Yeah, I'd probably suggest acoustic first too. I played acoustic for about 5 years before I switched to electric and all the stuff I'd learned on the acoustic came in really handy, like strumming and stuff. It's also better for strengthening the fingers on your left hand and getting into fingerpicking.
Plus you can play guitar anywhere you want without having to search for an amp.
Once you start getting into barre chords and learning leads tho, you'll know it's time to switch to electric. The main thing frustrating about acoustics after awhile is it's hard to play leads ...the strings are almost impossible to bend & sometimes it's a pain when you get up to the 12th fret but your lead has to be played on the 16th fret and ya can't reach it.