For much of the 20^th century, the beautiful port city of Acapulco has been a prime travel destination for foreigners and Mexicans alike. The city first achieved fame as a favoured holiday spot for such American celebrities as Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra in the 1950s. The decades that followed brought a plethora of hotels and resorts catering to middle class travellers which turned Acapulco into a tourism boomtown.

The city has some of the most stunning scenery in Latin America. Situated around a large sweeping bay with green hills rolling inland, Acapulco can be romantic, lively or relaxing; however you like it. The weather is perfect all year round, with sunshine and warm temperatures almost every day. It’s very popular around Christmas, when most hotels are fully booked, and the winter months in general see flocks of North American snowbirds escaping the cold.

Beside the obvious pleasures of lounging on the many beaches and playing in the warm sea waters, the city has an interesting cultural side to it. The fascinating central plaza, Zocalo, is the perfect place to watch the locals go about their lives and the original fort, used to deter pirates in the 16th century, offers an excellent historical perspective

Acapulco has some of the best dining in the country, with seafood being the star attraction. The shopping isn’t the most interesting in Mexico, but you can be guaranteed that the prices on everything will be surprisingly affordable.

Before the Spanish conquistadors arrived to this area on the west coast of Mexico, the Nahuas people inhabited what would become the city of Acapulco. That all changed in 1521 when the Spaniard Francisco Chico showed up and claimed the bay, naming it Santa Lucia. The newborn port city quickly established itself as a key trading centre between America and Asia.

The importance of Acapulco to the European traders did not go unnoticed by the pirates, who scoured the seas during the years that followed. Sir Francis Drake, Sir Thomas Cavendish and Captain Henry Morgan were just some of the infamous pirates who raided the town at one time or another. The Spanish built the Fuerte de San Diego to defend Acapulco, which successfully repelled the pirates until the fort was destroyed during an earthquake in 1776.

The city itself was destroyed in 1810 during the War of Independence but quickly recovered as a prominent port during the gold rush in Panama in the mid-1800s. Acapulco didn’t transform into its present role as a popular tourist destination until the 1920s, when wealthy Europeans began arriving on holiday. The 1950s brought massive development to the city, creating dozens of luxury hotels and resorts along the coast. The construction of the luxury resorts saw the arrival of many rich American holiday makers. Acapulco was the ‘in’ place among Hollywood movie stars and millionaires during the 1950s.

During the 1960s and 1970s, more hotels were built to accommodate middle class vacationers. This sparked the city’s current boom as a popular tourist destination for just about everyone. Mexicans and foreigners alike flock to Acapulco these days to enjoy the gorgeous landscape and exciting nightlife.

When people think of Acapulco, they think of sun. The weather here is hot and humid, with temperatures hovering around 30°C all year and an average of 360 days of sunshine. The rainy season makes a sporadic appearance from June through October, bringing refreshing showers in the afternoon and evenings.

Acapulco is great place to visit any time of the year, but October and November are the best months to travel. The crowds and prices are lower and the scenery is a vibrant green from the preceding rainy season. People escaping the snow in Canada and America migrate to the city all winter long, meaning that the majority of the good hotels and resorts are always fully booked, especially over Christmas week. July and August are also very busy months because most of the Mexicans are on summer vacation.