the family visited Ixtapa Island in 2000 it was okbut the water was a little dirty and the minute yousat down to enjoy the sun they would try to sell youjewelry or drinks. The people were nice butdid not care for the restaurant food. environmentwas dirty. Maybe in a few years this island willbuild up but for now till then try another place

We tied in the Ixtapa Island trip at the end of a fishing trip. The captain was supposed to catch a fish and cook it on the beach for us.
What actually happens is that there is a restaurant of sorts on the beach where they will cook your fish. We didn't catch any, but they did have fish to cook for you. The fish was good but a bit pricey. At the end of our stay at the restaurant/beach, the waiter had the nerve enough to ask for a bigger tip than he got.The beach itself was crowded and kind of a tourist trap. The snorkeling beach was the same. The water was cloudy because of all the people, but if you were a good swimmer, and swam out a hundred yards or so, there were plenty of fish and a good variety.Fortunately our ride was there after a couple of hours so the disappointment was kept to a minimum. If we had been stuck there all day, it would have been a bummer. Skip the Ixtapa Island trip and go to a nice beach restaurant on the mainland.

We heard that Ixtapa Island was the place to go for snorkeling, so we brought our gear down with us and looked into the options once we arrived. We ended up taking two trips to the Island, one cost us 480 peso, the other 160 peso, and we knew of people that spent 750+ peso.The first time we went to the Island we booked through a vendor on the Beach for 240 peso each and had to pay 100 peso down. We knew the Hotel was selling tours for 350 peso each, so we figured if he didn't show we were only out $10. The tour guide showed up in the morning with his Suburban full of people from other Hotels and he drove us to Playa Linda. From there he got us onto a ferry to Ixtapa Island. Once on the Island he got us to order lunch which we would get a 2pm, and helped people get their equipment if they needed it (rentals were not included in the tour price, and lunch was a filet of fish with one drink of choice). The tour guide then showed us to Playa Coral and let us loose. On this day Playa Coral was busy and somewhat cloudy, but mostly calm. There were tons of fish, but they kept their distance. The coral reef near the shore is obviously near the end of it's life and fairly dull. As you get deeper it gets a bit better, but don't expect the reef to be the attraction.It was obviously a cool enough experience for us to want to return 2 days later. This time we went on our own and tried to get out there before the 10am tours. At 9am we took a Taxi from the hotel (50 peso), and bought our own ferry ticket (30 peso return). Once on the Island we had one of the ?restaurantures? help us find a great seat (we tipped him in the end as all of our gear remained in our possession while we were snorkeling, the tour guide watched our stuff previously). On this day the water was 10 times clearer, there were very few people, and we had brought a few crackers to feed the fish. Even before we open the crackers the fish were more approachable, and there seemed more of them (we even think we saw a barracuda along the surface, but were still confirming if that's even possible). We snorkeled for 2 hours straight until the tours showed up around 11:30 and then we just hopped a ferry back to Playa Linda, and another 50 peso Taxi ride to the Hotel.Some people at the Hotel paid for the 350 peso tour and the only difference I think was the air conditioned bus that took them to Playa Linda.

Paradise!! is all I can think of when Ixtapa Island comes to mind. We have been in Ixtapa twice and are returning again this month. We would not miss the chance to visit the island as often as we can on our vacation.We love to stay at the Qualton Club and either take a boat trip over or simply paddle. The island is a great place to snorkle and then sit back and relaxe as the locals pamper you with a pale of ice cold refrehments and fresh sea food if you would like. Ixtapa Island is very tranquil and pictureesque. Try to sail around the island and you will see another quit spot to visit. We love this little island, can not wait to visit once again.