Stone Island-Mazatlan

[Explore4]

You're correct. Turn left, then walk to where the roads turns, cross it, and continue straight down the dirt path. It's not far.

 

I recommend Lety's, over Victor's, which is right next to it. The aquachile were superb, nothing like I'd ever eaten before - it's spicy, so perhaps that's not your style. Lety's is near the other end.

 

Here's a post of mine from chowhound.com I posted when I returned.

 

Ship's 1st stop was Cabo, arrived 'bout 11:30am, walked to NICK-SAN. Guess it's mainly a night time eatery as I was the only customer both on arrival and departure.

 

Started with hamachi (yellowtail) sashimi - it was unadorned, and served with sliced cucumber and shredded carrot. I believe there were 8 large slices that were refreshingly sweet. Next, I had Sashimi Serranito - My choice of fish, I asked for scallops. They were thinly sliced, each had a tiny slice of serrano chili atop. Chili pepper sauce (probably with lime juice) was sprinkled over. Oyster Ponzu (oysters from Todos Santos), had two, served in the shell with ponzu sauce over them. One of the best soft-shell crabs came next, large and delicious. Ended with Tuna Tostada, a 4x4 tostada (never broke apart while eating) topped with thinly sliced tuna and avocado with habanero onion sauce and sesame seeds. Cost - $75.

Left there and walked to Medano Beach, was going to seat on a beach chair at THE OFFICE, but they don't have them, so I sat and sipped two pina coladas right next door at BAJA CANTINA.

 

The next day was Mazatlan. Many thanks to diglidden for the recommendation of LETY'S on Stone Island, It was a short walk from the cruise terminal to the shack where you buy your ticket ($2.) for the quick motorboat ride across the water to Stone Island. Walked down the beach, it was about 9:30am and high tide was going out. I believe I saw 3 other people at that hour. (More people arrived later.) Put my bag down on a front row wooden sun bed, and was immediately brought a comfortable pad for it.

 

Asked for a menu when lunchtime arrived, saw many camarones listed, but to my disappointment no aquachili, guess it's not a tourist item. Ask and you shall receive. White shrimp drizzled with lime juice, with a heavenly amount of sliced serrano chili amid a small amount of red onion. Sliced cucumbers ringed the plate, which were sprinkled with chili pepper. Aaaaah!

 

Ordered the pescado zarandeado. It was enough for 2 people and unbeliveably good. I shared a tiny bit with the cat who became my friend. Total cost including beach chair with pad, and 2 bottles of water: $18.

Discovered, but haven't been, there's a restaurant in Los Angeles, Mariscos Chente in the Mar Vista area that serves aqua chili and pescado zarandeado

 

Puerto Vallarta was the next day, I took a taxi to LA PALAPA, arriving about 10am. Was at the water's edge with 2 fully set tables (cloth, napkins, water glass, knife and fork), 2 chairs, each with a towel, and a sun bed in front of them.

 

Lunch consisted of aquachili (Lety's spoiled me), a spinach salad, and a lamb dish that had melted cheese over it with chorizos. All that and a large bottle of water set me back $46.

 

Back to ship to shower and change, then back into town for an early dinner at EL ARRAYAN (best Mexican restaurant in PV). Started with aquachili (oh, Lety, none will ever equal yours!), then a half order of sopa mixteca (squash blossoms and...) The duck carnita's came next, basically a deep fried leg and thigh, very meaty and tender. Passion fruit sorbet, cafe, aqua mineral, a dacquiri when I sat down, and a glass of Malbec to drink with dinner. Total cost: $48.

 

They served a Salsa Negra that was so good, I asked if they sold it, sure enough, I bought 2 jars for approximately $9.

Quick, get me back to LETY'S!

 

Note: I believe, in Puerto Vallarta, the taxi cost $10 on the first trip, but got it for $5, the other 3 rides.

[Durangler]

Look for this sign painted on the wall.

[CRUISING71]

Thank you for your help. We will be there in late August!

