# Manzanillo



## Debsch (Nov 30, 2014)

Looking for I formation on Manzanillo, is this a good area for a Canadian to stay for 3 months? Looking at the Las Brisas area. ? Nice Beach, safe, things to do? Would Puerto Vallarta be a better option than Manzanillo.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Vallarta is crazy and Manzanillo much calmer. A real working class town but still a beach destination. Swimming is not suggested in the Las Brisas because of under tow and a little more pollution next to the harbor mouth. Best beaches are Santiago and Miramar .... and Santiago a nice place to stay


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

We spent about a week there about 4 years ago house/condo hunting. We stayed at the Barcelo - I could not recommend it. Manzanillo had a very very strong Canadian feel to it. We saw more than one very nice condo complex with Canadian builders - who kept the top floor units for themselves. We are not Canadian - but coming from South Florida we understand them. That's not a dig against Canadians - but Americans and Canadians can be quite different.

If Las Brisas is the area just North of the port - it was a very nice area. The beach had a bit of a pitch to it and there seemed to be a bit of an undertow - but the beach was much nicer than the Barcelo's which was the pits. The port area was not nice. Personally - for us - three months in Manzanillo would have been a life-time. But - if you are Canadian I'll bet you can hook up with other Canadians and find a way through it.


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## CeeZeeMex (Oct 26, 2011)

*Almost perfection*

Wow, ihpdiver, what did some Canadian do to you? A little bitter sounds like. Anyways the subject at hand. Manzanillo. Miles of sandy, quiet beaches and many are very swimmable . We spend 3-4 months there every year and absolutely love it. You will meet as many , if not more Americans than Canadians if that matters and it shouldn't. What are the Advantages to Manzanillo Over some other areas such as PV: lower rents, lower food costs as this is a fruit and vegetable growing area plus fresh fish, low restaurant prices, no timeshare sales people, few hawkers, no crowded beaches. Plus the vibrancy of a working class El Centro, and a clean Malecon. If desired to your comfort there is Walmart, Home Depot, Burger King, etc. Explore nearby historical Colima City, beautiful Barra de Navidad and quiet seaside Melaque . Go hiking in the hills and there so much more. My kids and grandkids come every year and love it here and we have been all over Mexico in comparison. In addition Manzanillo is very safe. Sounds like a tourist bureau answer but just a couple escaping the snow and blessed we discovered this area of Mexico. Besides 80-85 degrees F or 27-29 C every day is kind of a bonus, EH!


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

CeeZee did a good job on Manz .... but summers are not the 80-85 temps mentioned. Three months away from Canada must be a winter Snowbird. Nights are chilly right now for us fulltimers


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## rckrckr (Jan 12, 2010)

I'm an American living nearly full time in Manzanillo and agree with CeeZeeMex completely. The place has a very different, and in my mind, more laid back and friendly, feel than PV, which is basically a bustling tourist center.


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

CeeZeeMex said:


> Wow, ihpdiver, what did some Canadian do to you? A little bitter sounds like. Anyways the subject at hand. Manzanillo. Miles of sandy, quiet beaches and many are very swimmable . We spend 3-4 months there every year and absolutely love it. You will meet as many , if not more Americans than Canadians if that matters and it shouldn't. What are the Advantages to Manzanillo Over some other areas such as PV: lower rents, lower food costs as this is a fruit and vegetable growing area plus fresh fish, low restaurant prices, no timeshare sales people, few hawkers, no crowded beaches. Plus the vibrancy of a working class El Centro, and a clean Malecon. If desired to your comfort there is Walmart, Home Depot, Burger King, etc. Explore nearby historical Colima City, beautiful Barra de Navidad and quiet seaside Melaque . Go hiking in the hills and there so much more. My kids and grandkids come every year and love it here and we have been all over Mexico in comparison. In addition Manzanillo is very safe. Sounds like a tourist bureau answer but just a couple escaping the snow and blessed we discovered this area of Mexico. Besides 80-85 degrees F or 27-29 C every day is kind of a bonus, EH!


No bitterness at all. My best friend in college married a great girl from Belleville (?) Ontario. 

Two points; 

1) I've never heard/been involved in a conversation about Manzanillo where the phrase 'blue-collar/working class neighborhood' hasn't come up. And I mow my own lawn and clean my own pool. Not passing judgement - just an observation.

2) I'm very happy you are happy - but sometime when you have some spare time do a google search using 'tripadvisor barcelo manzanillo'. First you will notice the preponderance of responses from Canadians and then you will notice (not 100%) but how much praise they have while an abundance of non-Canadian comments are contrary. I guess my point is - having spent most of my life in Florida - really never putting on a pair of skiis - my opinion of a ski resort might differ from say your's. (Although I believe the largest ski club in America is in Ft Lauderdale - and interestingly the largest SCUBA club is in Boulder CO).


