We have traveled and lived in Mexico many times, exploring destinations from Guanajuato and Mexico City to Valladolid and San Cristobal de las Casas—plus numerous spots in between. We adore how every Mexican journey feels unique, with each state offering its own distinct regional specialties, cuisine, and culture.
Without a doubt, Mexico ranks among our favorite countries worldwide. We have many friends there and keep coming back again and again. It truly feels like a second home.
This marked our first visit to the State of Colima. As I type this from our apartment in Manzanillo, we have just six days left in this Pacific coast city, which has been our “home” for the past six weeks. Summing up our time here is tricky—our arrival was chaotic (a 24-hour journey from Japan, lost luggage for six days, etc.), and throughout our stay, uncertainty surrounded… well, pretty much everything.
Nick pondering life on the beach at Santiago, Manzanillo
Still, we created wonderful memories with our families and got to explore a part of Mexico we hadn’t seen before.
In this article, I’ll share our firsthand experiences living in Manzanillo—how we felt, where we ate, what we did, and where we stayed. Read on to discover if Manzanillo Colima is the right fit for you!
Manzanillo & The State of Colima
Colima is one of Mexico’s smallest states and has the lowest population. It’s known for its mountains, rivers, beaches, lagoons, and two volcanoes: the active Volcán de Fuego and the dormant Nevado de Colima. The state remains largely undiscovered by tourists—it’s not built up at all, and outside major holidays, you’ll often have the place almost to yourself.
Manzanillo is the main beach city and probably the only place in the state that tourists recognize. The city stretches across two main bays: Santiago and Manzanillo, plus “centro,” which is mostly the harbor area.
Bahía de Santiago
This northernmost area of Manzanillo Colima is where you’ll want to spend most (all?) of your time. The bay is pristine, with hard-packed, dark sand perfect for long, relaxing beach strolls. During our five-week stay from December to January, the ocean remained calm except for three days with a few crashing waves. Swimming here is easy, making it great for all ages.
Santiago Bay – a stunning spot!
Near the center of the bay lies Playa Miramar. In the high season (winter months), it’s lined with tables, chairs, and umbrellas. The small restaurants serve typical beach fare—ceviche, seafood, tacos, nachos, beers, and more. This area draws many Mexican tourists and local Manzanillo residents.
Further north along the bay is Club Santiago, a lovely gated community (we usually aren’t fans of these) with cobblestone streets, Mexican-style homes and condos, and the highlight: Oasis Beach Club. It’s a fantastic place to spend the day.
We spent at least three-quarters of our time in Manzanillo Colima at this beach club. Why? The food is consistently fresh and delicious (lunch from 130 pesos, snacks from 50 pesos, dinner from 180 pesos), and the setting is gorgeous. Umbrellas, tables, and chairs are available, and the service is outstanding. You can also rent paddleboards, get a massage, or drop by for happy hour on Tuesdays and Fridays.
A five- to ten-minute walk north along the sand from Oasis brings you to Playa la Boquita, which has more tables, chairs, and umbrellas. This is where locals hang out, with soccer (football) games, loud music, and large groups. You can also rent jet skis and book boat trips around the bay.
I highly recommend Santiago Bay. The beach is amazing, and outside the Christmas/New Year holiday period, it’s practically empty. It’s probably the best beach we’ve seen in Mexico.
Chilling at Oasis – where we spent nearly every day!
Bahia de Manzanillo
Manzanillo Bay is the central beach where our Airbnb is located. This bay also houses the large Barcelo all-inclusive resort. The sand here is less compact and rougher than Santiago’s—great for exfoliation while walking! Sunsets are spectacular, and during December and January, you can watch the sun dip directly into the ocean.
Large cargo ships often park in the bay, and if you’re lucky, you might spot a humpback whale or two.
Along the beach, you’ll find some condos for rent and a few restaurants. However, there’s no shade on the sand, and no beach bars, restaurants, or vendors. Swimming here is considered dangerous due to strong tides; it’s a more “open” bay than Santiago.
I recommend visiting this beach for sunset or enjoying a meal at La Huerta while the sun sinks into the sea.
Sunsets on Manzanillo Bay are the best
Centro (The Harbour)
This is the industrial port area of Manzanillo. Cruise ships, cargo ships, and sailboats all dock here. Unlike most Mexican cities, which boast a beautiful plaza or meeting area in the center, this centro is not picturesque.
There’s no real plaza, no Spanish colonial architecture, hardly any pleasant streets to walk, and the sidewalks and roads are congested and somewhat dirty.
Except for the boat and motocross show we attended, we found nothing else to do here.
Because of this—and the significant drug trade and trafficking around the port—I personally wouldn’t recommend hanging out in this part of Manzanillo. Plus, there aren’t any good restaurants.
