Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo is located in the northwest part of the State of Guerrero, 250 km to the north of the coast of Acapulco, by the coastal highway 200. Ixtapa, in the Nahual language, means 'place of white sands', and it has turned into a carefully planned tourist center, born in 1972. It has a hotel stripe stretching along three kilometers of a wide sandy beach called 'del palmar', over the open waters of the Pacific. It has commercial centers, golf courts and a modern marina with 600 moorings.

Zihuatanejo is an old town of fishermen located in a picturesque protected bay, which is only 2,6 kilometers wide. Before the arrival of the Spanish, a Tarascan king lived in the beach 'Las Gatas', who ordered to build a breakwater, so his maidens could swim at will. Centuries later, it turned into a refuge for pirates. Its original name Cihuatlán', means 'Place of Women', in the Nahualtl language. When the Spaniards colonized the place, they reported that it was not a great place, renaming Cihuatlán with the scornful suffix '-nejo', becoming then 'Zihuatanejo'.

The average temperature in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo is 26ºC, with the highest number during the summer, with about 32ºC, being the highest in winter of about 30ºC. Its rainy season is from June up to September; they are usually brief and generally during all night long, so the sun shines almost every day.

One of its most beautiful beaches is 'El Palmar', which identifies Ixtapa as a tropical paradise. It is open sea, with moderate breaking waves and golden sands, stretching along 2 kilometers in front of a fertile flatland comprising the tourist development of Ixtapa, which is the most important of Mexico due to its modernity and sophistication.