Mexico
Manzanillo, Mexico
Manzanillo: Twin Bays, Sailfish Waters and Mexico's Busiest Port
Coconut palms are said to have come ashore here in 1569, brought by Álvaro de Mendaña on his return from the Solomon Islands, the start of a crop that shaped the region. Along the bays, Playa de Oro takes its name from the gold that went down with the steamship Golden Gate in 1862. The historic center is next to the cruise dock, so the main square, Calle México and the Malecón are on foot from the ship.
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Good to know
What Cruise Travelers Should Know
Cruise ships use a dock built for them inside the port; it opened in 2010 beside Manzanillo's historic center. The main square, with its sailfish sculpture, and the seafront promenade are in that center, so the first part of the day can be on foot.
- The port sits at the southeast end of Manzanillo Bay, and the ship channel enters there.
- The city's two bays, Manzanillo Bay near downtown and Santiago Bay to the west, are separated by the Santiago Peninsula, where many of the resorts stand.
- The currency is the Mexican peso. Some merchants in tourist areas take US dollars, usually at a lower exchange rate.
- Manzanillo keeps UTC−6 all year with no daylight saving time, so from March to early November it is two hours behind US Eastern time.
Manzanillo on Your Own
Manzanillo's historic center is next to the cruise dock, so a simple independent day starts on foot there and adds one short taxi ride to a beach. Plan to stay inside the city of Manzanillo for the whole day.
- The center: Start at the main square, the Jardín, with the sailfish sculpture, then walk Calle México, the main street, and the seafront promenade, the Malecón Espíritu Santo, at the entrance to the center.
- One short ride: Take a taxi to Playa Miramar, where the city holds its big public events, or to La Audiencia beach on the Santiago Peninsula.
- Taxis: Use taxis from an official rank, known as sitio taxis, or ask a hotel or restaurant to call one, rather than flagging a car in the street.
- Stay in the city: In October 2026, travel advice for Mexico warned against all but essential travel to Colima state, with an exception for the city of Manzanillo reached by sea or air. Read your own government's current advice before you plan anything farther.
- Carry your passport: Mexican authorities can ask to see your passport and do not accept copies or photos, so keep the original with you.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own, and all-aboard is given in ship's time, which may not match local clocks.
Getting Around Manzanillo
The historic center is walkable from the dock, and taxis are the simplest way to reach the beaches and resorts farther around the bays. Local buses also run from the center out toward Santiago.
- The airport, near Playa de Oro, is about 20 miles west of town along Highway 200.
- Choose taxis from official ranks or have one called for you; unlicensed taxi drivers in Mexico have robbed and assaulted passengers.
- Tipping taxi drivers is not expected in Mexico.
- Theft on buses is common in Mexico, so keep bags and phones close if you ride one.
What to Eat in Manzanillo
Seafood leads in Manzanillo, and the city has its own style of ceviche. Colima's traditional dishes, such as tatemado, pozole seco and pipián, are still popular with people of all ages.
- Ceviche Manzanillo is the local version of the lime-cured fish dish.
- Other seafood plates to look for include caldillo de pescado (fish broth), pulpo (octopus) prepared several ways, seafood soup, fish tacos, and oysters.
- Pozole comes two ways here, as a stew or dry, the seco style.
- The sope gordo, made with rib or trotter, is another local dish.
Tipping in Mexico
Tipping in Mexican restaurants works much as it does in the United States. In mid-range and higher-end restaurants, 10 to 15 percent of the bill is the usual amount.
- Staff in small, inexpensive restaurants usually do not expect a tip.
- A restaurant may not add a service charge without your agreement, so read the bill before you add a tip.
- Taxi drivers are not normally tipped, except when the ride is a tour.
Culture and Sights in Manzanillo
Manzanillo is a working port city first, and its center reflects that, with statues of a stevedore, a merchant sailor and a naval sailor in its historic center. The Mexican Navy's Pacific force is based here.
- The Malecón Espíritu Santo is where residents gather for concerts, football and events, and skaters use the court at its start.
- The main square hosts concerts and contests, and people sit there over an ice cream.
- Local crafts include cloth embroidery, beaded necklaces, and work in shell.
