Acapulco is a city and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, 300 km (190 miles) southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay. It is a port of call for shipping and cruising lines running between Panama and San Francisco, California, USA. As of the 2005 census the population of the city was 616,394. The municipality, which has an area of 1,882.6 km² (726.88 sq mi), includes numerous small localities outside of the city. The tourist resort city of Acapulco is the largest city in the state, by far larger than the state capital of Chilpancingo, in second place.

The climate is tropical, with warm to hot temperatures year-round. Precipitation is heavily concentrated in the high-sun period (northern hemisphere summer), while the low-sun period (northern hemisphere winter) is mostly dry and sunny.

For most of a century, exotic and historic Acapulco has been a popular resort for tourists taking long holiday weekends and cruises from the United States, the Mexican interior and countries in South America. Eventually, it began competing directly with the east-coast (Cancun) as a super-tourist destination. In the past three decades, air fares have become increasingly affordable as international airlines added flights and infrastructure to support the increasing air travel.