Pacifico Brewery Tour Mazatlan - On Your Own?

I see that in Mazatlan, Pacifico Brewery Tours are offered by the ship and also by local tour operators such as Frank. In either case, these tours seem to run from $50 (on shore tour) to $79 (ship tour). This seems quite expensive to me.

Has anyone ever tried to do this one on their own by grabbing a taxi and heading out to the brewery for this tour? It seems like with a group of 4, as I will be with, it would be much more economical to do it this way if it is possible. If this is like the brewery tours in the states, the brewery does not charge for this type of a tour. My guess is that the tour companies get by with charging so much due to the popularity of this tour. From what I understand, the brewery is not that far out of town.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me on this one and have a great day!!:)

You can certainly do the tour yourself. There is no charge.

The tours start at 9am and 4pm weekdays and are limited to 30 people.

You MUST wear long pants and shoes. Sandals and open toe shoes are not allowed.

I'd recommend making a reservation.

The number from the US is: 011-52-669-982-7900. x1642. They should understand english.

Pacifico Brewery Tours

I booked mine through the ship and it was worth every penny to me. We really enjoyed it. Not only touring the area but got to go to the top of the tower for all you can drink in 30 minutes so chugging beer. Scenery was awesome & we got some great city shots. I usually like Corona beer with lime and I discovered that I actually prefer Pacifico over Corona. Of course I drank one of each in the 30 minutes (I'm not much of a chugger). Then we all went on a city tour in our trolly in which they continued to give us beer while we rode thru the city tons of beer. It was fun.

Just off Splendor.

Should you choose to venture over to the brewery, one suggestion is not to walk! The boyfriend had a great idea that we could walk there from the port. LOL. Initially, it didn't seem to be a bad idea because we could see it from the port and there were only five of us.

However, it's not a straight walk to the brewery from the port. Let's just say that there was alot of complaining, laughing and cursing as we attempted to get there and then once we did, we weren't allowed in because of the day and our attire. LOL. Highly suggested to follow thier instructions and take a taxi!!!

It's definitely something to look back at and laugh at now, but I can safely say there were no smiles other than the boyfriends on the way. LOL.

On one visit, we walked the approximately one mile to the Pacifico/Corona brewery, where we were given a very inclusive tour, followed by a beer at the "top of the tower" lounge. They also gave each of us a small momento brochure with our picture included. Cost ..........zero, plus some good exercise. The Princess ships seem pretty liberal in allowing passengers to bring beverages purchased ashore back onto the ship. One man in our brewery tour hauled four quarts of Pacifico back to the ship. We only took one.

There is no problem in walking to the brewery. You will be harassed for the first block or so, near the terminal. But, just say "no." Since the brewery tower sticks up rather visibly, it is easy to find. I'm not sure exactly what times the tours are given. My memory is that ours was at about 11 AM. We just inquired at the office near the truck gate; and, were told to come back at that particular time. There were only five people on our tour.

Jeff,

Sounds like you guys were able to enjoy yourselves at the Brewery. I won't tell the boyfriend, as I know he would be envious of the picture and momento brochure. He was really looking forward to seeing the brewery, as it was going to be one of his highlights since he's a beer man.

Even if it would have been open, they wouldn't have let us in because of our attire. At least for the next time we will know the "cans" and "can'ts".

I agree that there's no problem walking to the brewery, but in asking for directions, I think they were giving us a run around. We could clearly see where it was at, but the directions told us to go from point A to B to C to get there rather than just a straight shot from A to B. I think the gentleman with the directions laughed inside as he told us how to get there. Another issue was three women, humid air and complaining that comes with being a woman in humid air. Could make for a bad day for anyone. LOL. Good thing we had a sense of humor Hotel Playa Mazatlan wasn't too far away and John was able to have his beer there. :p

Stacey

Even if it would have been open, they wouldn't have let us in because of our attire. At least for the next time we will know the "cans" and "can'ts".

