Current Time in Acapulco de Juárez, Mexico

Acapulco de Juárez — commonly known simply as Acapulco — is a city and port on the Pacific coast of Mexico, located in the state of Guerrero. With a population of approximately 680,000, Acapulco was for decades Mexico's most famous and glamorous beach resort, an international playground that attracted Hollywood celebrities, heads of state, and tourists from around the world from the 1950s through the 1980s. The city occupies a beautiful horseshoe-shaped bay surrounded by forested hills that drop steeply to the sea, creating one of the most dramatically scenic natural harbors on the Pacific coast of the Americas.

Acapulco has a long history as a port city dating to the 16th century, when Spanish colonizers recognized its natural harbor as an ideal Pacific port. From 1565 until 1815, Acapulco was the eastern terminus of the Manila Galleon trade route — one of the most important and lucrative commercial routes of the colonial era — through which silks, spices, porcelain, and other Asian goods flowed from the Philippines to New Spain and on to Spain. This trade made Acapulco one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Americas and introduced significant Asian and Pacific influences into the culture of southern Mexico.

The Quebrada cliff divers — young men who dive from rocky cliffs 35 to 45 meters above the sea into a narrow crevice of ocean below, timing their dives with the incoming waves — became one of Mexico's most iconic tourist spectacles and a symbol of Acapulco worldwide. The divers continue to perform this remarkable tradition several times daily, maintaining a tradition that has endured since the 1930s.

Acapulco experienced a dramatic decline in its tourist fortunes beginning in the 2000s and accelerating sharply in the 2010s, as organized crime and gang violence made the city one of the most dangerous in the world. The drug war devastated the tourism industry and deeply scarred the city's social fabric. Recovery has been slow and difficult, complicated further by Hurricane Otis in October 2023 — a catastrophically powerful Category 5 hurricane that struck directly and caused devastating destruction throughout the city, killing hundreds and requiring massive reconstruction efforts.

Despite its challenges, Acapulco retains significant natural beauty, a warm climate, and a rich cultural heritage. The Fort of San Diego, a beautifully preserved colonial fortification from the Manila Galleon era, houses a fascinating historical museum. The traditional neighborhood of La Costera and its restaurants and bars maintain the spirit of the city's past resort glory.

Acapulco's story — from Pacific colonial port to Hollywood resort to a city battling violence and natural disaster — makes it one of Mexico's most complex and poignant urban narratives, a city whose natural beauty endures as it works toward rebuilding and renewal.