Acapulco de Juarez

Now a byword for the paradisal dreams of escaped cons Hollywood over, and synonymous with the jet setter lifestyle on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, the town of Acapulco de Juarez (commonly referred to as Acapulco), is everything you’d expect of a self-proclaimed party capital. All the way from the cathedral-dotted reaches of the Zocalo with its concomitant taco bars and Tex-Mex joints, to the bustling seaside promenade of La Costera where fashionistas strut their stuff between the five-star hotels and shimmering sands, energy abounds. Spring Breakers sip rum punch in the ubiquitous clubs at Las Brisa, cliff divers twist and turn in the air at La Quebrada, sunbathers wallow in the heat on Barra Vieja and surfers conquer the swells at Punta Diamante. Elsewhere, more intrepid travellers enlist the help of Acapulco de Juarez tour guides to discover the pretty mining town of Taxco in the hills, or the wealth of hiking trails that wind their way from the Jardin Botanico into the mangrove jungles around town.