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Which Ship Goes to Huatulco


Fred C
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Your welcome. It was the prettiest port we hit on our Panama Canal cruise. I would love to go back. It get so few ships that the water is still beautiful . Port is very clean. A great stop.

 

This is one of our stops next year on a transcanal cruise on the Coral. I looked at the excursions and I was wandering what you did or anything that you can suggest. I have done a search and not much comes up. Thanks.

 

marilyn

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I could not find much info on it before our trip either. We planned on it being our beach and shopping sort of stop. We thought we would have to take a taxi but it ended up having a great beach right next to the peir. The water is warm, clean. There were chair and umbrellas right there in the sand. They were free to use as long as you ordered drinks. Waiters were not pushy and very few vendors came by. There is a few stores beachside and a souvenir marketplace half a block up for the beach. Prices and quality were better than both Cabo and Acapulco. Huatulco is great. It reminds me of what other Mexico ports were probably like 20 years ago. Any other question feel free to ask.

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It is also possible to take a taxi up in to the town, which is quite a charming little place, with the usual central square and a beautiful church. The shops at the pier are all quite modern, but the buildings in the town are are old and it is more like PV was when we first went there in 1980.

 

The pier area is very nice and so is the beach--so it is just a matter of choosing what you want to do. Have been there twice on PC cruises and enjoyed it both times. :) hmh

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Thanks Vicky and hmh for your opinions. There is not much info out for these two stops but I am determined to find out anything that I can get my hands on.

 

marilyn

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We just spent two weeks in Huatulco this winter. Loved it. Don't expect a busy town. It is a small town. Huatulco is the name of the area, but the ships dock in Santa Cruz and the town up the hill (walkable if you are energetic, or cheap taxi ride) is called La Crucecita.

 

La Crucecita is a wonder town, you can walk around the entire town. Must sees are the textile, weaving shop, about three blocks from the main square. Also, have a meal in one of the restaurants that face the main square. Visit the church in Santa Cruz, lots of history here.

 

For beaches I highly recommend Bahia de Chahue, very quiet, you may be the only ones there. Also recommend Bahia de Maguey. This one will be much busier; however there are some great restaurants here. Taxi are cheap and the prices are set.

 

I don't recommend booking the bay tour through a large tour company (i.e. the cruise line). We did a bay tour with a small fishing boat for about $20 US each and we were gone for five hours and there were 8 of us. The large tours had over a hundred people on the boats and had to be tendered to the beach, long waits.

 

you can also take a taxi to Tangolunda Bay where the resorts are located (2.50 cost one way). Go to the Barcelo resort and you pay a fee to stay there for the day. The Gala resort might also have a deal too.

 

Have fun.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Vickie

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  • 2 weeks later...

A lot depends on how long the ship is in port. We were just there May 1 and arrived 10am,

left at 5PM. Like neighbours on 2 previous cruises, we opted for a beach day. Being

Sunday, there were a lot of local families on the beach and we had an interesting

chat with some of them. Paid $5 for lounge chairs in the shade.

 

More information on Huatulco at http://www.tomzap.com/huatulco.html

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  • 9 years later...
We just spent two weeks in Huatulco this winter. Loved it. Don't expect a busy town. It is a small town. Huatulco is the name of the area, but the ships dock in Santa Cruz and the town up the hill (walkable if you are energetic, or cheap taxi ride) is called La Crucecita.

 

La Crucecita is a wonder town, you can walk around the entire town. Must sees are the textile, weaving shop, about three blocks from the main square. Also, have a meal in one of the restaurants that face the main square. Visit the church in Santa Cruz, lots of history here.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Vickie

 

Vickie, I realize that this is a very old thread, but I have a question about about walking to La Crucecita. You say it is "up the hill" from the cruise dock. Can you tell me how steep is the hill and the general terrain? I use a mobility scooter and would like to scooter to La Crucecita with a friend also on a scooter. I would like to know what to expect. Also, once we get to La Crucecita, will we be able to get into the church and shops with our scooters? Are there sidewalks along the way and in town, and if so are there curb cuts for getting the scooters on and off of them. Thanks for any information you can give me.

 

I am also checking the Disabled Cruising forums.

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Vickie, I realize that this is a very old thread, but I have a question about about walking to La Crucecita. You say it is "up the hill" from the cruise dock. Can you tell me how steep is the hill and the general terrain? I use a mobility scooter and would like to scooter to La Crucecita with a friend also on a scooter. I would like to know what to expect. Also, once we get to La Crucecita, will we be able to get into the church and shops with our scooters? Are there sidewalks along the way and in town, and if so are there curb cuts for getting the scooters on and off of them. Thanks for any information you can give me.

 

I am also checking the Disabled Cruising forums.

 

A lot has likely changed in La Crucecite in 9 years and the only people that will have stopped here are those who are on a Panama Canal cruise.

 

Google Earth shows that there is a hilly area between the port and La Crucecita. It show there is a road that runs around the base of the hill and it also shows a new/newer road being built across the hills. The distance to the church around the hills is roughly 1 1/2 miles. The road through the hills makes it roughly 1 1/4 miles. I can't tell if there are sidewalks or if cruising the roadway is your only choice.

 

There are quite a few current photos of La Crucecita on the internet. I was surprised to see the number of curb cuts. I also noted that most business required shoppers to walk one or two steps to get from sidewalk level into the shop. This includes the front door at the church, although I did note the church has side doors that may be available to individual such as yourself.

 

I suggest you contact a tour broker that services La Crucecita and ask about your mobility options. An example would be: http://explorehuatulco.com/things-to-do-huatulco/ Maybe they can steer you to a service that can take you into town and bring you back when you are done.

 

The sad truth is most Mexican tourist destinations can't afford to retrofit curbs and business entries with ramps. And most tourists don't pay attention to those little things that become a barrier to people in a wheel chair/scooter.

 

Good Luck, Enjoy!

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Thank you Paul and Marilyn. I appreciate your input. I kept researching after I posted this and actually followed the road from the port to the Main church in La Crucecita through the magic of Google maps. The route through the hills had no sidewalks but really couldn't tell how steep it might be. Map jumped around at times and was hard to keep oriented in proper direction. Then I found a longer 1.9 mile route with sidewalks and curb cuts all the way with shops all the way along. Appeared doable if battery power could handle it. I realize the elevation of La Crucecita is 49 feet so maybe if I try Google Earth as you suggest, I can get an idea if the whole distance is uphill or if it levels out at times.

 

Finding transportation for two scooters, let alone one, is difficult in many cruise ports outside of the U.S., hence we do a lot of scooter tours on our own.

 

I will follow up on your suggestions. Thank you.

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