Acapulco Camping
3/15/2009 -3/18/2009
Arriving in Acapulco, camping book in hand, we made a tour of the published campgrounds, hoping to find an idyllic location to settle for a week or so. The first stop was Playa Luces Kamping, approximately five miles north on the Pie de la Cuesta, a spit of land between the Laguna Coyuca and the Pacific Ocean, north of downtown Acapulco. This campground offers rustic beachfront camping on paved pads. Beachfront sites offer minimal shade and are separated from the sand by a low cement barrier and sporadic chain link fence in ill repair. The sites here offer individual wading pools and the staff and other campers were extremely friendly. A stop in the heart of the tourist beach in downtown along the Bay of Acapulco at Playa Suave did not last long as this campground has been defunct for four years. Continuing south, the next stop was at the Diamante Acapulco RV park and was equally brief. This park seems to be the holdout among numerous highrise buildings and active construction zones. While the park itself seemed nice, its lack of beach and pedestrian access had us heading back north of town.
Also on the Pie de la Cuesta is the Acapulco Trailer Park – where we made our eventual home for three nights. This park is within a stone walled, gated compound with direct pedestrian access to the beach. The surf here is extremely rugged and swimming is not really an option. However, the deafening and earth rumbling crashing of the waves is the greatest asset to this location. The weekend of the 15th to the 17th was the national holiday to celebrate the birth the Benito Juarez (actual birthday March 21) so the campground and the beach were extremely busy with tourists and tent campers from Mexico City – a change from the large RV caravans we’ve been running into lately. Pie de la Cuesta is renowned for its sunsets and they did not disappoint. This beach was the first one we’ve encountered since Chacala where an assemblage of spectators gathered specifically for that purpose. After settling in, hanging the hammock, pitching the large tent and moving the bed into it, a few errors in site selection and positioning became obvious, but were remedied on day two.
The campsite at the Acapulco Trailer Park
The beach at Pie de la Cuesta
The small town on Pie de la Cuesta is home to many palapa style restaurants, the most popular of which is Tres Marias. We followed the lead of the Mexican tourists and dined there on the beach, complete with vendors peddling everything from tamarindo candy to horseback rides. We opted for the former.
The beach here is hot and the sand, by about 10:00 am is extremely hot. Beach activities are largely centered under palapas and the trailer park has a well -sized one available to guests. Other on-site amenities include very clean restroom facilities, tepid water showers, a small swimming pool and an impressive wi-fi connection which extends the full length of the campground.
While the ocean noise was spectacular, some (not so small) details will lead to an earlier departure than we were aiming for. The interruption of the line of vision from the campsite to the ocean by a ten-foot chain link fence really creates an awkward disjunction between oneself and the beach. This factor combined with the (as previously posted) unfortunate, constant, and pervasive sewage fragrance has us considering new options. We did, however, complete some desired spring-cleaning chores and are now ready to resume in a freshly organized and much cleaner van.
Chain link campsite
The view without the fence
Arriving in Acapulco, camping book in hand, we made a tour of the published campgrounds, hoping to find an idyllic location to settle for a week or so. The first stop was Playa Luces Kamping, approximately five miles north on the Pie de la Cuesta, a spit of land between the Laguna Coyuca and the Pacific Ocean, north of downtown Acapulco. This campground offers rustic beachfront camping on paved pads. Beachfront sites offer minimal shade and are separated from the sand by a low cement barrier and sporadic chain link fence in ill repair. The sites here offer individual wading pools and the staff and other campers were extremely friendly. A stop in the heart of the tourist beach in downtown along the Bay of Acapulco at Playa Suave did not last long as this campground has been defunct for four years. Continuing south, the next stop was at the Diamante Acapulco RV park and was equally brief. This park seems to be the holdout among numerous highrise buildings and active construction zones. While the park itself seemed nice, its lack of beach and pedestrian access had us heading back north of town.
Also on the Pie de la Cuesta is the Acapulco Trailer Park – where we made our eventual home for three nights. This park is within a stone walled, gated compound with direct pedestrian access to the beach. The surf here is extremely rugged and swimming is not really an option. However, the deafening and earth rumbling crashing of the waves is the greatest asset to this location. The weekend of the 15th to the 17th was the national holiday to celebrate the birth the Benito Juarez (actual birthday March 21) so the campground and the beach were extremely busy with tourists and tent campers from Mexico City – a change from the large RV caravans we’ve been running into lately. Pie de la Cuesta is renowned for its sunsets and they did not disappoint. This beach was the first one we’ve encountered since Chacala where an assemblage of spectators gathered specifically for that purpose. After settling in, hanging the hammock, pitching the large tent and moving the bed into it, a few errors in site selection and positioning became obvious, but were remedied on day two.
The campsite at the Acapulco Trailer Park
The beach at Pie de la Cuesta
The small town on Pie de la Cuesta is home to many palapa style restaurants, the most popular of which is Tres Marias. We followed the lead of the Mexican tourists and dined there on the beach, complete with vendors peddling everything from tamarindo candy to horseback rides. We opted for the former.
The beach here is hot and the sand, by about 10:00 am is extremely hot. Beach activities are largely centered under palapas and the trailer park has a well -sized one available to guests. Other on-site amenities include very clean restroom facilities, tepid water showers, a small swimming pool and an impressive wi-fi connection which extends the full length of the campground.
While the ocean noise was spectacular, some (not so small) details will lead to an earlier departure than we were aiming for. The interruption of the line of vision from the campsite to the ocean by a ten-foot chain link fence really creates an awkward disjunction between oneself and the beach. This factor combined with the (as previously posted) unfortunate, constant, and pervasive sewage fragrance has us considering new options. We did, however, complete some desired spring-cleaning chores and are now ready to resume in a freshly organized and much cleaner van.
Chain link campsite
The view without the fence
Jess is that a sling shot within your reach? I can see trouble coming!
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