Anyone been to Puerto Chiapas?

I'm back from our PC cruise and wanted to give you an update on Puerto Chiapas. We did the Mayan ruins and chocolate discovery ship excursion.

 

First of all, the port was much nicer than I expected. Just off the ship is a huge paloppa with a bar and nice swimming pool. There was a shuttle to "town" but I'm not sure where that went or what that was like. My guess is this is not the port for shopping and strolling town. We drove about 30-45 minutes to the ruins and nearby town for the chocolate demo. It was extremely hot but the bus had AC and they offered water, soda or beer whenever we wanted it. The ruins are well kept but if you've been to Tulum or Chichen Itza you will be disappointed. These are smaller and more earthen in nature. Still, historical.

 

In the town there was a tent with chairs for us to sit in the shade while we waited for the chocolate demo. During our wait some men played music while women in traditional dresses danced. They brought up people to dance with them and our three year old dd did it. For the chocolate demo we stood in a large gazebo and they actually roasted and ground the beans in front of us. Someone mixed the chocolate by hand and gave us samples. They also made hot chocolate to taste.

 

While in the town we also walked through the streets a bit to see a church and then through a market. There were items to buy if you wanted, but it was a local market and not a tourist market so they had fruits, veggies, meats, fish, etc.

 

This is certainly a port that is more a realistic look at life in Mexico rather than the slick look of Cabo. Although it may not be for everyone, we enjoyed our day and I preferred it to sitting on the ship.

Thanks Teri for getting back to me. Greatly appreciated! :)

I like The idea about the pool and the bar.....if it is true Mexico, their Margaritas must be great!! :D

Did you hear any other passengers discussing it and how they liked it?

Hope you had a great time and the cruise was all that you expected. :)

Don

We stopped in Puerto Chiapas two years ago and I took the Mexican Cooking tour. I thought it was a 7-8 out of 10.

We got on the bus with the tour guide who told us about the area and the various crops raised in the area as we passed by them. The city of Tapachula is not attractive and a little depressing. We made our way to a local hotel where they ushered us to a covered patio. There was a mariachi band that played music. They gave us a margarita making demonstration and a choice of margaritas that were on the small side. They then showed us how to make a tortilla, leaf wrapped fish and guacamole. We received a little booklet with these recipes. While the fish cooked we played a game with spanish words. Our team won and we each got a shot of tequila!

Then we were invited to walk around the hotel and see the rooms. This was the part of the tour that was a little odd. They had a wing they had just finished and they wanted us to see them. We then got on the bus and traveled through Tapachula.

It was a fun day, and I got to see another part of the world.

Don,

I didn't hear anyone talking about the bar/pool area, just the city. Anyone I heard talking about "just going into town" didn't think it was a great port. I'd either recommend the pier pool and bar or a tour. I'm sure some people just stayed on board and figured they could swim in the pool and drink on the ship, but then you don't get to meet those people on the pier. They all stood and waved as we left the port.

We coming up on a PC cruise on the Star and have booked the Izapa Ruins & Chocolate Discovery for Puerto Chiapas. Izapa is the ancient ruin where they believe the 2012 Mayan calendar originated. I'd rather see something interesting in the countryside rather than spend another day on the ship. Don't get me wrong, I love sea days, but a PC cruise already has a lot of them and I find it interesting to see something that is a 180 from my everyday life. That said, I'd probably only do a ship's tour.

I'm doing this cruise in Spring 2015 and have been wondering about this ruins and chocolate tour..I look forward to reading your review!

Sandra

We took the Izapa ruins and Mayan tour. It was okay. The guide spoke very poor English. We did notice that there seemed to be a club with a large pool near the end of the port, that seemed to have quite a few cruisers and cruise staff there.

I see you were on the Star for a Panama Canal cruise.

 

That is the ship we will be on in January.

How did you enjoy the Star and the cruise?

 

Any advice or recommendations?

 

Don

Hey Don, caught you trolling over here, I am looking for the same thing, no luck yet,

Hey Tom....

Yes, some very useful information is found on these boards.

Teri has been very helpful (Thanks Teri for getting back on this port)

I think I am going to take Teri's advice and stroll around the pier and then head back to the ship and enjoy the pool onboard.

None of the excursions excite me in any way. :)

Don

We took the NCL Star through Panama Canal last year with a stop at this port.

There is one taxi kiosk to arrange a taxi to take you to Tapachula.

There was also a booth that sells tours to Tuxtla and Izapa, a Mesoamerican ruin. We took this one. They take you to Tuxtla town square for some chocolate-making demonstration, then to Izapa.

We took the NCL Star through Panama Canal last year with a stop at this port.

 

There is one taxi kiosk to arrange a taxi to take you to Tapachula.

 

There was also a booth that sells tours to Tuxtla and Izapa, a Mesoamerican ruin. We took this one. They take you to Tuxtla town square for some chocolate-making demonstration, then to Izapa.

Thanks for the info on tours in port...do you remember about how much it cost? I'm hoping to compare the tours offered by NCL and those from port kiosk.

Sandra

Sorry, I don't remember. I can safely say though that it was definitely cheaper than the NCL tour. I believe NCL charges $99 per person. I will not pay that much for a 4-hour tour.

We planned on taking a taxi to Tapachula but it was expensive for what it was. Although I also don't remember the price they quoted. For a little bit more, I thought, being able to go to the ruins sounded better. The van was nice, the group small, the tour guide did his best; in any case, there were signs and boards around the ruins and I can read. The chocolate demonstration was just ab old woman on a stage showing how it was done. I was more interested of the kiosks in the plaza selling the different chocolates. Buy some but bargain hard.