Where locals go

Where locals actually go

Here is the thing: almost nobody lives in Ixtapa. It is a resort strip, not a town, so the people who work its hotels and restaurants live in Zihuatanejo and come over for the shift. On a day off, they go home. So “where locals go” mostly means where Zihua residents go — and that is the short drive back into town.

In Ixtapa itself

If you want the un-touristy corner of the strip, aim for the ends rather than the hotel wall:

• Playa Linda, just north past the hotels, is where local families actually spend a Sunday — cheaper seafood palapas, horses on the sand, and the pier for the Isla Ixtapa boats. Much more relaxed than El Palmar.
• Marina Ixtapa’s casual taco and mariscos spots, away from the hotel restaurants, draw a mix of residents and off-duty staff.

The real move

A friend who works here would tell you to stop looking for local life on Paseo Ixtapa and just go to Zihuatanejo — the market, the fish stalls on the pier, the taquerias on the back streets. That is where the people behind Ixtapa eat, drink and spend their actual free time. Ixtapa is the office; Zihua is home.