Practical Information for visiting Pacific Coast

Coverage for mobile networks is good in the resort towns and along the main coast road from Telcel, which has the best rural reach, with AT&T and Movistar usable in the larger places.

It thins considerably on the emptier stretches of the Michoacan and Oaxaca coast, in the sierra, and in the lagoons.

Local SIMs and eSIMs are cheap and easy; Telcel is the sensible choice.

Wi-Fi is standard in hotels and hostels and generally adequate; beach cabanas may have none, sometimes deliberately.

Power outages follow storms in the wet season, and some of the smaller beach places run on solar with limited hours.

Download offline maps before the coast road south of Zihuatanejo.

Security varies enormously along this coast and is worth taking seriously, because the differences are real.

• Guerrero state, which includes Acapulco, Zihuatanejo and the Costa Chica, is subject to advisories against travel from several governments because of organised crime. Conditions differ by area and change; check current guidance before planning anything there.
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• Michoacan has similar advisories for much of the state, though the coast road and Morelia are treated differently from the interior. Again, check.
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• Jalisco, Nayarit and coastal Oaxaca are generally much safer, and Puerto Vallarta and the Oaxaca beach towns see few problems.
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• Rip currents are the most likely physical danger — this is a steep, powerful coast with few lifeguards, and drownings are common at Zicatela and Zipolite.
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• Hurricanes, and earthquakes, which are frequent.
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• Do not drive at night, and do not buy drugs.

Private hospitals in Puerto Vallarta, Huatulco and the larger towns are adequate and used to foreign patients; the smaller beach towns have clinics only, and serious cases go to Guadalajara or Mexico City. Insurance covering evacuation is worth having.

Vaccinations: routine cover plus hepatitis A and typhoid; rabies for longer rural stays.

Mosquito-borne illness: dengue is endemic along this coast with regular outbreaks, and chikungunya and Zika circulate. The mosquito bites by day; use repellent. There is a small malaria risk in parts of rural Guerrero, Michoacan and Oaxaca.

Scorpions are present in the drier coastal areas and stings are painful and occasionally serious; shake out shoes.

Sun and heat: the UV index is extreme year round at this latitude.

Water: drink purified water only, which is what everyone does.

Surf injuries at Zicatela are common enough that the local clinic is practised at them.

Turtle beaches: no flash photography, no white torches, no touching. At Zipolite, Mexico’s only legally nude beach, the nudity is confined to the beach itself and photographing people there is taken very badly.

Indigenous communities: several in Michoacan and Oaxaca operate under usos y costumbres, their own governance, and some restrict entry or photography. Ask.

Huichol art: buy from the makers or from cooperatives rather than resort shops, and understand that some imagery is religious.

Greetings matter — buenos dias before any request, and a degree of courtesy that visitors sometimes skip.

Checkpoints: military and National Guard stops on the coast road are routine. Stop, be polite, comply.

Tipping: ten to fifteen per cent, and something for beach servers and boat crews.

Drugs connect directly to the violence in Guerrero and Michoacan.

Emergency number: 911 nationwide, with English-speaking operators generally available in the resort areas. Angeles Verdes assist motorists free on 078.

Medical. Puerto Vallarta has the best private hospitals on the coast; from the Oaxaca beach towns the nearest full hospital may be an hour or more, and from the Michoacan coast considerably further.

In the water: lifeguard cover is limited and rip currents are the leading cause of visitor deaths. If caught, swim parallel to the shore rather than against it.

Hurricanes: warnings can be short given how fast Pacific storms intensify. Follow civil protection instructions and evacuate when told.

Earthquakes: alerts sound in some cities; know where the safe spots in your building are.

Consulates for several countries operate in Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco.