Xihuacan Archaeological Site: Guided Tour & Local Lunch

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/6

Duration4h

GroupUp to 14

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Explore Xihuacan’s ancient ruins and museum with a guide before tasting real countryside seafood near Zihuatanejo

You’ll travel from Zihuatanejo or Ixtapa to Xihuacan with a local guide, exploring ancient ruins, a museum full of artifacts, and a ceremonial ball court before sharing a real countryside lunch with handmade tortillas and fresh seafood. Between quiet moments among old bricks and laughter over lunch, you’ll find pieces of Mexico you’ll remember long after the trip.

Step-by-step itinerary

Xihuacan Archaeology and Lunch

Drive to archaeological site
Explore Xihuacan ceremonial center
Visit Xihuacan Site Museum
See the ball court
Visit Edificio B pyramid
Tour Soledad de Maciel community
Drive to beach restaurant
Enjoy traditional Mexican seafood lunch
Return to hotel in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo

The Experience

Hands dusted off a clay pot — that’s how our guide, Miguel, started showing us around Xihuacan. He’d picked it up like it was nothing special, but you could see he was proud. The drive from Ixtapa took about 45 minutes, windows down for the breeze (and honestly, the van’s AC was almost too cold). Fields slid by, dotted with papaya trees and kids waving at the van. When we got to the site, there was this quiet—just birds and the crunch of gravel under our shoes.

The Xihuacan archaeological site felt different from other ruins I’ve seen. Maybe it was the bricks — not stone — or maybe just how new everything still feels here. Miguel walked us through the museum first (about 800 artifacts, he said), pointing out obsidian vases and shell necklaces so tiny I had to squint. There was this faint smell of earth and old pottery in the air. At the ball court, he explained how games here were tied to rituals—sometimes even human sacrifice. That part made me shiver a bit; I didn’t expect to feel so close to history.

We wandered over to Edificio B next, which is built out of bricks on the inside and modeling clay outside—Miguel tapped it so we could hear the difference. Afterward we passed through Soledad de Maciel, where people live right on top of what used to be high-class neighborhoods centuries ago. It’s strange seeing laundry flapping where ancient families once lived—makes you think about time in a weird way.

Lunch came after another short ride toward the coast—a little restaurant with plastic chairs and a dog napping in the shade. The tortillas were still warm from someone’s hands; I went for shrimp in garlic sauce (the smell alone made my stomach growl). There was guacamole, beans, chips… even coconut milk if you wanted it. We laughed about my terrible Spanish (“camarones” apparently isn’t as easy as it looks), and Miguel told us stories about his grandmother making tortillas by hand. I still think about that meal sometimes.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off from Zihuatanejo or Ixtapa in an air-conditioned van with your local guide leading you through Xihuacan’s ruins and museum before heading out for a traditional countryside lunch—fresh seafood or chicken with handmade tortillas—before returning comfortably back to your hotel.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Luis de la Maza Ixtapa Zihuatanejo tours