2023 has been a good year for Zihuatanejo. More flights than ever arrive in Zihua each week. Tourism has increased every year since the 2020 pandemic. Zihuatanejo has 5 blue flag beaches, second in the country behind only Los Cabos. And México’s Secretary of Tourism chose Zihuatanejo as one of 45 newly designated magical towns of México.

There are now 177 pueblo magicos in México. These towns are chosen based on several criteria, including: cultural traditions, historical significance, natural beauty, festivals, the people, good food, arts and crafts, and opportunities for tourism. Pueblo magicos are smaller towns with populations between 5,000 and 100,000 people. All pueblo magicos are located within 300km of a major city or airport. The goal of the pueblo magico program is to promote new cities for tourism, preserve local traditions, and to create jobs.

Why is Zihuatanejo a pueblo magico? The people are as friendly as anywhere in the world. The food is good and cheap. There are excellent biking and hiking trails, great beaches with calm water, sunny weather year-round, beautiful sunrises and sunsets every day, combined with a safe city that is easily walkable.

Here are some of the things we like about living here: stable government, safe town, good and cheap food, lots of beaches, very walkable, the local friends that we have and how helpful they are, the airport is close to town and it is simple to navigate and fly into and out of, the awesome views, the wide variety of ways to exercise and be outdoors (lots of 5k events, surfing, swimming, pickleball, biking, hiking…), and we are constantly discovering new places to visit, trails to hike, places to eat, and events we must attend.

And the best of Zihua is still yet to come!

Ali and I attended the celebration of Zihuatanejo becoming a Pueblo Magico this Summer in Centro. Here are some photos from that evening.