If you are flying from the United States for Zihuatanejo, the best flight you can get is direct from LAX to ZIH on Alaska.

Once you land at ZIH airport you are going to be bombarded by several other planes with passengers all jocking to get inside the air-conditioned passport control. The only downfall of the ZIH airport is all the planes arrive around the same time each day, so the passport control line can back up onto the outside tarmac. I highly suggest brining some water if you get overheated because temperatures can be upwards of 90 degrees on hot pavement. Once you get through passport control life is a breeze! 

Tips for the ZIH airport:

1. Bring a water bottle

2. Check on your bags – getting bags unloaded off the plane can sometimes take as long as an addition hour. It is a small airport with limited staff.

3. Don’t lose your immigration paper work that is placed in your passport after passport control!!! They won’t let you get on your flight back home until you pay a hefty fine if it is lost.

4. Layers are your best friend. The plane can be cold, but you step off into extreme heat so you will immediately want to strip down.

5. Book seats at either the very front or very back of the plane. I know sounds weird, but they deplane from both the front and back of the plane and you will be the last person off the aircraft if you are anywhere in the middle. And like I said earlier – you could be waiting a long time in passport control so the sooner you get off the plane to beat the line, the better.

6. TAXIS! If you are not staying at a hotel that is picking you up from the airport, you will need to get a local taxi to your destination. When you exit baggage claim you will be faced with tons of people trying to flag you down to take their taxi. Don’t. When you exit walk to the right and there should be a booth that says taxi’s. There you will tell them where you want to go, get a ticket and pick up a taxi outside.