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

My experience of Manzanillo is from around 4 or 5 yearly few days' vacations there.
It's warm: even in the winter. Much too warm for my personal comfort during the days, and I'm speaking of November. Summers are hot and humid.
However, the good news is that it's a "real" city, unlike some of the timeshare-centered places like PV, where you can't even sit down to a meal without being pestered by some of the most persistent salesmen on Planet Earth.

They cleaned up the air considerably in the last few years; the power plant was causing serious pollution before.
I've stayed at a run down place that's like a 60's motel known as the Pink Posada, but it's fun to watch the port activity while sipping a Margarita in front. It's right on the beach. 

If it weren't for the year around weather, I could imagine living there. Nothin' fancy or pretentious about Manzanillo, and IMO, that's good.


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

It is really not my intention to bash Manzanillo - but to be fair - it is rather comparable to Perth Amboy, New Jersey. First and foremost - it is a commercial port.


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## CeeZeeMex (Oct 26, 2011)

*3 months vs 1 week*

The original post was based on a 3 month stay not a 1 week tourist visit. The reality is if it was a crammed 7 day, snorkel, sunset cruise, party till dawn, sleep by the pool till pini colata time, then Manzanillo may not be the place and PV or Ixtapa, Cancun etc would certainly offer more. However as many, many snow birds or full timers can attest that if it a 2 -4 month stay is your plan and a quiet beach walk, enjoy the sunset, explore a downtown full of shops and markets, join in a local celebration, eat a rib dinner for 7 dollars, a taco barbecoa for a dollar. Where a cerveza in most restaurants is still only 2 dollars, where you can snorkel out to a sunken ship without another 50 people around you, shop elbow to elbow with local people in a market for unbelievably fresh fruit, vegetables, chicken and fish if this is more to your liking and your daily routine then you will be hard pressed to beat Manzanillo. It is pretty much impossible to judge a place in a week and although I have never heard of Perth Amboy I would suggest you are not doing the original poster any favours with your comments. Best leave it to those who do know this area. I am also sure the OP will see beyond them. 
And I must have become forgetful, Did I mention we caught 9, 5-7 lb fish right in front of our condo this week with a couple of local friends. On Playa Azul just north of Las Brisas. Can't do that in PV.


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## Debsch (Nov 30, 2014)

Thanks for the clarification CeeZeeMex. I was a little surprised the negativity of lhpdiver.


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## Debsch (Nov 30, 2014)

Thanks again for all the information CeeZeeMex, Manzanillo sounds awesome, can't wait to get on the road.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Debsch said:


> Thanks for the clarification CeeZeeMex. I was a little surprised the negativity of lhpdiver.


Relocation ... choice of where to live, the city ... the colonia, etc. ... are such personal and subjective choices/opinions/decisions ... one person's heaven is another's Hell. Soliciting opinions is a good exercise to engage in, an I'm always appreciative of persons who respond with their thoughts, but I've never thought the smart thing to do is to allow the opinions of others to weigh too heavily on me. The _cons_, as well as the _pros_ serve to cause us to dig further as we make decisions based on our own personal criteria and values.


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## Cristobal (Nov 25, 2014)

I have to agree with lhpdriver. I have spent considerable time in the Manzanillo area and would never consider it as a place for a long term stay. I have never had a memorable meal, well a memorable good meal in that town or its neighboring villages. Very mediocre restaurant offerings.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Cristobal said:


> I have to agree with lhpdriver. I have spent considerable time in the Manzanillo area and would never consider it as a place for a long term stay. I have never had a memorable meal, well a memorable good meal in that town or its neighboring villages. Very mediocre restaurant offerings.





Longford said:


> Relocation ... choice of where to live, the city ... the colonia, etc. ... are such personal and subjective choices/opinions/decisions ... one person's heaven is another's Hell. Soliciting opinions is a good exercise to engage in, an I'm always appreciative of persons who respond with their thoughts, but I've never thought the smart thing to do is to allow the opinions of others to weigh too heavily on me. The _cons_, as well as the _pros_ serve to cause us to dig further as we make decisions based on our own personal criteria and values.


Cristobal illustrates Longford's point.

I eat in restaurants so rarely that the quality of restaurant food would not even be on my list in considering where to live.


