La Audiencia, a 400-metre crescent of fine sand on the Santiago Peninsula, is the most photographed beach in Manzanillo. The bay is sheltered, the water is calm, and the snorkelling along the rocky points at either end is the best in the area for casual swimmers.
It is named, the local story says, for a 1531 audience that Spanish conquistadors held here with the local Nahua chiefs. There is no entry fee; a small road descends from the main coastal highway, and the resorts on the hill above use the same beach as everyone else.