Aeropuerto Juan N. Álvarez
Acapulco's international airport is officially known as Aeropuerto Juan N. Álvarez (or by its three letter airport code, ACA). It is located on the southeastern side of town, at Boulevard de las Naciones s/n Col. Plan de los Amates C.P. 39931.
The small, cheerful airport is situated between the Tres Palos Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean. Thus it offers some beautiful scenery to those who are taking off and landing. The airport provides duty free shops, restaurants, magazine stands, a VIP lounge, business center, and most importantly, an ATM and a money exchange booth. There you can immediately convert your currency to Mexican pesos, if you like. (US dollars are also easy to spend in Acapulco, as they are accepted most places). The car rental counters are also located right outside of customs. A shortcoming is that the airport does not have enough seating in the areas for ticketing and arrivals.
A number of US airlines operate direct flights to Acapulco: Continental (which departs from its Houston and Newark hubs) and American Airlines (flying from Dallas and Chicago). Most other international passengers must first arrive in Mexico City and pass trough customs there before boarding a Mexican airline (Aeroméxico, Mexicana or Aviacsa) to Acapulco. For direct arrivals, the small Acapulco staff can easily be overwhelmed, so that international passengers may have to wait a while to process through immigration and customs during peak periods.
The drive from the airport to the heart of Acapulco takes about 20 minutes (26 kilometers) up to half an hour if traffic is heavy. Airport transportation to your hotel typically costs $30.00 USD per vehicle, in a large car or mini-van. This is NOT $30.00 USD per person, in case someone tries to charge it. Though a typical taxi ride to the airport should cost half this, there is no way around the elevated transport fees. The city taxis are not allowed to pick up travelers at the airport, so they have to dead head back to town. You are so far away from the main drag that that no street taxis can be found nearby, even if you walk up to the main road.
