Roqueta Island is only half a mile from Caleta beach (source)
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The minute you have a glimpse at the lush tropical vegetation of the uninhabited Roqueta Island from the boat, you understand why Frank Sinatra fell in love with Acapulco at first sight.
Yet, as you start making your way through dense families picnicking on the main beach with the noisy buzzing of nearby ski-jets and banana boats everywhere, you also understand why this city fell out of favor with the wealthiest tourists in the 80s and 90s.
When I was a kid and my family, like so many of our friends of Mexico City, started coming to Acapulco regularly thanks to the newly built highways that cut driving time from 20 hours to 6 hours, this Island was my favorite spot. There was the zoo and the view to the extravagant houses of my favorite singers on the peninsula of Old Acapulco, then only known as Acapulco, only a few hundred feet across the strait. But what I enjoyed more than anything else was the actual trip to the island.
Glass-bottom boats leave throughout the day from Playa Caleta or the Marina to Isla de la Roqueta via the underwater shrine. For 3 bucks, you get a 45-minute ride during which you see thousands of spiny sea urchins, multicolored fish and a two-ton bronze statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe that somebody sank near a pile of rocks so the glass-bottomed boats could stretch out the ride. The statue was removed because of corrosion, but the boats still stretch out the ride nevertheless, feigning surprise when passing over the shrine where the virgin once was.
The island's only two beaches are favorite spots of Mexican snorkelers and swimmers. Because the locals like to bring their whole family along and spend the whole day picnicking here, these beaches tend to be quite crowded. Boat and beach merchants are plentiful - perhaps too plentiful.
To the great amuzement of sunbathers, a herd of burros that lives on the island has developed a taste for cold beer. Locals say they prefer Corona. They come around to the tables and try to bum brewskis off you. Just held up a bottle of beer, and the burro proceeded to chug-a-lug the bottle.
The island offers the best view of Acapulco Bay (source)
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For those who have energy, the gradual lighthouse trail slopes deep inside the island. Once a hideout of pirates, the dense forest covering the island is only visited nowadays by tourists looking for some solitude. This trek leads to the only hard-wall construction on the island: a lighthouse overlooking Acapulco Bay.
On the other side of the island from the main beach, a small zoo lost in the lush hillside forest includes many endangered species , such as howler monkeys and coatimundi.
Next: The Divers of La Quebrada Cliffs  .
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