[r&rfraz]

just returned from stone island and had a blast. i would not book through the ship. it is very cheap and very easy to get there on you own. when you exit the cruise ship you will be taken by tram up to the front of the dock area. work yourway past all the vendors and out the gate onto the main street. go left down the sidewalk. you will walk along the wall of the dock area and them past some big oil tanks on your left. just keep walking for 5-10 minutes. you will come to the end of the street. on the chain link fence in front of you will be a sign for water taxis to stone island. head across the street and down the small path toward the small building where you will purchase your water taxi tickets (4 bucks round trip) hold on to your ticket for the return trip. just so you know the walk to the water taxi is very easy but not much to look at but dont worry one you get to stone island it is beautiful. the water taxi is less then 5 minutes to stone island. once you get off the boat walk up an over the small hill (very short walk). once you do this you will see stone island beach stretching out in front of you. walk down the beach toward lettys restaurant. there are several small very primitive restaurants along this area. we actually made camp for the day at the restaurant next door to lettys. there are limited lounges on stone island. but if you buy a few drinks/sodas at a restaurant they will be more than happy to let you camp out and use there shade and restrooms for the day. we rented boogie boards,hoarses and banana boats on the beach. there we also atvs. the beach is very kid friendly. perfect for boogie boarding. we had a blast,stayed the whole day. FYI- stone island is not a luxury resort area. it is very primitive. restaurant are basically tables in the sand with a little shade over them. WE LOVED IT! i will try to post some pics later tonight. you can difentally get there on your own with out spending all the money with the ship! if you do not wnat to do the 10 minute walk down the street there are tons of small golf cart like taxis waiting right outside the gate that would gladly take you to the water taxi booth for a few bucks. YOU CAN DO IT! GO FOR IT! HAVE FUN!:)

[star gazer]

just returned from stone island and had a blast. i would not book through the ship. it is very cheap and very easy to get there on you own. when you exit the cruise ship you will be taken by tram up to the front of the dock area. work yourway past all the vendors and out the gate onto the main street. go left down the sidewalk. you will walk along the wall of the dock area and them past some big oil tanks on your left. just keep walking for 5-10 minutes. you will come to the end of the street. on the chain link fence in front of you will be a sign for water taxis to stone island. head across the street and down the small path toward the small building where you will purchase your water taxi tickets (4 bucks round trip) hold on to your ticket for the return trip. just so you know the walk to the water taxi is very easy but not much to look at but dont worry one you get to stone island it is beautiful. the water taxi is less then 5 minutes to stone island. once you get off the boat walk up an over the small hill (very short walk). once you do this you will see stone island beach stretching out in front of you. walk down the beach toward lettys restaurant. there are several small very primitive restaurants along this area. we actually made camp for the day at the restaurant next door to lettys. there are limited lounges on stone island. but if you buy a few drinks/sodas at a restaurant they will be more than happy to let you camp out and use there shade and restrooms for the day. we rented boogie boards,hoarses and banana boats on the beach. there we also atvs. the beach is very kid friendly. perfect for boogie boarding. we had a blast,stayed the whole day. FYI- stone island is not a luxury resort area. it is very primitive. restaurant are basically tables in the sand with a little shade over them. WE LOVED IT! i will try to post some pics later tonight. you can difentally get there on your own with out spending all the money with the ship! if you do not wnat to do the 10 minute walk down the street there are tons of small golf cart like taxis waiting right outside the gate that would gladly take you to the water taxi booth for a few bucks. YOU CAN DO IT! GO FOR IT! HAVE FUN!:)

 

You hit it right on. Stone Island is like a secret shared and most cruisers are not aware of this beach on their own.

[klfhngr]

This is the actual water taxi... :)

[ArizonaTracie]

Is there any good snorkeling from the beach on Stone Island? We have our own snorkel gear.

[klfhngr]

Is there any good snorkeling from the beach on Stone Island? We have our own snorkel gear.

 

Not that I can tell from.. Some places there did rent gear, but it's pretty 'cloudy/mirky'.. My guess is that they can take you out on a boat to some reefs.

