What do Fodor's Travel Guides Online have to say about Zihua's magical beaches:
Let´s start with Playa Las Gatas.
This is what Fodor´s has to say about this beach: "Legend has it that a Tarascan king (from an indigenous, pre-Hispanic community) built the breakwater on Playa las Gatas to create a sheltered area for his daughter's exclusive use. This beach is bordered by a long row of hewn rocks that create a breakwater. Snorkelers scope out the rocky coves, and surfers spring to life with the arrival of small but fun summer swells. The beach is lined with simple seafood eateries that provide lounge chairs for sunning, as well as kayak and snorkeling- gear rentals, and guiding services... Overlooking the beach is El Faro (the lighthouse); the view from the top is marvelous."
TripAdvisor adds in reference to the scuba diving , "King's Reef is a coral formation just offshore now being granted national protection as a natural reserve."
Secondly, Playa La Ropa.
This beach is "touristy", with several hotels and restaurants. Fodor´s describes it as "One of the most beautiful bays in Mexico.... small in scale and giving good, protected swimming. ... there's parasailing, water skiing, snorkeling, banana boats, catamarans, kayaks... and a whole kilometer of wide sandy beach lined with palm trees to just hang out on...up and down the beach are open-air restaurants—some with hammocks for post-meal siestas—and a handful of hotels
And the word about Playa Madera is:
"This is a small, flat, dark-sand beach with a sprinkling of restaurants on the sand (which
provide just about the only shade, and facilities) and a few more hotels on or just above it. Bobbing boats and the green headlands make for stunning vistas. Waves are small or nonexistent, and as there's no drop-off it's a great place for the kiddies", reads Fodor´s
Continuing with Playa Larga:
"This actually is only a small part of a 9 1/2 mile beach that charges to Playa Blanca & finally Barra de Potosi a small native fishing village that also has a large Lagoon filled with wildlife & Kayaks for rent. The beach its self has the occasional restaurants & small Inns scattered about but mostly it's wide open spaces. I often see Dolphins playing a short distance off the shore", explains Fodor´s
And finally, Playa Blanca
"Playa Blanca is actually a stretch of contiguous beach that is about 14 miles long. It is a great beach that has no people on it is still a virgin beach. it is clean and has a lot of hidden beauty.... you will love it and the sun set that is always breath taking".
Yes, there are other beaches in Zihua, but the ones above are what makes this place the paradise of the Mexican Riviera.
