I want to thank this forum and all other trip report sites for the valuable information that helped us on our recent trip to Acapulco.

If you decide to rent a vehicle from the airport or anywhere else in Acapulco to get around this great city, please be aware of the Transit Police. These so called police are driving the older model white two door Nissan Sentras with big numbers spray painted on the hood and on each side of the car, with big red and blue lights mounted on the top. You will be stopped by them! They target Americans! There are usually 2-3 of them in the car to try to intimidate you. And yes, these are suppose to be legitimate police but they are just traffic police that are just looking to get some money out of “Rich Americans”.

They will blow their horn at you and literally pull in front of you hanging out of the window to make you pull over. They will be very persistent until you do pull over. When you do pull over, just put a crack in your window, lock your doors, and keep the car in gear. Crack your window enough so that you can hear what they are saying and so that they can hear what you are saying. They will first tell you that you made a rediculous infraction while driving and will ask for you driver’s license. Whatever you do, DO NOT give them your driver’s license. Be firm (not rude) to them and continuously let them know that you did not do anything wrong let them know that you will not give them your driver’s license/identification/passport - just do not hand them anything! They will try to intimidate you to give up any of these documents so that they can sell it back to you. That’s right, they will not give it back to you until you give them all of your money! They will tell you that they will take you to the police station and that you will be put in jail. You will not be taken to jail! They are just trying to scare you to give them your documents so they can steal from you. They will also tell you that you have no respect for the law and that you have to give them what they want. Just be nice to them and let them know you will not give them anything, that you respect the law, and they will eventually tell you to go. At first it is upsetting but just keep in mind that these men do not have badges, name tags, nor guns. They will not physically hurt you! They are just bullying you out of money!

When they realize that you will not give in to them, they will eventually tell you that you can go. The four times we were pulled over it lasted maybe two minutes each time. They will know that you understand what they're after almost immediately when you tell them you will not give them your driver's license and they will send you on your way.

If you are unsuspecting of this, you will fall prey to them and they will get what they want. If I can help just one person through this post I feel like my goal is accomplished. Just pass down your experience(s) with them to everyone. PAY IT FORWARD!

I am so glad that I looked at the many trip reports pertaining to this before we left for Acapulco. Reading through all the trip reports and using the helpful tips from others really helped us handle these bandits appropriately and made us very aware of them and we did not surrender anything to them and we spent money to the wonderful people of Acapulco.

We will definitely go back to Acapulco and we will rent a vehicle every time we go back. It is a great city with good food, good culture, amazing views, and genuinely friendly people. Don't let these bad police spoil a good place to visit.