It’s been great to see Zihuatanejo grow over the last three years. Bicycling is a popular hobby in Zihua and the government has done a terrific job creating space to bike. In the past several years more and more shops that sell bikes, repair bikes and rent bikes are opening. In the last couple months Ali and I have gone on several bike rides. In November our friends visited and we took a bike ride from Ixtapa to Playa Linda.
In Zihua renting bikes 
Near Parque El Limon 
In between Zihua and Ixtapa 
Riding through Parque Aztlan 
The ciclovia that connects Zihua and Ixtapa totals 23km of paved bike paths. The path starts in downtown Zihuatanejo at Playa Principal, past by Plaza Kioto, over a bridge and around the Zihua sports fields, through a lovely shaded Mexican neighborhood, beside Parque El Limon under and along Highway 200 until you are looking over Ixtapa and the Pacific Ocean. You then circle behind Palma Real Golf Course before dropping in between the Ixtapa Hotels and the shopping zone. From Ixtapa you can bike to the Ixtapa Marina or around the Ixtapa Marina Golf Course. You can continue along Boulevard Playa Linda, or take the scenic route through Parque Aztlan. The Parque has many kilometers of dirt trails as well, with one ending up at an awesome scenic mirador. The ciclovia ends at Playa Linda, with lots of small shops, a reserve with crocodiles, turtles, iguanas, and birds, and the popular Ixtapa Island is located.
It’s much easier to find a bike rental in Ixtapa. Everything is right there in the central shopping zone. You can get a great bike for 120MXN to 200MXN for three hours of rental time. It is a 45 minute leisurely bike ride to Playa Linda from Ixtapa. Or you can bike through Parque Aztlan to the mirador overlooking Ixtapa and the Pacific Ocean. In Ixtapa and Playa Linda there are lots of places to eat or drink, and in between there are plenty of spots for taking photos.
In Zihuatanejo there are a few places to rent but it’s harder to find as the city is more spread out. We paid 100MXN each to rent two not-so-great bikes for three hours. From Zihua it’s about 45 minutes as well to get to Ixtapa. The bike path through Zihua has places every hundred yards where you can stop and get a drink. On Highway 200 you have about ten or fifteen minutes of uphill biking in the sun. After that it’s easy biking for fifteen minutes, but there are no places to grab a snack or a drink until you land in the shopping zone of Ixtapa.
Both are great exercise, have some awesome sights, and are lots of fun. They are terrific additions to our city, and it’s really nice to see the government improving the area for residents and tourists. Especially if you like bicycling, you will love the new ciclovia.
Amy Sitze
on said
This looks amazing! Thanks for the video and explanation. Is it 23 km one way from Zihua to Ixtapa, or is that round trip? Does the rental place in Zihua have helmets and locks, or just bikes? Also, is the trail pretty easy to follow and well signed? It looks like it, from your video. Thanks again! (We will be in Zihua this winter for a week… our third visit.)
zihuatravels
on said
Total bike paths are about 23km – it may be 9km or so to Ixtapa. The bike path is very easy to find. On bike rental places, it’s kinda hit or miss what they offer, and places open and close all the time. We haven’t had much luck recently, so ended up purchasing our own bikes.
McKenna
on said
Where did you purchase bikes? We’ll be in Ixtapa for six weeks and want to buy bikes. We will leave them with our local amigos when we leave. I’ve been looking online to buy and ship. Really I’d prefer a used inexpensive bike. We do the bike trail from Ixtapa to Playa Linda almost daily.
zihuatravels
on said
Cheapest will be Sam’s Club or Soriana most likely. Maybe Bodega, and Bajaj sells bikes, too I believe. But try a rental place. They may have old rentals for sale. And Facebook marketplace is a possibility. Good luck!