Manzanillo is Mexico's largest west-coast port city. A city of about 120,000, Manzanillo has not yet been discovered as a tourist destination to the extent of most other Mexican coastal cities. With beaches unrivaled anywhere on this continent, Manzanillo has been touted as the “sailfish capital of the world”, made famous by the fishing tournaments held annually in November and February.

With exclusive resorts, some featured on the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” you can be assured the services you require are here to be found. With a complete infrastructure, including major shopping centers, public transportation, taxis, golf courses, medical care and facilities, auto dealerships, and hundreds of restaurants, Manzanillo city-center is roughly a 20-minute drive from Condo Carlos.

As part of Mexico's Pacific Riviera, you will find exotic tropical vegetation, plantations of coconuts, bananas, limes, mangos and papayas, and the aforementioned “most beautiful beaches in the world” in Manzanillo. With a year-round average temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit, it is amongst the best climates on the west coast.

Area Activities & Day Trips

WATERFALL ECOTOUR :  Make a B-I-G splash and have a great time! Play in the pool at the base of the 100-foot waterfall, explore the crystal-clear spring-fed creek, swim through the sheer-walled canyon into a serene arroyo with a water-carved grotto, and slide down the 3-story water slide in the new public park. On the drive there you'll enjoy Colima's "Jurassic Park," an ageless tangle of Mexican jungle, highlighted by flowering trees and the songs of colorful birds. Be sure to bring your camera, bathing suit, towel, and shoes you don't mind getting wet!

COLIMA'S ACTIVE VOLCANO : Centuries-old legends say that more than 3,000 years ago the God of Fire looked down from the inactive volcano, to advise and give solace to the inhabitants of the region. His hot-tempered younger brother, who resided in the Volcan de Colima, instilled fear in the hearts of his worshippers. You will always remember the first view of the majestic mountains of Colima. The inactive, snow-capped Nevado de Colima, towering at 14,200 ft. and its erupting partner, Volcan de Colima, at more than 13,000 ft. overlook a lush, forested valley and tranquil lagoon. Awesome!

RUINS AND TOMBS OF TAMPUMACCHAY: One of the most interesting archeological sites in the state, privately owned. The gorgeous, perfectly groomed, tree-shaded grounds are graced with a myriad of walkways lined with large and small rock petroglyphs , hundreds of mortars and pestles , a ceremonial bed or two, and covers from the 200-plus tombs that were excavated at Tampu. There's a display case for more delicate items, such as jewelry, copper money rings, clay idols, incense burners, clay sculptures and mammoth teeth, all found on the property. Overlooking a deep gorge , Tampu is a perfect place for photos. Most of the stone carvings you see on the premises are between 1,500 and 2,000 years old. A great way to spend a half day and have a Mexican-style lunch.

SNORKEL A CORAL REEF! Manzanillo's best features are its beautiful bays and coves, teeming with colorful fish and corals. On this eco-adventure, you get a chance to stay cool, and view the Pacific Ocean's abundant sea life, such as the gulf turtle the snorkeler is holding at left. The tour visits 3 spots: a 10,000-year-old coral reef, Elephant Rock, and our 82-year-old shipwreck, sitting in only 25 ft. of water. Fun for the whole family, including all equipment, a cooler of beer and sodas, modern snorkeling equipment, and a trained  English-speaking guide.

DISCOVER SCUBA : Wonder what's really down there? Want to go down and find out with a qualified PADI instructor? We guarantee there's no sharks, but there's coral of all colors and lots of fish! Learn to dive in the safety of a pool (all classes are private with as much time as you need), and then go out with a trained and certified dive professional and explore a quiet cove underwater for about an hour. It's easy and you'll be hooked! Ages 8-80 can participate! Classes are conducted by Underworld Scuba , with a 100% safety record and a solid, 12-year reputation in Manzanillo. This class and dive can also be applied to the cost of a full open water certification with PADI, the world's largest and best diving organization.