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## CeeZeeMex (Oct 26, 2011)

More than welcome. We just returned tonight from El Centro where there was a parade and pagent with dancers from all over the area. The Malecon was full of families, many dressed in traditional costumes, food vendors, magicians, flower vendors and more. We were the only non- Mexicans in a crowd of hundreds but felt like and were welcomed as a part of the community. Dinner was in a sidewalk cafe overlooking the square, traditional fare made memorable by the real ambience, the fantastic service,a meal of arrechara ( steak), rice, vegetables and salad with beer so cold it hurt the teeth. All that was missing was Chicago prices. ( sorry , couldn't pass that up) Dinner for two with drinks $194 pesos ( $16.00 ). Humm , works for me and soon for you . It does sadden me that so many have not the time to see beyond the surface and explore the real Mexico that lies beyond. It pleases me that you will consider Manzanillo and the Colima area. You will be a convert.


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

From another thread on this same forum :



CeeZeeMex said:


> <snip> We are selling in Manzanillo...
> 
> <snip> Manzanillo is a wonderful place. However as we near retirement and increasing our stay in Mexico to 6-7 months and wanting a place where if we decide to move permanently it would offer the comfort of reasonable weather year round, I doubt we can beat the Ajijic / Chapala area.


Hmm.



Debsch said:


> Thanks for the clarification CeeZeeMex. I was a little surprised the negativity of lhpdiver.


As I said earlier I am not trying to bash Manzanillo. And you are the one who asked if a 'Canadian' would be happy there. Other than South Florida in the winter, if I were a Canadian seeking out other Canadians, Manzanillo might be the place I would head.

As part of you research you might google 'manzanillo port images' - for a slightly different perspective than that presented here.

Happy Holidays !


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## CeeZeeMex (Oct 26, 2011)

*Best Line of the Year*

to iphdiver

Too funny!!
You may want to re-read your posts, here, allow me to help you.

Your 1st post in blue with my comments in black

" We spent about a week there about 4 years ago house/condo hunting. 
OPERATIVE WORDS: A week, 4 years ago
We stayed at the Barcelo - I could not recommend it. Manzanillo had a very very strong Canadian feel to it. 
Strange, we have met more Americans than Canadians here 
We saw more than one very nice condo complex with Canadian builders - who kept the top floor units for themselves. We are not Canadian - but coming from South Florida we understand them. 
NOW THAT MAKES SENSE LOL. I hope you don't mind but I shared that line on facebook and to everyone back home. BEST LINE OF THE YEAR !:lol:

That's not a dig against Canadians - but Americans and Canadians can be quite different.
_COLOURED MONEY? LOL
If Las Brisas is the area just North of the port - it was a very nice area. The beach had a bit of a pitch to it and there seemed to be a bit of an undertow - but the beach was much nicer than the Barcelo's which was the pits. The port area was not nice. Personally - for us -* three months in Manzanillo would have been a life-time. *
My gosh, thank the lord you didn't have to, not bashing Manzanillo ?? , HUMM. _:confused2:
But - if you are Canadian I'll bet you can hook up with other Canadians and find a way through it. "
AND AGAIN.


So I showed this thread to an American friend here in Manzanillo who had a hard time trying to stop laughing. :lol

Whether it be PV or Ixtapa, or Cancun or most Mexican coastal cities and whether one is Mexican, Canadian or from the US, the humidity of the summers on the coast can be uncomfortable for a lot of people. IF one was to only come south for 6 months, no problem but _IF and most likely when WE _become full time then Chapala makes more sense FOR US for year round living. If we were only going to stay as 3-4 month "escape the cold" then no question, we would stay in Manzanillo.

We are off topic and I do apologize to the OP. To iphdiver, if you wish to continue please send me a PM and let us spare these readers. Please do as I am dying to know how you "understand us" ? Then I can know the steps to "understand" Americans. Oh, and my Grandparents are from Boston. So confusing.

Merry Christmas to all!:canada::usa2:


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## Cristobal (Nov 25, 2014)

CeeZeeMex said:


> It does sadden me that so many have not the time to see beyond the surface and explore the real Mexico that lies beyond. It pleases me that you will consider Manzanillo and the Colima area. You will be a convert.


Back many years ago, there was no Club Santiago, Salagua was not much more than a few scattered hoteluchos and Maeva was in its planning stages. The Chantilly was a bustling little cafe with decent fare, the Savoy did a brisk business and the Hotel Colonial had its fair share of diners. The Tienda Azul was the most well stocked store in the area, you could actually find peanut butter (Aladinos, but it was still greatly appreciated) there. The Tienda Colorada had the best collection of clothing. Can't recall the name but there was a small juice stand were you get get real root beer. A few years down the line, we attended (crashed) the grand opening of Las Hadas. We were tossed within 30 minutes but it was fun while it lasted!