- In May the city celebrates its status as a port and a city, and from December 1 to 12 a novena honors the Virgin of Guadalupe, with pilgrims in Indigenous dress.
- Manzanillo is known for the green flash that can appear at sunset over the sea.
History of Manzanillo
Manzanillo's story runs from a Spanish shipyard on the bay in the 1520s to Mexico's busiest cargo port today. Pirates raided this coast for centuries, the port opened in 1825 under an independent Mexico, and the railway and the modern harbor made it the Pacific door for central Mexico.
- Spanish arrival, 1520s: Gonzalo de Sandoval, sent by Hernán Cortés, anchored in the Bay of Salagua, north of Manzanillo Bay, in 1522, and part of the fleet that later sailed for the Philippines was built there.
- A meeting on the beach: Sandoval met local Native leaders in a small cove that still carries the name Playa de La Audiencia, the audience beach.
- Coconuts, 1569: Álvaro de Mendaña, returning from the Solomon Islands, is said to have brought coconut palms ashore here, the start of a crop that shaped the region.
- Pirates: For about 300 years, ships on this coast were attacked and looted by pirates from Portugal, England, France and Spain.
- An independent port, 1825: The Port of Manzanillo opened in 1825 under newly independent Mexico, named for the manzanilla trees once used in shipbuilding. It became a city in 1873, and the railway to Colima was finished in 1889.
- A brief capital, 1915: During the Mexican Revolution, Manzanillo served as the capital of Colima from February 20 to March 1, 1915, while Pancho Villa's forces threatened the city of Colima.
- Gold and wrecks: The steamship Golden Gate sank off Playa de Oro in 1862 with a cargo of gold, which gave the beach its name, and a cargo ship sank in Santiago Bay during a hurricane in 1959.
- The modern port: The modern port was established in 1971, and it grew into the country's busiest by tonnage and by containers. A dock for cruise ships opened on July 6, 2010.
- Hurricane Patricia, 2015: The storm, the strongest ever measured in the Western Hemisphere, passed along this coast and came ashore near Cuixmala, in neighboring Jalisco state, on October 23, 2015, after weakening to a Category 4 hurricane.
- To learn more ashore: The University of Colima's Museo de Arqueología in the San Pedrito neighborhood shows sculptures, tools and everyday objects of the people who lived here before the Spanish arrived.
Family Experiences in Manzanillo
With children, Manzanillo makes an easy beach day with a short walk through the center first, because the beaches are a short taxi ride away. Keep the day inside the city and build in shade and water, especially from June to October, when it is hottest and most humid.
- Younger children: Spend the morning around the main square and the sculptures on the Malecón, then take a taxi to Playa Miramar for an afternoon on the sand, with an adult close by in the water.
- School-age children: The archaeology museum in San Pedrito shows how people lived here before the Spanish, and the story of the gold ship off Playa de Oro, where people still search the sand, goes down well at this age.
- Teenagers: Snorkeling and diving trips visit Santiago Bay, where a cargo ship sank in 1959 and other wrecks and reefs are scattered through the bay; book with an established operator.
- Fishing: Sportfishing trips go out after sailfish and suit older children who are comfortable on a boat.
Shopping in Manzanillo
Shopping in Manzanillo is small-scale, centered on the craft market and the shops of the historic center.
- The craft market, the mercado artesanal, is in Miramar.
- Calle México, the main street of the center, has a wide mix of local businesses.
- Look for the embroidery, beadwork and shellwork that are the port's own crafts.
Beaches in Manzanillo
Manzanillo's two bays are lined with beaches, each bay curving for about four miles, and Santiago Bay to the west is the newer resort area. Playa Miramar, La Audiencia and Playa de Oro are the names to know.
- Playa Miramar and the Los Arcos area host the city's large public events.
- La Audiencia is a cove on the Santiago Peninsula, just over the hill from the Las Hadas resort, and its beach scenes appear in the film 10.
- Santiago Bay has good swimming, snorkeling and diving, and a cargo ship that sank in a hurricane in 1959 lies in the bay.
- Playa de Oro, near the airport, is named for the gold carried by the Golden Gate, which sank there in 1862.
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