ONE-TANK BOAT DIVE FOR CERTIFIED DIVERS: Although Manzanillo is not officially known as a dive destination, hundreds of scuba divers every year enjoy the blue depths of our quiet bays. Anywhere you drop an anchor is a new dive with different underwater landscaping and many unusual fish, not seen anywhere else. From novice to advanced diver, there's a great dive spot for you, offered by the professionals at Underworld Scuba . Don't worry about bringing your dive gear; we have plenty! Let's go down! Upgrades available for 2-tank boat dive.

TURTLE SANCTUARY IN CUYUTLAN: The day starts off with an amazing drive through miles of coconut palms, and the 31-mile-long Cuyutlan lagoon. You'll see water birds, banana plantations, salt mining, brick making, and finally arrive at the sanctuary. Turtles of all sizes are being raised and studied in pools, then finally released into the sea. There's even an alligator in captivity who poses for photos. You'll also have a chance to see the Salt Museum , and have refreshments or lunch on a beach made entirely of black sand.

MEXICAN NIGHT: Enjoy authentic Mexican Mariachi music from a variety of male and female artists.  A 2-hour variety show at a local establishment, complete with 2 drinks each. If you want to go where all the locals go for family fun and entertainment, make sure you visit a " botanero ," unique to the state of Colima. In addition to the entertainment, you may hire a Mariachi band to play at your table, or play the "rifas," or raffle, where you have a 1-in-18 chance to win pesos! Many of the entertainers sell CDs and cassettes, so you can take home a memory of Mexican favorites.

COMALA AND THE NOGUERAS MUSEUM: Comala is a delightful Mexican town at the base of the volcano, with a typical town square, restaurants around the square, a market, an old Catholic church and strolling Mariachi bands. Comala is famous for home-brewed coffee, pomegranate, peanut, and coconut punches, and a special bread. The neighboring Indian village of Suchitlan has a charming restaurant built in a coffee plantation, and is famous for handmade masks. The Hacienda de Nogueras has been made into a historical museum. You'll visit all three.

MANZANILLO CITY TOUR: Downtown Manzanillo is getting a new look, with a boardwalk along the harbor , a remodeled downtown area, more shopping, and more atmosphere. In this tour you'll see it all, including the red light district, the lagoon , the waterfront, the market, and we'll give you plenty of time to shop. Included is a stop at the oldest beach in Manzanillo, San Pedrito (the shark fisherman's camp), snacks and drinks at Manzanillo's oldest social club from the 1940s, "Bar Social" (it hasn't changed a bit),  and a tour of our new museum of antiquities.

PLANTATION TOUR AND BARRA DE NAVIDAD: When driving north of Manzanillo, you will see some of the prettiest country in the world! Acres of coconut and banana plantations, the Marabasco River, orchards of mango and lime trees, and fields of chili peppers. Upon arriving in Barra de Navidad , you'll get a tour of the ocean and lagoon, sip a "coco loco," (one of Jimmy Buffet's favorite concoctions), and maybe have a siesta in one of the hammocks provided at a laid-back thatched-roof restaurant.

Diving

Manzanillo, Mexico offers many attractions, but none as breathtaking as its warm, tranquil underwater world. A secret, mysterious realm awaits the snorkeler or scuba diver, no matter what your level of experience. As long as you're visiting the Pacific Ocean, why not see it from a different viewpoint--underwater? 

Several exciting things about scuba diving and snorkeling in Manzanillo's Pacific Ocean are its incredible reefs, and its rocky, coral-encrusted coastline. The area is volcanic in origin, and divers are treated to underwater fissures, cracks and crevices, archways that you can swim through, tunnels, and sea mounds with visible lava flows. Every place a boat can drop an anchor is a different dive, and all just a few minutes away by boat.

