Re: Driving down the coast from La Manz?

Posted by jon on January 21, 2012, 12:06 pm, in reply to "Driving down the coast from La Manz?"
187.146.111.41

We did the trip from La Manz down 200 to Chiapas and many spectacular ruins, eg, Palenque,then to Cancun for a wedding then through Oaxaca and home. The first night we stayed in Playa Azul, since we didn't get a very early start and since the going is often quite slow with many sharp turns and narrow roads. There had been alot of narco activity in Michoacan around that time, so we felt a bit of extra anxiety. We were fine. Playa Azul struck as a cherry soda without fizz. Drab dull blah...with topemania. If you left early you could make it to Zihuatenejo that first day. We haven't stayed in Z but we would drive to the Centro, find the main Plaza and ask about a good hotel on or near. Heading south, we went to Puero Angel which is a well-kept fishing village on a beautiful small bay. There are plenty of places to stay if you were to choose to stay over, but at least take a short side trip to see the place and maybe have a meal. Then we continued a little further south to the huge eco-resort complex funded about 20 years ago by Fonatur (the people who brought us Cancun and Zihuatenejo). They built a modern highway from Oaxaca City and presupposed the people would come to Huatulco (accent on the u). But they didn't. So it isn't crowded at all. Plus, it is built as a series of enclaves on a dedicated highway about 30 km long. Instead of a single beach of high rise resorts, as in Cancun and Zihuat, it is exclusively low rise constuction on small pristine bay after small pristine inlet. There are a number of reasonable places to stay, many of which are quite modern with pools and WiFi. If you wish to, you can spend a lot of money there, but it isn't necessary. If you stay in the first main twon (Huatulco), ask the swarm of chamacos where the new hotel is up on the hill with jungle and bay views. Tell them you expect to receive a discount. They will take you to the place we stayed. I think we paid $600 MN for a night (off season). Then there is always Chiapas. If you go that far southeast, Tuxtla, the capital, has an excellent price and quality indigenous arts store, run by the state. There are many other sights to see, including a boat tour of the huge Sumidero Canyon just outside of town. And San Cristobal de las Casas is beautiful mountain city with a curiou and charming mix of the cosmopolitan and the Mayan. There are a number of nice hotels near the central plaza. Don't even start looking until you get all the way down to the plaza, even if that means doubling back somewhat. Temperatures can go down to 0C. this time of year on occasion, however. Hope this helps. Have a great trip.

214

Be sure to visit www.lamanzanilla.info