Acapulco curves around a deep natural bay on Mexico's Pacific coast, backed by green hills and fronted by some of the warmest swimming water in the country. For two decades in the mid-twentieth century it was the most glamorous resort in the Americas — Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, and a parade of Mexican presidents all came here. The hotels that survive from that era have aged unevenly, but the bay is as beautiful as ever.
The city has had a difficult decade. Security problems pushed international tourism away, and much of the glamour that once defined the place has gone with it. But Acapulco remains a favourite with Mexican visitors, who keep the beach clubs full on weekends and the taco stands busy late into the night. What the city has lost in polish it has recovered in authenticity.
The Zócalo and the old port district are the most characterful parts of the city — gritty, unpretentious, full of life. La Quebrada cliff divers still perform their spectacular dives five times a day, timing their leaps to the incoming Pacific swell. The Fort of San Diego tells the story of the Manila Galleon trade that made the city rich for two centuries. West of town, Coyuca Lagoon and the beaches of Pie de la Cuesta are worth a half-day away from the resort strip.