Manzanillo

Manzanillo lives two lives at once: it is Mexico's principal Pacific container port, with cranes and ships stacked along the inner bay, and it is a beach city whose two crescents - Bahia de Manzanillo and the larger Bahia de Santiago - carry kilometres of golden and dark-gold sand behind a string of hotels, condominiums and seafood palapas. The billed identity is fishing: the city calls itself the world sailfish capital, hosts long-running international billfish tournaments, and marks the claim with a huge blue sailfish sculpture on the malecon that serves as the local photo shrine. Beaches run from the calm, family-friendly Playa La Audiencia in its sheltered cove to the long, surf-swept Miramar and Olas Altas where boards and boogie boards come out. Beyond the sand, day trips reach the Cuyutlan black-sand beach and its green-wave legend, the turtle sanctuary at El Tortugario, salt-making museums and the lagoons behind the coast. It is a working city with beaches rather than a resort enclave, priced and paced accordingly.

What you actually see

• The sailfish monument - the blue marlin-style sculpture on the malecon.
• The two bays - Manzanillo and Santiago crescents.
• The port - container cranes framing the inner harbour.
• The surf beaches - Miramar and Olas Altas for boards.

When to go

November to May for dry, warm weather; the big fishing tournaments fall in winter months. Summer is hot, humid and cheaper, with hurricane-season caveats.

Honest expectations

This is a port city - industry is part of the view, and the beaches vary from beautiful to functional. Pacific surf and rip currents demand respect at the open beaches. Nightlife is modest compared with the big resort towns.

Nearby

Cuyutlan's black sand and turtle sanctuary lie southeast; Barra de Navidad and the Costalegre run northwest.