We like visitors. If you're going . . . The Costa Alegre lies between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo on Mexico's Pacific coast. Conditions on Highway 200 are good, though night driving isn't recommended because of wandering livestock and limited facilities. Expect to be stopped at a police roadblock or two, but unless you're packing guns or drugs, you should have no problem.
Ocean swimming is fine in bays along the coast.
However, the undertow is too strong for safe swimming off unprotected stretches. The better hotels have optional or mandatory meal plans for guests, though some hotel restaurants are open to non guests, too. The only concentration of restaurants is in Barra de Navidad, which has dozens of low-cost eateries. Rates at some hotels drop considerably in the hot and humid off-season. Hotels are in geographical order going north to south.