11 Best Places to Shop in Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo, Mexico

Shop for wonderful silver and gold jewelry at Alberto's, which has a couple of branches. It's generally open Monday through Saturday.

Arte Mexicano Nopal sells Mexican handicrafts, reproductions of ancient art, candles, incense, and small gifts. It's generally open daily from 10:30 am but closed on Sunday during the low season.

Casa Marina houses excellent small shops selling Yucatecan hammocks, Oaxacan rugs, and a smattering of folk art. It's generally closed Sunday during low season.

Fruity Keiko has a colorful yet tasteful selection of crafts from local artists, including jewelry and great handbags and beach bags. It's usually open daily from 10 am (noon on Sunday).

One of the few stores that stands out from the rest is La Fuente, with its huge assortment of women's resort wear as well as housewares and gifts.

Lupita's has been selling colorful women's apparel—including handmade pieces from Oaxaca, Yucatán, Chiapas, and Guatemala—for nearly 30 years. It's usually open Monday through Saturday (with a break for siesta from 2 to 5:30).

Shopping in Ixtapa lacks traditional Mexican energy. Most stores are relegated to strip malls across from the hotels on Paseo del Palmar. There are boutiques, restaurants, pharmacies, self-service laundries, and grocery stores, but everything seems to blend together. A ban on street and beach vendors restricts small merchants to a large handicrafts zone, Mercado de Artesanía Turístico, on the right side of Boulevard Ixtapa across from the Hotel Barceló. It's open from 10 to 10 and has some 150 stands, selling handicrafts, T-shirts, and souvenirs.

The Mercado de Artesanía Turístico has some 250 stands selling jewelry of shell, beads, and quality silver, as well as hand-painted bowls and plates, hammocks, gauzy blouses, T-shirts, and souvenirs. It's open daily.

Downtown Zihuatanejo has a compact but fascinating Mercado Municipal with a labyrinth of small stands on the east side of the town center, on Avenida Benito Juárez between Avenidas Nava and González.

For silver jewelry, check out Santa Prisca.

Take home bags of roasted coffee beans from a collective of small regional producers. It's open daily from 10 to 10.