Colima State Day Trips
We took a day trip to explore the city of Colima and nearby attractions. While the city itself didn’t blow us away, we enjoyed the La Campana ruins, which date back to 1500 BCE. The plaza in Colima city is quite pretty, and you could also visit the nearby Colima volcano and the town of Comala.
La Campana ruins just outside Colima city
If you haven’t seen other Mexican cities (Guadalajara, Mexico City, Guanajuato, etc.), you’ll probably appreciate Colima’s architecture. But for us, having visited some incredible Mexican villages and cities, Colima City felt underwhelming.
Note: Many people recommend Danitours for exploring the state’s sights. With a proper guide, you’re likely to discover more hidden gems than we did independently.
The main plaza in Colima City
Things To Do in Manzanillo
The first thing to know is that there aren’t many activities in Manzanillo. Unlike other Mexican cities offering walking tours, food tours, numerous churches and plazas, historical sites, lots of bars, beach activities, etc., Manzanillo is primarily a place to chill on the beach—and that’s about it. If you’re happy going to the beach every day, you’ll be content. But if you prefer mixing it up with tours and activities, you might be disappointed.
Here’s our list of things to do in Manzanillo Colima:
- Visit Santiago Bay: This is the best beach in the area, in my opinion! As noted, the food at Oasis Beach Club is great, but if you just want a drink, any of the small restaurants will do. During high season, you’ll also find small craft markets here, and in Santiago Town, there’s a Saturday market visible when driving out to the beach.
Swimming is safe here, especially near Oasis as it’s more protected. Watch for riptides in the center of the bay and check the flags on the beach—red means more dangerous swimming conditions. We swam for two months in front of Oasis and it was great, apart from one crocodile sighting…
Beautiful sunset over Santiago Bay
- Watch Sunset: Each evening, head down to Manzanillo Bay with a blanket (or chairs) and watch the sun sink into the water. We always brought our camp chairs from Walmart, a cooler with wine and snacks, and enjoyed the view.
- Day Trip to Barra de Navidad: About an hour north of Manzanillo Bay lies the small town of Barra de Navidad. It’s actually in Jalisco State, so you’ll pass through a military checkpoint—no problem, just tell them where you came from and where you’re going. The town features colorful little buildings, many restaurants, a pretty beach, and a lagoon. Lots of North American snowbirds stay here, and though it’s touristy, in hindsight we probably would have chosen this town for our stay.
Wandering the colorful streets of Barra de Navidad
- Melaque: After Barra, continue north along the coast to Melaque, on the same bay. Another cobblestone town with many beachside restaurants and bars. Again, many snowbirds winter here. We prefer swimming at this beach because it’s more protected and the water is calmer than in Barra.
- Go Golfing: Manzanillo has two golf courses. Las Hadas Golf Club ($90 USD in the morning, $50 after 3:00pm) is next to Barcelo Resort, and El Corazon Golf Club is farther outside the city.
- Attend an Event: During high season, Oasis Beach Club often hosts events—a special Christmas dinner, mariachi party night, cowboy night, bocce ball charity game, etc. Events are listed at the club entrance. When we were there in early December, motocross and champboat racing were happening at the harbor. Check online or ask your hotel/host.
- Try Surfing: Waves at Santiago Bay aren’t huge but are good for learners. Paddleboarding is available at Oasis, and farther south near Playa de Oro Hotel, there’s a surfing school with board rentals.
- Go to a Movie: Okay, we’re stretching here! Normally we wouldn’t list movies as a thing to do overseas, but as I said, Manzanillo Colima has limited activities, so movies it is. There are two Cinepolis theaters; check online or at the theater for English-language screenings. Some movies are dubbed in Spanish, while others have Spanish subtitles (which you’ll likely want).
Where to Eat in Manzanillo
As self-proclaimed foodies, we struggled with the food scene here. Many restaurants served sub-par meals, and even when food was good once, it often wasn’t the second time. However, a few places consistently delivered tasty dishes. Check out these restaurants in Manzanillo:
Oasis Beach Club: Can you tell Oasis is our favorite, most recommended spot?! The breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus are affordable and flavorful. There’s a proper chef in the kitchen, the food is fresh, and most importantly, delicious. We enjoyed every meal here. Try the tuna “sushi,” shrimp tacos, Caesar salad, roasted chicken, fresh fish fillet, breakfast burrito… it’s all good. Menu in English and Spanish.
A grilled chicken salad with black beans, corn, avocado, and pico de gallo! Yum!
El Vaquero: A steakhouse with fun Mexican decor and tasty meat. If you’re craving steak or fajitas, come here. Most of the menu is beef (grilled to perfection), but they also have chicken if you ask. Salads and a couple of fish dishes are available. Menu in Spanish only. Click here for directions.
