To snorkel or not - that is the question?

Greetings - We are taking an 11-day Mexican Riviera cruise late April 2006. I have conflicting reports about snorkeling, mostly bad. We will be making stops in Cabo, Mazatlan, PV, Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo, and Manzanillo. Suggestions please :confused:

Greetings - We are taking an 11-day Mexican Riviera cruise late April 2006. I have conflicting reports about snorkeling, mostly bad. We will be making stops in Cabo, Mazatlan, PV, Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo, and Manzanillo. Suggestions please :confused:

The water conditions along the MR are not in the same class as the Caribbean. The water temps are a little cooler and the water is not as clear. These are important items to some and mean nothing to others.

I vacation every year in PV. DW & I were there once in early May. The water conditions were like pea soup. One excursion guide told us it was an annual event and had something to do with the changing ocean currents out in the Pacific. We now travel there in November and never experienced those same conditions. We take several excursion each year that put us on the water. All include a snorkeling opportunity at least once during the day and we always find ourselves in the water with mask & fins.

I have experienced extreemly small jellyfish in late November/early December. So small you can't see them but do feel a small stinging sensation when you swim into them. Never had this happen on the beaches but did run into them in the protected areas that the tourist excursions frequent.

My reccommendation would be to avoid any excursion where snorkeling is the central focus but I would take an excursion that has snorkeling as one of many things that you will do during the day.

Thanks for the information - I am looking into several excursions that will be offered on through Celebrity Mercury. Not necessarily all of them, but these are the ones that appeal to us the most. Again, this will be late April 2006. Would you mind checking this out and tell me what you think?

Cabo: Snorkel in Chilleno Bay

Mazatlan: Randi Happy Horses (not through the cruise line)

PV: Snorkel at Yelapa Beach

Acapulco: City tour and cliff divers (day)

Ixtapa/Zihatenejo: Snorkel at Las Gatas Beach Club,Bay of Zihatenejo "King Reef

Manzanillo: Snorkel at Elephant Rock OR City tour with Pyramid of La Campana ???

Thanks

I am taking close to the same trip in Sept on the Summit and I have been doing a lot of research as Manzanillo is not part of my tour I can't say

Cabo we are going to the Melia resort as I have heard snorkeling here is questionable with strong currents

Matzalan Randi;s

Puerto Vallarta either Pirate adventure or Las Caletas (which I have heard is closest to Caribbean excursion.

Acalpulcao according to ACA port authority don't snorkel]

Ixtapa the Las Gata resort area

Won't know until I go but lots of info on the Mexican Riveria site

Hope this helps

deb:p

Thanks for the information - I am looking into several excursions that will be offered on through Celebrity Mercury. Not necessarily all of them, but these are the ones that appeal to us the most. Again, this will be late April 2006. Would you mind checking this out and tell me what you think?

 

Cabo: Snorkel in Chilleno Bay

Mazatlan: Randi Happy Horses (not through the cruise line)

PV: Snorkel at Yelapa Beach

Acapulco: City tour and cliff divers (day)

Ixtapa/Zihatenejo: Snorkel at Las Gatas Beach Club,Bay of Zihatenejo "King Reef

Manzanillo: Snorkel at Elephant Rock OR City tour with Pyramid of La Campana ???

Thanks

Try this site for PV specific information.

http://www.virtualvallarta.com/index.html

Try this site for worldwide tourist information and reviews. This specific link will take you to PV.

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/Mexico/Estado_de_Jalisco/Puerto_Vallarta-935573/TravelGuide-Puerto_Vallarta.html

I haven't been to Yelapa yet but will give it a try this year. I have great things about the small community.

I've spent my vacations in Yelapa the last few years. It's a lovely bay, a great place for a day trip. Restaurants on the beach have great seafood. Fishing boats come back around seven in the morning, and I see them bringing fish to the restaurants there. But snorkeling, forget it. Supposedly there's good snorkeling around the old pier by the Lagunitas Hotel, but I haven't seen much there. So as the Marianas Islands in the Banderas Bay. Same goes for Cabo. If you haven't done much snorkeling, then you'll enjoy it. But if you've done Hawaii or Caribean, you'll be most disappointed with snorkeling in Mexico. Water tend to be cold and murky.

We love to snorkel and have been on numerous excursions in the Caribbean. This past April we were on the Vision of the Sea and had received the advice that Cabo had the best snorkeling - well let's just say we were extremely disappointed. We wished we hadn't even bothered especially since we'd lugged our snorkel equipment with us. Others on the excursion were exclaiming about the sights but when questioned they had nothing to compare it to. So our experience is that if you have snorkeled in the Caribbean don't bother on the Mex. Riv. - otherwise you come away disappointed.

By the way - Randi's was a total blast!!!! In PV we did the Zip-lining through the ship (Valarta Adventures) and it to was excellent!!! In the evening we did Rythmns of the Night at Las Calatas - would not recommend it (lets just say food is not ship class and even though the show was colorful there was no explaination to go along with it so we were left in the 'dark' as to all the meanings)

It seems that snorkkeling would be a disappointment; however, coming from the desert anything other than cacti would be appreciated (I know they grow in Mexico). We have never been to the carribean so we have no comparison. If we were to do at least one excursion - which would you suggest :confused:

Cabo.

Las Caletas - there you CAN snorkel but there are many other things to do - kyaking, great margaritas (included), fun catamaran ride to get there and back, good lunch, floats available, a monkey and parrots the kids enjoyed and massages if you want. A really fun day. We've done it twice - the first time there were lots of jellyfish in the water but we still went back a second time - we enjoyed both trips. Have never done the night excursion. We thought this to be the most like a Caribbean beach excursion you will find on the Mexican Riviera. Cabo has nice beaches where we spend the day but we didn't snorkel as the water was pretty cool in late March. Enjoyed our beach day there.

We will be on the Pride in March 06. So from what I hear, snorkeling is not good. I have snorkeled many times in the caribbean and have my own gear. Should I leave it at home?

We were on the same cruise last November and you are lucky if you can find a decent beach to swim, let alone a nice place to snorkle in the Riviera.