Ensenada - kid friendly

Just booked a cruise for spring break next year with the grandkids. This cruise is more about them having fun since we have been there, done that already. DGS will be 11 and DGD will be 8.

I'm a planner so... We will be there from 7 am to 5 pm. That means something safe for them to do for the day. Any suggestions?

Ensenada is not really a "hang at the beach" type port. I would check to see what excursions are available in port. When we were there last summer, we took a cab ride to a local resort and hung out in their pool. It was an area where you could also swim in the ocean. It was a fun thing to do and cost only $10 per person for use of the resort's facilities.

La Bufadora is good to do that once. The tourist booth had tours for $20. But if you take the shuttle ($2/pp) into town they'll discount it.

We walk into town. It's about a 10 minute walk.

The 1800's army barracks turned jail is now a '15 minute' museum. On Gastellum between Ave Lopez (Primera) and the ocean. It's a white building with a red stripe.

Let the kids haggle with a street vendor. The wrap bracelets are around $3 or 2/$5. A flower leather headband is about $5.

If construction is finished, walk along the Malecon to the Fish Market. Amazingly it does not smell.

Food---

We've eaten at these place many, many times. Taken lots of people here, none have become sick. (Clean bathrooms, throw paper in the trash can.) All take American dollars but you might get pesos back.

-Taquiero Lindo between Hussong's and Papas n Beer is always good for tacos.

-La Michoacana is an ice cream and Popsicle store a few more doors up the street.

-Birrieria La Guadalajara has extremely good birria. This is where many tour guides eat. On Macheros between Primera and Segundo. (Free wifi)

-Hacienda on Ave Lopez has chickens rotisserie-ing in the front window. Excellent chicken and tortillas. Avoid the French fries, they're lousy.

Excellent suggestions. Haven't been to Ensenada in about 20 years. Seriously, they are still doing construction? :rolleyes:

Ensenada is not really a "hang at the beach" type port. I would check to see what excursions are available in port. When we were there last summer, we took a cab ride to a local resort and hung out in their pool. It was an area where you could also swim in the ocean. It was a fun thing to do and cost only $10 per person for use of the resort's facilities.

This sounds interesting.. Can you please tell the name of the resort.

thanks

Excellent suggestions. Haven't been to Ensenada in about 20 years. Seriously, they are still doing construction? :rolleyes:

As of March they were still redoing the whole Malecon Boardwalk. Also taking the highway down to the dirt from the bridge to the curve. If you didn't cross right after the bridge, you could only cross at the curve.

They were making progress since we saw it in November 2014.

This sounds interesting.. Can you please tell the name of the resort.

 

thanks

I'd be glad to...just give a a day or two so I can find my paperwork from our last cruise. I've forgotten the name of it. Having a Senior moment...LOL!:D

The name of the resort we went to is the Estero Beach Resort. Google it for information and a phone no. We were there in Aug. last year and we paid $10 to use their facilities. We loved the bar in the pool and the bartenders were awesome...even gave us a couple of free drinks. I also love their pool and Jacuzzi. The ocean views are awesome! Lots of beach lounges. We were there for 4 hours! You have be bring your own beach towels. They do have bathrooms where you can change into or out of your swimsuits. We had a great time there and met some very nice people that were staying there.

Very friendly staff.

The name of the resort we went to is the Estero Beach Resort. Google it for information and a phone no. We were there in Aug. last year and we paid $10 to use their facilities. We loved the bar in the pool and the bartenders were awesome...even gave us a couple of free drinks. I also love their pool and Jacuzzi. The ocean views are awesome! Lots of beach lounges. We were there for 4 hours! You have be bring your own beach towels. They do have bathrooms where you can change into or out of your swimsuits. We had a great time there and met some very nice people that were staying there.

Very friendly staff.

Thank you,

This was the one I was actually looking at. Wasn't sure how far it was by Taxi though.

The Estero Beach Club is about a 20 - 30 minute taxi ride from downtown, which is where we took our taxi from. We made arrangements for the cab driver that took us to the beach club to pick us up there at a set time and return us to downtown, which he did. We then had lunch at a local restaurant and took another cab back to the dock.

You can walk from the dock to downtown but it's a long walk and we were fried after being at the resort for 4 hours. This was all a year ago so the $10 per person price for using the Estero's facilities may be different. I'd give a call over there and check before I went. All I know is that we loved it there and would go back again in a heartbeat.

The name of the resort we went to is the Estero Beach Resort...

This is a local favorite in the San Diego community. I like it for weekend stays.

I took my boys when they were 9 and 12 and they enjoyed checking out the downtown area, eating some tacos and shopping for trinkets. The highlight of the day for my kids was watching a street artist make cool spay paint artwork using household items for effect. We told him what we kind of art we wanted and he made a sea scene for my youngest and a space one for my oldest. He also had them him help out (his idea). It was pretty cool :) They loved the street performers and artists.