Last month, a few friends and I took a trip to Acapulco, also known as Acapulco de Juárez. This resort town in Mexico is really popular with American students during spring break, but we found that it attracts tourists of all ages and from all over the world. We flew to Mexico and then took another flight to Acapulco. Although we thought about renting a car, we decided to use cabs and buses based on some advice we got.

We stayed for four days at a place called Hotel Vital. It was affordable and the service was pretty good. The best part was that it was just a five-minute walk from the beach. Acapulco is famous for its bay area and long, crowded beaches, and it definitely lived up to the hype. Our first swim was at Tamarindos Beach, and for the rest of the days, we explored other nearby beaches like Papagayo and Hornos. They were all clean and great for hanging out, and conveniently close to each other. We heard about a huge water park called CICI, but we didn’t have enough time to visit it.

Most of our meals were at the hotel’s restaurant, but one afternoon, we decided to have dinner at a place called Kookaburra. The food was amazing, and the view of the city was spectacular. And, of course, we couldn’t miss out on the nightlife! We went to El Alebrije, which is the largest club in Latin America. It can fit about 5,000 people and features some of the most famous DJs, making it a paradise for clubbers. We went there twice and wanted to go back again, but we also checked out Palladium. Palladium is also huge but stands out because it’s on a cliff with an incredible panoramic view of the city through a glass wall on one side of the dance floor. We had an absolute blast.

On our last day, we visited La Quebrada. Everyone said our trip wouldn’t be complete without seeing it. Professional cliff divers perform amazing tricks there. Even though the water level is shallow and the space isn’t very wide, they dive so skillfully from different heights. We were completely awestruck, especially when they performed the Ocean of Fire. They poured gasoline in the water to form a circle, set it on fire, and then dived right into it. It was quite a sight to see.

By the time we returned home, we felt a great sense of fulfillment. We had a fantastic time and wished we could have stayed longer in this wonderful place.