La Huerta: We visited this oceanside restaurant twice, and both times the food was tasty and service excellent. Plus, the water views make the location unbeatable. We had the fish fillet, sopes, ceviche, and quesadilla—all great. Menu in Spanish. Click here for directions. Note: the restaurant has been renovated since the photos on TripAdvisor and Google; the decor is beautiful!
Taco Loco: For meat tacos, this is the place. Amazing al pastor tacos, plus “unusual” kinds like brain, stomach, eyeball, and more. The restaurant is very clean, service is great, and tacos are cheap (around $0.50 each). Menu in Spanish. Click here for directions.
Mahalo: Another waterfront restaurant. This Tiki-style place has cool decor and good service. The food can be hit or miss, but the garlic shrimp with rice and salad has never disappointed us. Menu in Spanish. Click here for directions.
The view from Mahalo restaurant is great
Cafe Bean: The location isn’t special, but the coffee is excellent! They have a large breakfast menu, and I’ve seen people working on laptops here. It’s a busy place with friendly staff and good prices. Menu in English and Spanish. Click here for directions.
Food Truck: Just next to Walmart, a red pickup truck serves Mexican food. Tacos, quesadillas, and tortas are the main offerings, with your choice of meats. There’s a selection of sauces and veggies to add. The women running it are very nice, and the food is so good! Tacos are around 11 pesos each.
The food truck serves amazing local food! Don’t be scared, give it a try
Taqueria Don Julio: Another good spot for typical Mexican fare—ceviche, tacos, quesadillas, tortas, and more. Menu in Spanish. Click here for directions.
Other Options: La Pergola Restaurant—some meals were good, others not. Toscana—nice setting on the water, but so-so food. The spaghetti bolognese was pretty good, but nothing else. Monster Burger—we didn’t eat here, but online reviews are good. Restaurante Juanitos—again, we didn’t eat here, but it’s American-owned and reviews are good.
You’ll also find typical American chains like Starbucks (a good place to work on your laptop), Carl’s Jr., Pizza Hut, Burger King, Domino’s, and KFC.
Places I recommend you AVOID: Senor Sushi, Blueberry Cafe, Sea Monster (in Barra de Navidad), and Pancho (in Barra de Navidad).
Where to Stay in Manzanillo
We stayed on Manzanillo Bay in an apartment. It’s worth noting that almost all buildings in this city look run-down and aren’t well maintained. The exterior of our building and neighboring apartments appeared condemned, but thankfully the inside was nice and bright.
Manzanillo Bay offers restaurants, grocery stores (Walmart, Sam’s Club, Soriana & La Comer), a couple of gyms, the American chains I mentioned, and movie theaters. You’ll also see sunset from this bay. However, the area is loud because it’s right along the highway, and it’s not the most secure part of Manzanillo Colima (more on that below).
Walking along Manzanillo Bay at sunset, a pretty place for a stroll
If we were to return, we’d probably stay in the Santiago area, especially a condo or house in Club Santiago. It’s so peaceful, beautiful, well-located, and most importantly, secure. The only downside is you’d have to drive into town for groceries and to eat anywhere besides Oasis—about a 15-minute drive.
We’re all for living like locals and have always done that during our travels. Meeting people is what it’s about. But here in Manzanillo Colima, I’d recommend staying at the Las Hadas peninsula or farther out at Santiago.
Click here to sign up for Airbnb and receive $36 off your first stay!
When searching on Airbnb, make sure to search for “Club Santiago” if that’s the area you want. Searching “Manzanillo” won’t bring it up.
Shopping & Amenities in Manzanillo
If you’re looking for a large shopping mall, you won’t find one here. There are a few strip malls with clothing and other items. Check out Plaza Punto Bahia and the Marina shop for clothing and household goods.
Soriana, Walmart, and Sam’s Club have lots of household items, toiletries, clothing… as well as food. And of course, there are many restaurants to eat at.
Eating a massive grill full of meat at El Vaquero Steakhouse
For wine lovers, there’s a wine shop called Vinos America offering good wines from around the world—a much better selection than grocery stores. Click here for directions.
If you need laundry done, check out Lavandaria ON vip. Fast service at 15 pesos per kilo. Click here for directions.
For fitness, check out Capital Fitness Plus in the Punto Bahia mall. Equipment is in good shape and facilities are clean (according to reviews). Click here for directions and information.
Working Online in Manzanillo
For those wanting to work online, I recommend heading to Starbucks and Cafe Bean. The Wi-Fi isn’t very fast, but it’s free if you buy something. The best option is to buy a SIM card and data plan for your phone and tether your computer. Go to the TelCel shop for this. It’s 200 pesos for 1GB of data, 1GB of social media, and unlimited calling to Canada, the USA, and Mexico. Many packages are available. Click here for directions to TelCel.
