Pie de la Cuesta is an 8-kilometre strip of sand where the Pacific Ocean crashes directly onto the beach with powerful surf — not safe for swimming, but magnificent to watch. The beach sits between the ocean and Coyuca Lagoon, and it's this combination — the roaring sea on one side, the glassy lagoon on the other — that makes it special.
The village is low-key and cheap compared to the hotel zone. A string of simple restaurants and small guesthouses lines the beach road, most with hammocks slung between palm trees. Pie de la Cuesta is famous for sunsets, which on a clear evening turn the sky orange and red behind the silhouettes of fishing boats. It's about 20 minutes by taxi from central Acapulco.