 

I agree that there's no problem walking to the brewery, but in asking for directions, I think they were giving us a run around. We could clearly see where it was at, but the directions told us to go from point A to B to C to get there rather than just a straight shot from A to B. I think the gentleman with the directions laughed inside as he told us how to get there. Another issue was three women, humid air and complaining that comes with being a woman in humid air. Could make for a bad day for anyone. LOL. Good thing we had a sense of humor Hotel Playa Mazatlan wasn't too far away and John was able to have his beer there. :p

I think that, as someone has previously mentioned, you need to have on long pants and shoes (no shorts or sandals). Other than that, they do NOT want you to take photographs. Keep your camera inside your pocket. We went all the way around the block trying to figure out where the "door" was. It was near a truck gate and office window, if I recall correctly. By the time we went around the block there were three other people waiting to take the tour, so we just compared notes as to where the tour starts. I don't recall exactly what time the tour started, but am thinking it might have been 11:00 AM. So, our tour was five people. Two of the "tourists" were living locally, while one was from our ship.

The tour guides were great, although their English wasn't the best (nor, was our Spanish very good). But, they were very gracious, as well as very attractive young ladies.

We just love to explore whatever port the ship stops at, at the least extra cost. In ten cruises we've only been on one excursion.

You can certainly do the tour yourself. There is no charge.

The tours start at 9am and 4pm weekdays and are limited to 30 people.

You MUST wear long pants and shoes. Sandals and open toe shoes are not allowed.

 

I'd recommend making a reservation.

The number from the US is: 011-52-669-982-7900. x1642. They should understand english.

Clavius, thanks for the link and information. My memory is that when we took the tour that is was more like 11:00 AM for us, which was a couple of years ago. Frankly, since I almost always wear shorts, I feel lucky that we got in.

Has anyone done the Pacifico tour recently? My husband and I are interested in doing it on our own, not booking a through a tour guide. I was wondering what times the tours are held. I get the impression we can just show up, no reservations needed?

Thanks in advance!

We just walked up last year but unfortunately they were hosting students from the local university. So, to avoid wasting time, call to reserve your spot.

How long do these tours last? The ones from the ship and Frank all seem to for a few hours- does this involve some other activity?

How long do these tours last? The ones from the ship and Frank all seem to for a few hours- does this involve some other activity?

Yes. The one thru the ship includes a tour on a trolley thru some areas such as lighthouse, cliff divers, cathedral etc. Not a tour that you get out at these places but they point it out and stop briefly so you can see it. The entire time you are on the trolly, you are being served Pacifico beers.:)

We took Frank's city and brewery tour a few weeks ago. I really feel you have to go with someone- the brewery has 2 young women who run the tours, and only one speaks English. If you go on a day she's not there, unless you speak Spanish, you won't enjoy it.

The tour is very interesting and you get to go in all of the areas of the brewery. We couldn't go to the bottling area on the day we were there as they were doing some work on it, so that was a bit of a disappointment. That area is, apparently, the reason you have to wear long pants and closed toed shoes. They will not let you in without them, so make sure you''re prepared. After the tour, they will bring you upstairs to the museum, where you will be offered bottles of beer or soda (as many as you can drink) and you will watch a video about the history of the brewery. The museum is at the top of the building and has spectacular 360 degree views of Mazatlan.

All in all, I would recommend you book with Frank for this tour if you're interested.

Lisa

http://www.pacificpearl.com/pacifico_brewery%20_tours.htm

No problem doing it on your own. Just follow the few rules. The actual tour, if I recall, lasted about 1-1/2 hours.

We've also walked to the coast and to old town on our own. It's about a mile to old town. About the same distance as the brewery.

Two questions:

1. Can you bring a camera and just not take pictures until the end when you're in the tower looking at the 360 degree views?

2. What is the minimum age? Is it 18 yrs.?

Thanks for the help - trying to organize a big group of us to go.

A friend of ours went last year and because the brewery tours are limited to a certain number at a certain time, she booked her party through Frank. She said it was the smartest thing she did. Frank took them to the brewery, he speaks excellant English so you were able to get the full info during the tour. After the tour of the brewery he took them on a full tour of Mazatlan (shopping, churches, beaches, restaurants) where ever they wanted to go that is within the city.

So taking her advice, we have already booked the tour with Frank. He is so great about sending you all the information you need before you get there and he offered to customize the tour to suit our taste.

Either way, hope everyone's trip is fantastic.:)

Will you report back when you get home? We've been to Mazatlan many, many times, so we're not interested in Frank's all day tours. We'll just take a taxi there & back.

I want to sign up our group for the 11am tour, but I don't see it listed on the webpage link. ???