‘Wonderful’ guide in Mexico

During a visit to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, in January-February 2017, my husband and I used the services of Ketavi Tours (Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico; phone +52 [755] 55 9 30 23, ketavi.com) for airport transfers and a scenic tour to several of the beaches north of Zihuatanejo, including Playa Linda and Troncones.

The owner of Ketavi, Ulises Solano, was very responsive and wonderful to work with. I had emailed him our flight details about two months before our trip, and he greeted us inside the airport to help with our luggage.

When we saw the line for purchasing a ticket for taxis and then the taxi line outside, we were pleased we had made previous transport arrangements! Ulises fetched his late-model, air-conditioned Suburban and we were on our way. 

The cost of the 30-minute transfer from the airport to La Ropa Beach was $45. Our return transfer, three weeks later, cost 320 pesos (near $17). The price difference came from the airport tax that’s charged to private tour companies when they pick up passengers.

We waited until we were in Zihuatanejo to make arrangements for our beach tour, doing so about a week in advance. The beach tour with Ulises was very pleasant, culminating in a delicious lunch in a nice hotel restaurant on the beach in Troncones. 

Along the way, we stopped at a lovely yoga center called Present Moment Retreat (www.present
momentretreat.com), where we had a refreshing drink and walked around the peaceful property. We paid $120 for our 5-hour tour, exclusive of lunch.

Ulises speaks excellent English, and we learned a lot about the Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa area and local lore during our tour, despite the fact we had been there on four previous occasions. He was a font of knowledge and seemed to know everyone! He had lived in Zihuatanejo, where his father was once the mayor, for 41 years.

We discovered Ketavi Tours through a Google search for tours in the Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa area. Ulises had great reviews, so I checked TripAdvisor and he was listed there with good reviews too.

Ulises arranges trips that include Pátzcuaro and Santa Clara del Cobre (the copper town), Acapulco, Cuernavaca and Taxco. He also offers adventure tours, with fishing, horseback riding, snorkeling, swimming with dolphins or cycling.

Ulises is a “can do” kind of person and very personable. We will contact him again on our next visit to Zihuatanejo.

CONNIE MARTIN

Prescott, AZ