[ArizonaTracie]

Not that I can tell from.. Some places there did rent gear, but it's pretty 'cloudy/mirky'.. My guess is that they can take you out on a boat to some reefs.

 

 

Thank you!:)

[pppiglet]

We can't wait to go back to Stone Island. We ate at Victors the first time and Molokay's the next trip. Molokays was awesome! We are doing it again this next trip. I can just taste that seafood platter!

[star gazer]

We can't wait to go back to Stone Island. We ate at Victors the first time and Molokay's the next trip. Molokays was awesome! We are doing it again this next trip. I can just taste that seafood platter!

 

157 days until we have lunch on Stone Island at Letay's. That's a long time to wait for that short time there.

[eel]

I was curious if you can rent Jet Skis on Stone Island. I think not but was curious to hear from people that have been there.

 

Also, are there any boats you can take on Stone Island that take you out to do snorkeling (as someone suggested there may be)?

[Shooty]

We recently returned from a cruise on the Splendor in June and we absolutely LOVED Stone Island. One of our favorite days. We spent the morning down in the Golden Zone, but wished we had more time at Stone Island.

 

We were idiots and I didn't re-read my notes obtained from these boards, but be sure once you exit the water taxi, all you have to do is go STRAIGHT over the hill and you will see the beach. When we exited the water taxi, we saw the truck with the bench seats come from the left so we assumed we had to go left to get to the beach....WRONG!! 45 minutes or so later after walking the entire island, we finally found the beach from the other side...and let me tell you it was HOT out that day! Oh well, we laugh about it, but wishd I had that 45 minutes to spend at Lety's and at the beach.

 

It was a perfect day and we chose Lety's to hang out in front of and the service was AMAZING! Everyone at Lety's was so nice.

 

Like others have said, it is not a glitzy area, but it is one of the most peaceful places I have ever been to. Here are some pics from our afternoon there.

 

 

 

looking down the beach as if you were walking from the water taxi

 

 

 

 

The coconut shrimp from Lety's - which my husband proclaimed to be "the best shrimp he has ever had!"

 

[chloemonkey]

We have done Stone Island on our own but this trip we will have my dad who is older and his arthritis makes it hard for him to walk....Is there anyway to get transportation from the ship without the walk? Last time we did the trip we were on a ship excursion but would prefer to just do it on our own this time - but without any waking if that is possible?

[star gazer]

We have done Stone Island on our own but this trip we will have my dad who is older and his arthritis makes it hard for him to walk....Is there anyway to get transportation from the ship without the walk? Last time we did the trip we were on a ship excursion but would prefer to just do it on our own this time - but without any waking if that is possible?

You can take a cab from near the ship to the water taxi dock. When you get off the water taxi, an open bed truck transports you to your destination. However, you have to climb in and out the water taxi (panga) and walk up a slight incline on the Island.

[Explore4]

I was curious if you can rent Jet Skis on Stone Island. I think not but was curious to hear from people that have been there.

 

Also, are there any boats you can take on Stone Island that take you out to do snorkeling (as someone suggested there may be)?

 

As far as I can remember, it's only beach and food. Suggest you Google: Mazatlan - snorkeling, jet skis

[Explore4]

We have done Stone Island on our own but this trip we will have my dad who is older and his arthritis makes it hard for him to walk....Is there anyway to get transportation from the ship without the walk? Last time we did the trip we were on a ship excursion but would prefer to just do it on our own this time - but without any waking if that is possible?

 

 

Water Taxi is an elaborate word :D It's only a small boat that you have to step down into from the dock, and then up from the boat, when you land.

