Hurricanes and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo???
 

My fiance' and I are trying to plan our honeymoon this coming fall. We will be travelling in the first week of October and would like to go someplace warm with beaches and things to do. Zihuatanejo sounds like a good fit, but we are a bit concerned about the threat of hurricanes. Any input? <BR> <BR>Also, we just came back from St. Thomas and had a great time. We travelled all over the island. Any questions? <BR> <BR>Thanks, Mark and Kait

Mark, I am sorry I can't help you but I am sure there is someone out there who can. Good luck finding your answers. <BR> <BR>Mark

Hurricanes are always a possibility in the North American tropics in the Fall but one should hardly worry about them. The chance of encountering one in any specific location at a specific time is remote. I generally head to the Caribbean in the hurricane season because it's the cheapest time to go. I have never experienced a direct hit even though I also grew up in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Don't worry about hurricanes, very rarely do they hit on the pacific side of Mexico. <BR> <BR>However, I would like to recommend some suggestions about the area. We just returned from Zihua April 5th and had a great time. We have also been to St. Thomas. Thought I would tell you some of the differences about the places. <BR> <BR>First of all, if you like to swim on nice beaches, stay in Zihua on la Ropa beach and also visit las gatas beach. LA Ropa is the main swimming beach and also where you'll find lots of activities from parasailing to banana boat rides, fishing, etc. Although the beaches never really seemed crowded. Ixtapa has very pretty beaches but most the time the surf is too ruff and you end up in the pool. <BR> <BR>Also, Ixtapa is very "Americanized" where as Zihua is more cultural and less resortish. We really enjoyed that and had a lot of time to talk to the very nice locals. Compared to most MEx. resort areas, Zihua had a very safe, relaxed vibe, although I would always be careful... <BR> <BR>Compared to St. Thomas, the beaches are not anything compared to Magens bay, but they are very baeutiful in their own way. Did some snorkeling but, again, not the same as on St. Thomas (although las gatas reminded me of a "caribbean beach). The great thing about zihua, is that it is really cheap! We stayed at Villa MExicana in an ocean view room and were literally two steps from the sand. IT was simple and clean and one of the better "hotels" on La ropa. It only has about 60 rooms, but they were nice, and only $86.00 a night for the oceanview. <BR> <BR>If you want something more luxurious, right next door to Villa Mexicana is the Villa del Sol. This is one of those "luxury hotels of the World" and we went next door many times for good food and drink! Be prepared to spend $200 - $400 a night there. We ran into a few famous folks staying there as well. (Eric Idle from the Monty Python movies). It really is a cool place but we enjoyed the villa mexicana for the big price difference. Especially because we rarely spent time in our room. <BR> <BR>For a good romantic dinner, try Coconuts in downtown zihua. Great Coconut shrimp and a very neat atmosphere in one of the oldest buildings in the area. <BR> <BR> E-mail if you have more questions.