In later years, the top dining spot was a place called Bugatti. Originally located near the present day Soriana, later relocated to the glorieta at the entrance to Las Brisas. The best store for shopping was the SEDENA store at the Army base. Juanito had moved from his original location downtown to his present one in Santiago. La Recif, offered a spectacular view but mediocre fare. Playa Miramar, with Club Maeva as the big draw, was where the action was. It brought in the upper class from Guadalajara and Mexico City. Condos started springing up from las Brisas out to Club Santiago. I could go on and on. 

Now you have what IMO is a very nondescript boulevard running north from the port lined with equally nondescript hotels and other commercial businesses. Maybe some find it charming, others apparently don't. While the power plant has finally cleaned up its act, the expansion of the port has brought more pollution. The iron ore processing plant between the bypass and the port spews filth that will sometimes nearly obliterate the view of the port as you drive along the libremiento, ships' illegal bilge discharges wind up on the beaches. And if you are ever downwind of the Atun Tuny cannery.......

So as you can see, some have seen beyond the surface and while the Manzanillo area may be your cup of tea, and that certainly is fine, I place it far down the list of attractive beach destinations.

BTW, there is a movie shot in Manzanillo that I think you would probably enjoy. "Las Figuras de Arena" with David Reynosa. It was shot in 1969 and has some really nice scenes from the area. Some, I think, when they first started breaking ground for Las Hadas.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

The road to Santiago a few years back


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

One of the reasons someone might move to the state of Colima?










Click here, to read more.


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## CeeZeeMex (Oct 26, 2011)

*Changes in time*

Thanks for the historical information. Certainly interesting . We have heard many stories of the last 30-40 years of changes to this area from the main blvd being only a dirt road to the Arlo Guthrie "hippy bus on the beach" legend.
We could discuss the so called Air and water Pollution ll day long and bring up the beach problems at Bucerias, the water pollution issues of old town PV, the ongoing sewer issues of Playa Del Carmen, and on and on. 
And you are very right in saying that Manzanillo can't compare to PV, Huatulco or other "tourist styled" destinations or the computer cities such as Cancun and Ixtapa. We do not have the new hotels, instead offer the historic and unique arcitecture of Las Hadas or the Tesoro. Generally, there is not an abundance of high end or chain restaurants. (last 2 years have brought a dozen or so).
Basically, Manzanillo is not an American or Canadian Tourist destination and most likley will never be.
Besides that its main "tourist" focus is for the people of Guadalajara and caters to their wants/ needs which are significantly different than NOB folks, It is also a long stay place for foreigners who do not wish nor need timeshares, hundreds of beach vendors, NOB prices in restaurants, boose cruises, miles of bars, Tourist nightclubs, souveneir shops or line ups.
It is one of the few places that offers the ability to enjoy enough comforts for a snow bird or expat to have an enjoyable part time or full time home, while able to have an authentic" culture watch". Literally miles of empty beaches "within the city limits". The mixture of old Mexico with a working new Mexico, an emerging Mexican middle class, and yet the quaintness of the small towns of Salagua, Santiago and Miramar. Being able to have a window into parts of daily Mexican life without leaving the city. In our path to Mexico, we spent months in PV and Bucerias, tried Ixtapa, Matzalan, Playa del Carmen and Cabo.
As much as there was uniqueness, beauty and vibrancy to all these places, for us it turned out to be Manzanillo.
We have spent many "week and two week" holidays in other places in Mexico and in other southern destinations such as Florida, Bahamas, Hawaii, and elsewhere; and frankly as what started all of this discussion, I would never pass judgment on a place after such a small window of time. 
As you so rightly put it, everyone has their own opinions .
Thank you again for your prespective, and I will be sure to look up the other information.


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## Cristobal (Nov 25, 2014)

Not long ago, there were time share vultures at Miramar and inside the Commercial Mexicana shopping center. have they disappeared?


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## CeeZeeMex (Oct 26, 2011)

Yes, all gone now as far as I know. Mind you I don't seek them out. We were at la Bogita on Miramar beach last week and nothing.
As for the beach sellers, ironically when we have visitors from NOB, and they "want" souveniers, slim pickens in comparision to Pv and other places.


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## Playaboy (Apr 11, 2014)

AAHHH Paradise,,,Manzanillo.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Oh GOD ..... not Bo Derek ..... I won't watch it


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

To CeeZeeMex :

I wrote "Hmm" but I refrained from writing "Pump and Dump".
Are ya'll in real-estate ?


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## CeeZeeMex (Oct 26, 2011)

New topic?
Looking for a condo? Eh?


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

virginialewis said:


> I think Manzanillo is better!


Than what


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