gumballz

We must like different too! :) We enjoyed the Mercado in Mazatlan (DW who is the cook thought it was awesome) and a stop there will be part of our trip on Monday!

Be sure to go through the area with the fresh flowers. It smells wonderful! :)

Have fun & say hello to Rudy for me!

Our tour was right around 6 hours, yes. And, like others have said, Rudy will take you where you want to go. Discuss your options with him via email before you get there......and then he'll go over them again at the beginning of the tour.

There is a little shopping area at the pier that you have to go through to get out into Acapulco. Not many stores, but what is in there is touristy stuff. T-shirts, key chains, pottery, sombreros, etc. There was also some food......little things packaged up, nothing special. I believe there was beer for sale (to consume there), but I'm not 100% sure about that. I think there was also a jewelry store and another store that sold wood carvings. Again, I'm not absolutely sure on that.

Outside of this little indoor shopping area, and past the parking lot towards the water, there were vendors set up with stuff. We only drove by them, but they were most definitely there.

If you let Rudy know that you'd like to stop for some shopping, I'm sure he would be happy to take you someplace safe. Just let him know what you're interested in.

For those of you interested in the Mercado......we went and it was definitely something we enjoyed. We like 'different' though....so keep in mind that it may not be for everyone. There are some smells in there that you might not enjoy, it's crowded with goods (not really people, though), there are a lot of things to see, the prices are crazy low, the people are friendly. Rudy was with us at all times and we never felt like we were in risk of danger at all. Rudy almost seemed to enjoy watching us as much as we enjoyed looking at everything around us. lol If you're interested in less 'tourist' and more 'authentic'....then see if Rudy can add a trip to the Mercado to your tour.

Like I've said - you really can't go wrong with Rudy. He's a top notch guide who really knows what he's doing. His brain has information about everything and he knows his way around the city. He seemed to know people everywhere we went and something that impressed us was how polite he was. A gentleman in every sense. :)

I'm so glad to see that others are enjoying his services as well! Everyone seems to be saying the same things that I experienced with him. That's a good sign of a great tour company/guide!

Donna, how nice! I'm glad you got your camera gear back. It doesn't surprise me that he drove all that way back just to return it. He came across as that type of person.

Something that happened on our tour, that I didn't mention......mostly because I had forgotten about it until now.....is that my DD got a little car sick on a windy road. Rudy was very concerned about her and offered to stop for anything she might need......even if it was just fresh air. When we returned from our trip, there was an email waiting for us, asking how she was feeling.

It may seem trivial.....but I appreciated the thought. It shows that he's a caring person. Add that with all the other things that have been mentioned....and you've got yourself a pretty good option for your visit to Acapulco!

I'm sorry I haven't replied sooner to your question, gargoyle999! The drinks were included in the tour. He had a cooler in the van. We could get in and get a drink whenever we wanted.....and he offered to get us a drink several times. It was very hot and humid the day we were there, and I think he was concerned that we were going to over heat. lol He wasn't pushy.....just making sure we were comfortable.

Our tour lasted about 6 hours, I believe. Our ship was a little late arriving and we were delayed, for a bit, in leaving the ship. Rudy was standing there with our sign just waiting patiently with a smile. :)

We didn't meet any of Rudy's other guides, but I cannot imagine them being anything but professional and nice. I don't think Rudy would allow anything less.

Be sure to take a camera with you on your tour. Acapulco is a very busy city with a lot of interesting sights! It's also very green and lush in a lot of places. Being from Arizona, we especially liked that! lol

You're very welcome. :)

Wildrob & Karen, I passed on your messages to Rudy.....and gave him little post it notes with the messages as well. He was happy to 'hear' from you both and said he's looking forward to meeting you.

Sunny AZ, I'm sad for you that you have to wait so long......but, at least you have something else to look forward to. A great tour in a city full of history!

For those of you interested, I just posted a review about Tour by Van on another thread. I couldn't post it on this one, since I started the thread. I needed to follow CC rules in order to keep it on the boards. :)

The thread the review is under is titled: 'Tour by Van tours of Acapulco'

Like most of you know, we toured with Rudy from Tour by Van last week while we were in Acapulco. Let me just start by saying we had a wonderful time! Rudy was right where he told us he would be with a sign that had our names on it. We said our 'hellos' and we were off to his van. The van was a large Ford Econoline type van. It seemed to be newer, however I don't know what year. The seats were in excellent condition, the interior was spotless, the A/C was cold and it was a smooth quiet ride. Because so many people on CC have questions about Tour by Van, I did a little extra looking around so I could let CC people know a little more than I usually write about. I watched his speed while we drove around and he kept it at a very reasonable pace. I didn't notice speed limit signs, so I cannot say whether or not he was within the speed limit, but based on motion, we were within a safe limit. The van had a full tank of gas and the temperature gauge was in a low position. He used his signals and respected all street signs & lights. At no time did he put us at any risk of being in danger.