The unexplored Pacific is known for the unknown. Because Manzanillo is not a well known scuba diving destination, everything in our sea is still natural, alive and growing. There are many different varieties of fish, and several species of moray eels are plentiful. Octopus like our warm water, as do numerous crustaceans and soft and hard corals. On night dives, we see lobster and giant sleeping parrotfish.

The visibility ranges from 25-100 ft. with water temperatures averaging between 78 to 86 degrees F, depending on the location and time of year. There are rarely strong currents in the many dive locations along Manzanillo's rocky coastline.

Golf

There are 4 courses to choose from in the immediate Manzanillo area. Two of them are world-class, one is slightly past it's prime (at least relative to the first 2), and the fourth is the local 9-hole course.

Isla Navidad Golf Course - Designed by Robert Van Hagge: Isla Navidad is one the most lush golf resorts in the world, with 27 holes offering spectacular ocean, lagoon and mountain views. The tee boxes are better than 90% of the greens in the U.S. and Canada, and the fairways are like an emerald carpet. They spared not a peso in building this beautiful resort. This course is one of the top courses in the world, with beauty that is indescribable. Holes 1 through 18, with a par of 72, rate as follows:

Located near Barra de Navidad, this spectacular golf course is about 50 minutes away from Condo Carlos. Designed by Robert Von Hagge, the attractive 27 holes are strung along beachfront dunes, reminiscent of Scottish links. We have to see it to believe it.

El Tamarindo Golf Course - Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. & David Fleming: It is seldom an architect has the opportunity to design a golf course on land that has such an abundance of natural features. El Tamarindo Golf Course is one of the most special sites in the world. The greatest challenge of the design was not to overwork the property, but to assist mother nature with what was given. The site contains a tremendous nature preserve, with spectacular plant diversity and exciting view corridors rivaling the greatest golf courses of the world. The jungle holes wander through valleys of giant native trees. According to nature's calendar, they explode into an incredible color display of tropical blooms. Where the course exits the jungle onto 3 breathtaking ocean front holes, more shots are taken with cameras than golf clubs. The ocean is seen from nine holes with spectacular beaches and crashing surf. This course plays to a par of 72.

La Mantarraya Golf Course (formerly Las Hadas Golf Course) - Designed by Roy and Pete Dye: This course has a great layout and a world of potential. It was considered by many as one the best golf resorts in Latin America, including the book "The 100 Greatest Golf Courses in the World ". La Mantarraya features wide fairways, light shallow rough and 11 water holes including #18, an island green built on the ocean. However, Mother Nature threw a curve ball at the course's superintendent in the form of fungus on the greens in late 1995. The greens keepers have redone many of greens and the course is steadily getting back to its top form, and reports suggest it's back. With a par of 71, the course is rated as follows:

Designed by Pete and Roy Day, it is considered one of the most scenic and challenging in the world by Golf Digest magazine. Twelve of the eighteen holes are next to or over water, with the dramatic 18th hole on an island in the bay.

Club Santiago Golf Course - Designed by Larry Hughes: Club Santiago is the local 9-hole, par-36 course, playing at 3284 yards from the back tees. While Club Santiago Golf Course pales in comparison to the 3 courses above, it is nevertheless a popular course for those wanting to play a quick round.

Club Santiago Golf Course leads you through a valley behind the foothills of Manzanillo and around a large salt water lagoon.

Location and Getting There

By airplane, getting to Manzanillo ranges from "extremely" easy to "relatively" easy, depending, of course, on where you are coming from.

There are many airlines flying into Manzanillo International Airport (ZLO).  Relatively speaking, it's one of the most beautiful airports in the world, located directly on the sands of Playa de Oro, a beautiful Pacific Ocean beach.  As you descend you can see the waves breaking on the white sandy beach out one window, and tropical groves of bananas and coconut palms out the other window. There is a restaurant, snack bar and gift shops at the small, unhurried, air-conditioned terminal.  There are also plenty of taxi's and car rentals available.