Transportation
Unfortunately in Mexico, if you rent a car, they’ll add a $15–$20 (depending on your bargaining skills) per day insurance fee. No matter what any rental site says online, an extra $15–$20 per day will be added to your fee. We bargained with many rental companies on the phone before choosing one and ended up paying $21/day including insurance with Thrifty. The car was rented over two months, which partly explains the good deal.
You can take the bus around the city—they run up and down the main highway. About 5 pesos per journey. The buses aren’t in great condition and are usually packed, but it’s a cheap and easy way to get around.
Taxis are another option. It’ll cost about 400–500 pesos to the airport and about 50 pesos from Manzanillo Bay to Santiago Bay. Flag one down on the street for the best price.
Is Manzanillo Safe?
Before coming to Manzanillo, we couldn’t find much traveler information about what it was like here. There was one article written years ago, another from a blogger listing a few things to see and do, and some TripAdvisor reviews. Having now been here for almost two months, we’ve learned a lot from speaking with locals—and from our own experiences.
Love it all – on the beach of Santiago
The past three years have seen a huge increase in cartel activity in the Colima area, due to Manzanillo having the busiest port in Mexico. Not surprisingly, drug groups want control of this port. Just five days ago, the US Government travel website listed the states of Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas as Level 4 – Do Not Travel (the highest warning level).
We’re not ones to blindly follow government website warnings. If you’ve followed us for a while, you know we’ve traveled to many destinations deemed “dangerous” by government travel sites—like Iran, Lebanon, Colombia, Egypt, Kenya, etc. We always form our own opinions, do our own research, and gauge the situation before traveling. And each time, we’ve been perfectly safe.
During our two-month stay in Manzanillo, we heard sirens a few times, so I checked the local Twitter page. What I found wasn’t good news. There were four different shootouts (with deaths), 65 kilos of cocaine confiscated at the port, and much worse things I don’t care to share.
Day trips to Barra de Navidad were great
These horrible crimes weren’t happening only at night when we wouldn’t be out; it wasn’t just nightclub activity—it was in broad daylight on the street. These drug-related incidents occurred a little too close to our apartment, making us feel uneasy during our stay.
It’s possible similar things have happened in other places we’ve stayed in Mexico (or other countries) without our knowledge, but knowing about these events didn’t feel great.
Despite all this, many snowbirds stay out in Santiago and enjoy the warm weather and beautiful beach. If you’re a tourist staying at resorts in the city or at Santiago Club, you’ll likely encounter no issues. The drug cartels aren’t after tourists; they’re fighting each other for control. The problem is you don’t want to get caught in the crossfire or witness anything gruesome.
Why did we choose to come here and stay?
Well, a family member is retiring in Manzanillo due to great prices on beachfront condos and a nice retired expat community. We made this our base because of that, and numerous family members came to visit. All flights and accommodation were booked and paid for. We didn’t know about the crime issues or the lack of activities before arriving, and we were excited to explore somewhere new.
Having family members visit really made our trip to Manzanillo memorable – 15 people came at different times!
So we stayed in Manzanillo and made the most of it. Apart from one aggressive man at a gas station, we had no personal problems and made wonderful local friends. Even though there wasn’t much to do, we had a great time at Santiago beach and enjoyed each other’s company at our condos.
Would We Travel to Manzanillo Again?
If we had to do this trip over again, sorry Manzanillo, but we would have stayed farther north in Barra de Navidad, Melaque, or Puerto Vallarta. For the sake of our friends and family here, I truly hope crime rates decrease and something is done to improve security for innocent locals.
I almost feel that Santiago and Manzanillo, though very close, are entirely different places. Had we chosen to stay in Club Santiago or somewhere along Santiago Bay, we likely would have had a much different experience.
Overall, I’d say Manzanillo—or rather, Santiago—is great for a beach holiday or for retirees escaping Canadian winters. But for digital nomads, there’s just not much to do, and the region lacks typical Mexican charm.
If you’re planning to stay longer than two weeks, I’d have to say Puerto Vallarta, Puerto Escondido, or somewhere in the Yucatan Peninsula might be better. Plus, they’re all currently much safer than Colima State.
If you do plan to come to Manzanillo, try to find a place in Club Santiago or along Santiago Bay. Rent a car for your entire stay and only head into Manzanillo city for groceries and the occasional night out at one of the restaurants in town.
Of course, everyone’s opinion of travel destinations and digital nomad hubs differs, but we feel it’s important to be fully honest about how we felt in Manzanillo. We hope that no matter where you plan to spend your time in Colima, this guide will help you out.
Like This Article? Pin it!
The post A Guide to Manzanillo Colima For Digital Nomads & Travellers appeared first on Goats On The Road.
