Manzanillo

Hernán Cortés first set eyes on the crescent bay of Manzanillo in 1522 and immediately recognized its potential — not as a beach resort, but as a shipyard. Within years, galleons were sliding down slipways into these protected waters, beginning a maritime tradition that has endured for five centuries. Manzanillo remains Mexico's busiest Pacific commercial port, its container terminals humming with trade from Asia, yet just beyond the cranes and cargo ships lies a coastline of startling beauty: jungle-draped headlands, golden sand coves, and waters so rich in game fish that Ernest Hemingway would have wept.

The city sprawls along twin bays — Bahía de Manzanillo and Bahía de Santiago — separated by the rocky Santiago Peninsula, whose clifftop perch offers sweeping views of the Pacific. The resort zone stretches along Playa La Audiencia and Playa Miramar, where the Sierra Madre del Sur descends in green folds to meet the surf. Unlike the manicured excess of Cancún or Los Cabos, Manzanillo retains a working-port authenticity: fishermen mend nets on the malecón, vendors sell coconuts from wooden carts, and the soundtrack is not poolside DJs but the screech of frigatebirds and the low horn of departing freighters. This is the Mexican Riviera as it existed before the brochures.

Manzanillo's culinary identity is inseparable from the sea. The city claims the title of "Sailfish Capital of the World," and the bounty of its waters appears on every table. Tiritas — thin strips of raw fish cured in lime and tossed with onion, chili, and cilantro — are the local ceviche variation, best enjoyed at a beachside palapa with a cold Pacífico. The portside Mercado Central overflows with smoked marlin tacos, shrimp empanadas, and the region's signature dish, pescado zarandeado — a whole butterflied snapper marinated in a smoky chili paste and grilled over mangrove wood. Wash it all down with a tuba, a fermented coconut palm sap drink unique to the Colima coast.

Beyond the beaches, Manzanillo offers excursions into the lush interior of Colima state. The twin volcanoes of Colima — one dormant, one among Mexico's most active — dominate the inland horizon, their snow-dusted peaks a dramatic contrast to the tropical coast below. The colonial city of Colima, an hour's drive inland, charms with its leafy plazas, regional museums, and mezcal bars. Closer to port, the Laguna de Cuyutlán, a vast coastal lagoon, supports mangrove ecosystems and seasonal bioluminescence that turns night-time kayak trips into otherworldly experiences.

Cunard includes Manzanillo on its Mexican Riviera and world cruise itineraries, with ships docking at the commercial port before passengers are transferred to the resort areas. Nearby ports such as Huatulco and Puerto Vallarta offer contrasting facets of Mexico's Pacific coast. The best time to visit is November through May, when the dry season delivers cloudless skies, calm seas, and prime sailfish season — conditions that have lured sport fishermen to these waters for nearly a century.