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Manzanillo's main feature is undoubtedly its charming beaches, which stretch across the two bays that make up this fantastic beach destination. Yet, there is much more to this quaint little town, such as its main square, known as Jardin Alvarez Obregon, with its wonderful quarry stone fountains and colonial style bandstand. Across the street is the seaside promenade, a gathering place for locals and tourist, who arrive here daily on the many cruise ships from all over the world. Another interesting attraction is the Centro Cultural y Deportivo Universitario (the University Cultural and Sports Center), a civic center on the San Pedrito Campus of the University of Colima. This institution is also where the Museum of Archeology is, home to over 1,800 objects and artifacts from the region. Manzanillo is surrounded by lush green hills that are ideal for eco-tourist activities, like camping, hiking and other forms of adventure tourism.
Manzanillo is made up of two beautiful bays, blessed with phenomenal beaches. Manzanillo Bay is lined with beaches such as Ventanas, Las Coloradas, El Viejo, San Pedrito, Las Brisas, Playa Azul, Salahua, Las Hadas and La Escondida. There is also a seaside promenade, the port and loading dock, and the harbor. Santiago Bay has a list of beaches which includes La Audiencia, Santiago, Olas Altas, Miramar and la Boquita, all of which are great for all sorts of water sports, like snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing, surfing, boating or yachting. Enjoy some time in the sun and the sea.
Most beaches in Manzanillo feature long stretches of golden sandy beaches, ideal for basking in the sun, kicking back, swimming, and enjoying its splendid waters, colors of which range in hue from greenish-blue to dark blue. All along the bay, you can find several marinas and a wide variety of tour companies that rent all the necessary gear for snorkeling, scuba diving and deep-sea fishing. Glide across the bay on a jet ski, go windsurfing, parasailing or ride a banana. Manzanillo's beaches are well-known for having great waves for surfing, especially from the spring to the summer months.
Deep-sea fishing is one of Manzanillo's most popular attractions and its waters hold the world record for the highest number of sailfish caught here each year, earning it its nickname, "the Sailfish Capital of the World". All the marinas and tour companies here feature charter boats fit for open waters, with depths that are perfect for catching great specimens of sailfish and black, blue or striped marlins. Manzanillo's advantage over other deep-sea fishing destinations is that anglers here don't really need to sail out for more than 10 to 15 minutes to find a nice catch, unlike other fishing destinations that require 2 to 3 hours to get to the best fishing grounds.
Manzanillo is also a renowned golf destination, with three marvelous courses, and it has played host to international tournaments for world-renowned professional golfers. The most spectacular course, designed by Robert Von Hagge, is located on Isla Navidad and features a world famous golf clinic. There is also Las Hadas Manzanillo Golf Resort and Marina, designed by Pete and Roy Dye, considered one of the 100 best courses in the world. The third course is a breathtaking oceanfront property located at Club Santiago, an exclusive residential area which offers an excellent game of golf.
With an impressive collection of over 1,800 pieces salvaged from several archeological excavation projects in western Mexico, as well as other pieces from Teotihuacan and Tlaxcala donated by the National Museum of Anthropology, the Museum of Anthropology on University Campus offers an interesting tour including four different halls. Three of them are devoted to Manzanillo, Colima and Mesoamerican civilizations, and the fourth exhibits a collection of highly sought after materials and tools used by pre-Columbian people for apparel, ceremonial purposes, or for every day use, such as seashell jewelry, pottery, objects made of bone or silver, bits and pieces of textiles, and gold or jade artifacts.
The focal point of this museum is a life-size reproduction of a shaft tomb, a type of burial structure formed from a deep and narrow vertical (or nearly vertical) shaft sunk into natural rock, which opened onto several horizontal chambers, where people would bury their dead, whom they surrounded with offerings that would include pottery vases and bowls with food and ceramic dog figurines. This was done so that the dead would not go hungry and could find their way on their journey to the underworld or "Mictlan," as it was called in ancient lore.
Just a 25-minute drive from Manzanillo, this small quaint town features a breathtaking lagoon with several inlets and mangroves near the sea, as well as a large expanse of beach, famous for its great waves, especially one called "ola verde" (green wave), a term used to describe unusually large waves reaching up to as high as 30 ft, taking 
place during the months of April to June. The ocean here is open water and has strong swells, ideal for surfing. With nice tropical weather all year round, this is one of the most popular waterside resorts in the state of Colima.
The Cuyutlan Environmental Center (Centro Ecologico de Cuyutlan) was opened for research purposes, to protect and rescue the area's wildlife, especially marine turtles, green iguanas, and caimans (which are endangered species), as well as the preservation of the whole coastal ecosystem, including the lagoon and mangroves of an estuary called Palo Verde. It features a turtle farm, where they keep a healthy population of turtles, iguanas, and caimans in captivity to later release them into the wild.
Another attraction in the area is the Salt Museum, where you can see the whole process of harvesting sea salt and drying it in the sun. Salt has been abundant in this area for centuries. Collected from Cuyutlan Lagoon, this sought after mineral has exceptional nutritional and culinary properties. There is even a local producer of organic salt, harvesting a rare form of salt called "Fleur de Sel" (flower of salt), considered the most revered, since it is hand-harvested by scraping only the top layer of salt crystals from marsh water. Because this salt is low in sodium and rich in minerals, has no additives, artificial ingredients, bleaching agents, or artificial coloring, it is highly sought after by chefs.
Located in the peninsula of La Culebra, an hour and half away from Manzanillo, is this splendid resort named Isla Navidad. Here, you'll find the world-class Grand Bay Hotel with exceptional facilities, including a marina and an oceanfront golf course, considered one of the most spectacular in the world. The hotel features a nice stretch of beach surrounded by coral reefs and a placid lagoon.