 

I have OA in both knees, was by myself, and accomplished the feat, but when I looked at what was in front of me, I thought, "Oh my, into the drink I go." But, I didn't. :)

[timus]

We just returned from a cruise on the Mariner of the Seas. There are a lot of tour operators (vans) at the pier. Just ask around and I am sure you can find a driver who can take you on a tour of Mazatlan plus Stone Island. We took a van and paid $10 per person for a tour of the city (cliff divers, old Mazatlan, lookout for view of the city). We mentioned that we also wanted to go to Stone Island after the city tour. He offered to take us to Stone Island for an additional $26 (which includes lunch and 2 activities). We refused and then he offered the transportation (a private catamaran and tractor trailer to the beach restaurant) for just an additional $6 per person. We decided to just stick with the $6 for the transportation as not everyone in the group wants to do the activities. I am glad we took the tractor trailer because it is a long distance to get to the beach restaurant from the pier. I reallly do not think it is possible to walk. We arranged a time for everything. When we were ready to leave the beach restaurant, the tractor trailer was there and when we arrived at the pier, the catamaran was also waiting for us. The kids had a great time at Stone Island and I am glad we also had the chance to see a bit of Mazatlan. It was great to have the van, tractor trailer and catamaran waiting for us, so we did not worry about getting back to the ship on time. It also means that we did not have to do a lot of walking in the very hot sun.

[Explore4]

We just returned from a cruise on the Mariner of the Seas. There are a lot of tour operators (vans) at the pier. Just ask around and I am sure you can find a driver who can take you on a tour of Mazatlan plus Stone Island. We took a van and paid $10 per person for a tour of the city (cliff divers, old Mazatlan, lookout for view of the city). We mentioned that we also wanted to go to Stone Island after the city tour. He offered to take us to Stone Island for an additional $26 (which includes lunch and 2 activities). We refused and then he offered the transportation (a private catamaran and tractor trailer to the beach restaurant) for just an additional $6 per person. We decided to just stick with the $6 for the transportation as not everyone in the group wants to do the activities. I am glad we took the tractor trailer because it is a long distance to get to the beach restaurant from the pier. I reallly do not think it is possible to walk. We arranged a time for everything. When we were ready to leave the beach restaurant, the tractor trailer was there and when we arrived at the pier, the catamaran was also waiting for us. The kids had a great time at Stone Island and I am glad we also had the chance to see a bit of Mazatlan. It was great to have the van, tractor trailer and catamaran waiting for us, so we did not worry about getting back to the ship on time. It also means that we did not have to do a lot of walking in the very hot sun.

 

I walked from the pier to Lety's and back - there wasn't a tractor trailer in November that I saw. I have OA in both knees, and I survived that "not possible" walk.

[shiloh25]

sounds like a great place. Were there jetskis for rent anywhere?

[Explore4]

sounds like a great place. Were there jetskis for rent anywhere?

 

I Googled, and found this site for rentals :D

 

http://www.mazatlantours.org/waverunners.htm

[Explore4]

I was curious if you can rent Jet Skis on Stone Island. I think not but was curious to hear from people that have been there.

 

Also, are there any boats you can take on Stone Island that take you out to do snorkeling (as someone suggested there may be)?

 

I Googled, and found this site for jetskis:

 

http://www.mazatlantours.org/waverunners.htm

[CRUZBUDS]

We've never noticed jet skis on Stone Island - we've done ATVs several times.

 

From the water taxi pier to beach is about 2 minutes - once you're on the beach it's less than a 10 minute walk to the Letty's

 

You just go straight over the small hill and the beach is right there. Until you're on the beach the path is large gravel -- water shoes or sneakers would be better than flip flops.

 

We wear water shoes and keep them on. The beach is nice and clean, but they add protection from something sharp hiding in the sand. (also easier to shift the ATV than flip flops)

[shiloh25]

Explore4 - thanks for the tip re jetskis. And for doing my work for me!

 

Do you read that to mean that one pays for one's own transport to the beach?

[eel]

I Googled, and found this site for jetskis:

 

http://www.mazatlantours.org/waverunners.htm

 

These jetskis can be rented on the beach in the Golden Zone. But that is not on Stone Island. Now we are thinking about heading to the Golden Zone for a few hours, doing some jet skiing and then heading over to Stone island. Just not sure if it is worth it to split up the day like that. The alternative is to Jet Ski in Cabo but we wanted to snorkel there.