Review-Cabo, Mazatlan, P. Vallarta

[stek_x1]

Sailed the January 22 Vision of the Seas (RCCL) to the Mexican Riviera visiting Cabo San Lucus, Mazatlan, & Puerto Vallarta. Thought I'd summarized our experiences for future cruisers:

 

Cabo: We boarded the Sunderland tall ship ("Pirate Ship") (http://www.pirateshipcabo.com/introduction.html) and very much enjoyed our 3 hour sailing. It was billed as a whale watching excursion, but we only saw a spout or two in the distance. Although dissapointing to my DW, this was fine by me. I enjoy sailing, and this ship is a true sailing experience. The crew of approx. 5 people alternate between telling historical stories, serving drinks (bottled waters, cerveza & ??) to working with the rigging. They cut the engines when they clear the bay. That means your sailing along by the wind alone with music playing in the background. The crew was helpful, polite, and genuinely seemed to enjoy their jobs. Seating at first can be a bit tight, but most end up standing for a portion of the sailing to get the views. Great views of the Arch, sea lions, and the northern coastline.

 

Upon our return, we had time to walk the town. Dock peddlers were polite, but ever-present. The marina area offers many bars and restaurants (although we walked on and found a local grocery store to get a snack). We found a nice park in the northern part of the town (about 10 minutes walk from the marina) to stop and enjoy our snack.

 

Weather was mid-70's with a breeze - light-sweater/wind breaker needed for rising/falling sun or cloudy skies. Water in Cabo was the clearest and blue-est (sp?) of the three stops.

 

Mazatlan: Met up with an associate of Mazatlan Frank (http://www.mazatlan-frank.com/FrankEng.html) which we booked directly via email with Frank. This was good as our names were posted on a sign as we exited the port. There are many, many tour operators trying to get your attention when you leave the port - it was nice to already have one booked that has a good reputation.

 

This was a full day van-tour with stops at the cathedral, cliff diving, some local shops, Machado Plaza, rennovated opera house/theatre, local marketplace (you must check out the meat market!) and the 'golden zone' (fancy tourist shopping & hotels). We ate lunch at "Tony's on the Beach". Prices were not cheap, but the food was great, and the open-air restaurant is (you guessed it) right on the beach.

 

Frank seems to run a class act and truly seems to care about his reputation. He is proud of his city - and rightly so. We found this stop to have the friendliest people and to be the most "real" of the three ports. Just a note to the beer drinkers when visiting Mazatlan: Pacifico is brewed here - use caution if you must order a Corona (known as 'sissy beer' to the locals)!

 

Puerto Vallarta: This stop seemed to be the largest of the three cities visited. The downtown area (El Centro) is about 3 miles (a long three miles - too far to walk for us) from the marina. We hopped a local bus (look for the blue and white busses with "Centro" on the front). The fare is 4 pesos, and they will make change on the bus (no american money). This is a bumpy ride with lots of character, but it does get you downtown for under 50 cents! Cab fare is typically 5 or 6 US dollars (but can be haggled to four dollars I'm told).

 

Once downtown, there's hundreds (if not thousands) of shops. Most have the same old same old, but some offer true local goods. The walk along the river (both sides, and along the island in the middle) is worth taking. The cathedral is amazing, but seemed to lack the upkeep of Mazatlan's cathedral. The walk along the beach is very nice...just don't expect clear blue/emerald waters. These waters are more like around San Diego.

 

The weather was in the mid-80's with a good breeze.

 

We grabbed a late lunch at "Tequilla's" just off the boardwalk near the sculpture of the kid's climbing the ladder. We sat on the balcony, watch whales spout and play, had one of the best margarita's I've ever had, and enjoyed some great eats (shrimp turnovers and ??).

 

Caught a cab back to the ship ($6 US) and waited for the sail-away that night.

[judyf]

Nice review. Thanks for posting. I would love to see more review posted here about what everyone did in the different ports!

[seastar2]

Thanks for the great post!!

 

One question were you alone on Franks tour or with a group??

 

Thanks

[Canadiankaratemom]

Thanks Stek X1 for your post on the 3 Mexican ports. We will be going on Mar 11 - PV, Mazatlan and Cabo. We have also booked a city and beach tour with Frank in Mazatlan..Glad you enjoyed Frank's tour. it was a toss between Frank and Randi's horses in Maz.. wished we had time to do both.. maybe next time..

 

We had no ideas about PV as yet, other than heading to the beach.. and maybe some local shopping downtown.. Same for Cabo.

[stek_x1]

Seastar,

 

We tried to book Frank, but he had already been committed to a private tour. He set us up with a gentleman named Ismael. However, it was clear that Ismael worked for Frank and wanted to do a good job. His english was good - sufficient for the tour.

 

Frank told me they needed a min of 6 persons to do the tour. However, since we were the first, I committed to pay for the entire cost in case no others could be found to join. Frank said he thought there would be more, but scheduled the van and Ismael based on my email commitment.

 

Sure enough, we had three other couples in our van, plus ourselves (eight total). This was not a problem at all and we did not feel crowded out. We all seemed to have a great time.

[stek_x1]

CanadianKarateMom,

 

We, too, just winged it in PV. However, off our balcony, we saw a couple of tour boats coming in and loading up. The first seemed to be a pretty raucous pirate/party ship. The crew was trying to get the tourists in a party mood - at 8:30 in the morning. About 10% seemed to be playing along as they motored past.

 

Another was a smaller catamaran-style boat. This seemed to be WAY overcrowded when they sailed/motored past. Not sure what this excursion was.

 

Finally, a third and much larger cruiser-style boat was moderately loaded and seemed to be headed out for some water fun/perhaps whale watching.

 

As I said, we just winged in in PV, and had a great time. You've got to try the local bus - a great local's experience. Just don't forget to get off when you see the church with two spires (and when the bus makes it's first left turn) - lots of people will get off at this stop.

[Trinity288]

Thanks for the info stek_x1.

 

You mentioned that you had lunch at Tony's on the Beach in Mazatlan. I was thinking of going there as well. You said it was good food but not good prices. Do you mind telling me what you ate there and how much it cost?

 

Overall, would you recommend it?

 

Thanks!

[stek_x1]

This will be a strech given my memory....but here goes: There were two of us. We each had a Margarita and my DW had a shrimp tostada. I had their tacos (also shrimp, I believe). Both were very good. I think the bill (before the tip) was around $32. That just seemed a bit high to me, but I'm sure they've figured out the touristas are willing to pay more.

 

That being said, we loved being on the beach, the open-air feel, and the staff was excellent (the margaritas weren't so bad either :)