ARRIVING BY AIR
General Juan N. Álvarez International Airport
Most foreigners visiting Acapulco for more than a day arrive by commercial airline at the city's international airport, which is served by a half-dozen or so carriers. Many travelers during peak tourist season also arrive via chartered flights - as part of a packaged vacation which usually includes air transportation, hotel transfers, and hotel accommodations. Acapulco's Juan Álvarez International is approximately fifteen miles southeast of the city center.
Most arriving passengers choose one of three available transportation options for the ride to their hotel:
- hire a private taxi. If you walk directly to the car at the curb and talk to the driver, they usually negotiate
- share a colectivo taxi van with other travelers. Stops at each appropriate hotel along the way for each passenger. Limited to the main strip hotels. Limited room for luggage in the van, so you may get turned away. If you are single, it is about 1/3 the cost of a private taxi.
- prearrange - prior to your trip - for a private independent driver to meet you in the terminal.
- a fourth option, though not available to the majority, is to have a local friend or family member pick you up.
Be warned that, when arriving at the Acapulco airport, you may be 'buttonholed' by men in an office just outside Customs/Immigration. They pretend to be a sort of information and/or transportation service for arriving visitors -- but in reality they are shilling for the Mayan Hotel, offering 'free' services, tours, etc. At a minimum, they'll waste your time, steering you away from your real transportation and delaying your holiday; don't get taken in.
ARRIVING BY CRUISE SHIP
Port of Acapulco
Mexico has now become the most popular passenger cruise ship destination in the world. Many cruise ships call at the Port of Acapulco, and an increasingly large number of tourists arrive and/or depart in this manner. Most, however, stay for less than a day. The cruise ship terminal is located directly across from the historic Fort San Diego (El Fuerte de San Diego), just a short walk from the city’s central square - Plaza Juan Álvarez, more commonly known as the zócalo.
ARRIVING BY BUS
Estrella de Oro and Estrella Blanca
Other travelers, both national and foreign, arrive on one of the many regularly-scheduled buses connecting Acapulco with Mexico City’s Terminal Sur (adjacent to that city’s Taxqueña metro station). There are three first-class bus terminals in Acapulco, two operated by the Estrella de Oro busline and the other by Estrella Blanca. Two of the stations are centrally located near downtown Acapulco; and it’s very easy to find a taxi (or local bus) for transportation to most hotels. The third station, recently opened by Estrella de Oro, is located along the Boulevard de las Naciones in Zona Diamante - convenient for those travelers staying in a hotel or condo southeast of the city or wanting to arrive in the immediate vicinity of the airport.
ARRIVING BY CAR
Thousands of national tourists arrive each year in their own personal/private vehicles from Mexico City and points elsewhere in the country. The Autopista del Sol superhighway is now a well-traveled toll road which connects Acapulco to Mexico City and the center of the country. It's one of Mexico’s best highways - and also its most expensive (toll-wise). Visitors arriving from towns and cities further north or south typically travel the Pacific Coastal Highway (MX 200) which follows the country's western coastline.
NO PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE
Mexico no longer has regularly-scheduled passenger rail service; and even if it were still available, Acapulco was never served by this form of transportation. There are plans on the drawing board to establish high-speed electric train service connecting Acapulco with Mexico City; but if that ever materializes, it’s at least a decade away from realization.