the city to which the travel, the three main ones being Costera, Colosio, Coloso, or a mixture of the three. Coloso cabs mainly travel to old Acapulco. Colosio cabs travel through the majority of the tourist area of Acapulco. Costera cabs drive up and down the coast of Acapulco, which is where the majority of the hotels for visitors are, but also includes some of old Acapulco.
The bus system is highly complex, and can be rather confusing to an outsider. As far as transportation goes, it is the cheapest form other than walking in Acapulco. The majority of the buses cost under 5 pesos, and generally speaking the less you pay the less you will get. The most expensive buses have air conditioning, while the cheaper buses do not.
For tourists, the Acapulco city government has established a system of yellow buses with Acapulco! painted on the side of them. These buses are not just for tourists, but are certainly the nicest and most uniform of the bus systems. These buses, travel the tourist section of Acapulco, driving up and down the coast basically. There are buses with specific route and destinations (generally written on their windshields or being shouted out by a barker riding in the fron seat). Perhaps the most unusual thing about the privately operated buses is the fact that they are all highly decorated and personalized, with decaling and home made interior designs.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encycopedia
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