Getting there
By air
Playa de Oro International (ZLO) sits about 30 to 40 minutes northwest of the beach zones, out near El Naranjo toward Barra de Navidad. It handles seasonal flights from a handful of US and Canadian cities plus domestic connections through Mexico City and Guadalajara. Be warned: outside the winter high season the schedule thins out hard, and you may find yourself connecting through Guadalajara either way. There are no ride-hail pickups at the airport worth counting on, so pre-book a hotel transfer or take an authorized airport taxi from the official stand. Reckon on roughly 30 to 45 minutes to the peninsula, and a fare in the ballpark of 500 to 900 MXN (approximate) depending on zone.
By bus
Manzanillo is well connected by first-class coach, and for most overland trips this is the easy way in. From Guadalajara it is about a 5-hour ride through the mountains on lines like ETN, Primera Plus, and Autobuses de la Costa; a first-class fare runs roughly 500 to 750 MXN (approximate). Colima city is only about 1.5 hours and much cheaper. The Central de Autobuses is downtown, so you will grab a taxi onward to the beaches, roughly 15 to 20 minutes to the peninsula.
By car
Driving from Guadalajara takes about 4 to 4.5 hours on a good toll highway (the Guadalajara–Colima–Manzanillo autopista), with tolls totaling somewhere around 500 to 700 MXN (approximate). It is a scenic run down out of the highlands, but two honest cautions: heavy truck traffic builds near the port, and you should avoid the final coastal legs after dark, when the highways are poorly lit and the trucks keep rolling. A car is genuinely useful only if you plan to day-trip to Barra, Cuyutlán, or Comala.
Getting around
The city sprawls along the coast, so plan on taxis for most hops. They run on loose zone pricing rather than a meter, so agree the fare before you get in; peninsula-to-downtown runs are cheap and quick, usually well under 150 MXN (approximate). Ride-hail (Uber, DiDi) has only a thin, unreliable presence here, so do not count on it, especially at night, and just use street taxis.
Local camiones (city buses) grind along the coast road linking downtown, Salahua, Santiago, and Miramar for a handful of pesos. They are cheap and authentic but slow, hot, and confusing for a two-day visitor; fine if you have time and patience, skippable if you do not. The beach zones themselves, the peninsula and each stretch of Miramar, are walkable once you are dropped in them, but the distances between zones are too far to walk comfortably in the heat.
For a standard two-day trip, taxis plus your fishing charter or tour transport cover everything without the parking hassle or the night-driving worry of a rental car. Rent only if day trips inland are the whole point. Pair this with is it safe for the road and night-taxi notes.