Acapulco

Acapulco, in full Acapulco de Juárez, town and seaport in southern Mexico, in Guerrero State, on the Pacific Ocean. The city has scheduled air service and highway connections with the interior of Mexico. Its principal exports are agricultural: cotton, tropical fruits, sugarcane, coffee, tobacco, and sesame seed.

Endowed with a fine harbor, which is almost entirely landlocked, and located in a setting of great natural beauty, Acapulco is sometimes called the Riviera of Mexico. It has luxury hotels, gambling casinos, and excellent beaches and is popular for winter vacations and deep-sea fishing. The climate is warm and pleasant between December and April but hot, humid, and rainy from May to November. The city was founded in 1550, and from 1565 to 1815 it was Mexico's major port on the Pacific coast for Spanish trade with East Asia. Population 717,766 (2005 estimate).