Shopping

Both Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa offer irresistible shopping opportunities with a wide pricerange of "musts".

There is a traditional handicraft market Mercado de Artesanías located in Ixtapa (at the east end of the Hotel Zone) and another in Zihuatanejo (by the church, on Calle Cinco de Mayo). Each market has hundreds of stalls with an array of hand-painted Guerrero ceramics-watch artisans, young and old, painting intricate, symbolic naïf designs flowing right out of their imaginations onto bowls, figurines, and plates from saucer-size to enormous. They also sell other regional handicrafts, hammocks, rugs, huaraches, embroidered and woven goods, and souvenirs galore.

At Zihuatanejo's vast Mercado Central, you will find craftwork among the utensils, fruit, vegetables, fresh seafood, natural sea salt, spices and every other kind of food imaginable.

In the town center of Zihuatanejo and in Ixtapa's village-like shopping "plazas" (located across the avenue from the Hotel Zone), upscale boutiques carry tropical fashions, beachwear, fine folk art including Guerrero carved-wood ceremonial masks, and exquisite home furnishings. Remember, the silver mining and artisan town of Taxco is also in the State of Guerrero, so shops in both Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa specialize in exquisite Taxco .925 jewelry and tableware.

Boutiques and shops in many hotels in both Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa also carry excellent merchandise.

And for anything whatsoever, there are two immense, modern supermarket-department stores in Zihuatanejo: Comercial Mexicana and Aurrera

Do not forget to visit the art galleries in Zihuatanejo's downtown. Many of them display and sell art work created by local and foreign artists.