Rudy went over the places we had asked to see and inquired as to if there was anyplace else we'd like to visit on our tour. As we drove around the city and from place to place, Rudy told us different things about the history of the city and pointed out historical landmarks. We stopped at a few and drove by a few. The tour was exactly what we had asked for. He didn't try to get us to go shopping, stop at anyone's house, eat at anyone's restaurant, etc. He had a full cooler of cold soft drinks & water (we didn't want beer, but the offer was there) and he asked a few times if we wanted to stop for a bathroom break.

Rudy himself was very pleasant. He speaks English very well and his accent is fun to listen to. It's not so strong that we had trouble understanding him, though. He was extremely respectful towards literally everyone he saw. He opened doors for us and took photos of us with our cameras. The photos turned out great! We felt safe the whole time we were with him and would not hesitate to book with his company again. I rate his tour a 10 out of 10. I have nothing bad or negative to say about it at all........except maybe that we wish we could have stayed a few days instead of only a few hours! :)

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Here's a pic of the van we toured in. It was clean and in good condition.

Rudy talking & pointing things out as we drive to our next destination.

Rudy at Los Flamingos, you can see that he wears his license around his neck (and I looked.....it's not expired).

We will, Karen. Thanks! (& I'll pass on your hello as well!)

It looks like it's been nice and sunny there.......crossing my fingers that it stays that way.

http://www.aca-novenet.com.mx/camara3.html

Wildrob, consider it done! I've made a note & will pass it on!

Kevin, good to hear! Glad you had a good time!

:)

Cruisingholly, thanks for telling us about your experience with Tour by Van! We'll be touring with them next week. We won't be heading out to Tehuacalco, but I'm sure what we have planned will be just as nice. :)

Was it hot & humid when you were there?

Does anyone one have a website?

 

Thanks.

tour by van dot com

Hi CruiserDoc,

I posted something similar recently as well. We have a tour set up with Rudy next month and we're really looking forward to it. When is your tour? Ours isn't until the very end of the month, so you'll probably be back with a review before I am. :)

I can tell you that my experience via emails has been very nice. He's quick to answer my questions and seems to be very friendly!

Have fun and let us know how it went!

MaiTaiMary, there have been other people posting about using Tour By Van, but some of those threads have been deleted for various reasons. Hopefully they'll see this thread and come back and post their experiences again. :)

goldfi8h, thanks for the review. It's always reassuring to hear positive reviews of a company you've booked. I'm glad you had a nice time!

lovepokercruising, thanks for the info.

Has anyone been on a tour with Rudy from Tour by Van recently? We booked our tour with him but won't be in Acapulco until October. We were wondering what your experience was like.....so we know what to expect. Plus, we're just looking forward to our visit! :)

I'm specifically asking about Tour by Van, not any other tour companies or people in Acapulco. We're already booked with him and are not looking to switch.

Thanks!

JR, I received the Elation pin you sent me today. Thank you!

Thank you JR! :)

I am in neep of a PARADISE pin. I will be on Elation next month and will try to get extras for those who need that one. :)

I'm looking for an Elation, if you get any extras. I'll be happy to pay for shipping.

Anyone have any of these that they'd be willing to part with?

Holiday

Fantasy

Ecstacy

Sensation

Elation

Paradise

I don't think this is my best cruise photo, by any means, but I like it so I thought I'd post it. :) This was taken on the Queen Mary at sunrise after a rain. You can just make out the Paradise in the distance.

Carnival Paradise in Long Beach:

RCCL Monarch of the Seas in Catalina:

Carnival Freedom (left) & Carnival Triumph (right) in Grand Turk:

Carnival Freedom in Grand Turk:

Carnival Triumph (with Carnival Freedom behind her) in St Thomas:

Thank you JR! :D

I'm looking for a Paradise Pin and a Triumph Pin. If anyone can help me with these, I'd appreciate it. I don't have pins to trade but I'm willing to pay a reasonable amount for them.

JR, I've emailed you :)

Oops! Wrong thread. Sorry.

lol, enjoy your cruise! ;)

Thank you Cuizer2!

Carnival Freedom in Katakalon, Greece

 

 

By any chance do you have any aft photos of the Freedom that you could share? :)