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Shore Adventure in Cabo or Ensenada

mammakate

By mammakate,
in Mexican Riviera

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mammakate

mammakate

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I have booked my first cruise with Carnival Elation with ports of call in Cabo & Ensenada. We have 4 teenage boys going and we are looking for fun, not too expensive shore adventures...Any ideas? Also, I would love to know where to swim with the dolphins...any one have the answer?

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katgilm

katgilm

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We have been to Cabo twice on land vacations with friends and all of us have teenage boys. The boys liked hanging out at Medondo Beach. That is the swimming beach right in Cabo. There are a lot of water activities available, rentals such as jet skies, and rides on a "banana" thing that is pulled behind a boat. Our boys like to skim board so we always bring a skim board with us. There are bars/restaurants right at Medonda Beach along with a lot of vendors. From Medondo Beach, you can walk or take a cab to the marina. There are a lot of regular stores and more restaurants at the marina.

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tootsiescurly

tootsiescurly

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You will definately not find a swim with dolphins in Ensenada and don't believe they have one in Cabo. Medrano Beach is fun and relatively inexpensive in Cabo.

 

Ensenada is fun too. The trip to La Bufadora is always interesting. We like Ensenada but most Americans find it too third world.

 

Cabo is like being in a beach city in SoCal. Most of the people who live in Cabo are Americans and Canadians.

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river_sand_bar2

river_sand_bar2

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There are a number of beach bars on Medano Beach... they have chairs and tables right on the sand...

 

If you have teenage boys, they may want to do a snorkel cruise... Pez Gato and Jungle Cruise are two different ones. They can be allot of fun.

 

If you want to have a more relaxing beach break, head over to Lovers beach, just take a water taxi there and its a great place to snorkel for free.

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gottago2mexico

gottago2mexico

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I have booked my first cruise with Carnival Elation with ports of call in Cabo & Ensenada. We have 4 teenage boys going and we are looking for fun, not too expensive shore adventures...Any ideas? Also, I would love to know where to swim with the dolphins...any one have the answer?

 

You can swim with the dolphins in Cabo San Lucas, but that would certainly not meet your hopes of a not-too-expensive excursion, at $165.00 a pop. Ensenada does not have dolphins yet.

 

With 4 teenage boys, you may want to consider an ATV tour in Cabo. We did the Candelaria tour recently, and had a blast. Lots of room to "open em up" and play on your own. Lovely beach too. If you've never ridden an ATV before, don't worry because either had we before we did the ATV Jungle Trek in Puerto Vallarta last year - it was very easy, we had no problems at all. You can search this forum for our review of the Candelaria tour and some photos.

 

Another tour they may enjoy is the Costa Azul Xtreme Canopy Tour. You slide on a series of 9 zip lines over the canyon. Not AS good as the ones in Puerto Vallarta, since there is no canopy in Cabo, but if you've never done a canopy tour, it's a fun way to spend a few hours, and teenagers always enjoy it.

 

I've never been to Ensenada, so I can't help you there.

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katgilm

katgilm

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There are a number of beach bars on Medano Beach... they have chairs and tables right on the sand...

 

If you have teenage boys, they may want to do a snorkel cruise... Pez Gato and Jungle Cruise are two different ones. They can be allot of fun.

 

If you want to have a more relaxing beach break, head over to Lovers beach, just take a water taxi there and its a great place to snorkel for free.

 

Just wanted to mention that when we went to Lover's Beach, there were a lot of little bugs (sand fleas???) in the sand. So many that we didn't even want to sit in the sand. Also, the waves are pretty ferocious on the ocean side of Lover's Beach. We wouldn't let our teenage boys go in the water there because it was too rough. Medondo Beach is the only "swimming" beach in the area.

 

Yes, there are chairs and umbrellas on Medondo Beach. You don't need to rent them, you are just expected to order a drink if you sit there. If you can't find a seat, just ask one of the waiters. They will know which chairs are free.

 

We went horseback riding one day. It was not really that great (and I love riding horses). It was okay though, but just walking and a little trotting. We walked the horses on the sand a little bit but were not allowed to go into the water with them.

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Family Man

Family Man

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We saw the dolphinarium in Cabo last November and went in and looked around. My DDs will be doing it this November when we go back. As has already been stated, it is expensive, but then again, every "Swim with the Dolphins" excursion that I have seen, regardless of location, is expensive. Here is a link: http://www.cabosanlucastours.net/Dolphin-Swim-Cabo.htm

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BooBoos

BooBoos

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You will definately not find a swim with dolphins in Ensenada and don't believe they have one in Cabo. Medrano Beach is fun and relatively inexpensive in Cabo.

 

Ensenada is fun too. The trip to La Bufadora is always interesting. We like Ensenada but most Americans find it too third world.

 

Cabo is like being in a beach city in SoCal. Most of the people who live in Cabo are Americans and Canadians.

Just an FYI, Cabo has a brand new dolphin facility at the very end of the marina. You will be able to see it when you get of the ship. My husband and I were on a land based vacation in Cabo last July and it had just opened..

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  • 2 weeks later...
househunter

househunter

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Just to clear up any confusion since so many different variations of the name were given, it is "Medano Beach" that you want to go to. It is the only big swimmable beach in Cabo and you can either take a water taxi right from the pier or a regular taxi from anywhere in town.:)

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river_sand_bar2

river_sand_bar2

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Just a suggestion.... Pass on the swim with the dolphins...

 

Go on a snorkel cruise or learn to dive and swim with the fishies freely!!! The dolphins, while they are wonderful creatures, they are still held in captivity thus ONLY used for the $$$$ of tourist. Sorry, I just hate seeing it....

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fortwayne

fortwayne

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As already stated swimming with the dolphins is very pricey! I am in my 20's and we went snorkling in Cabo which was a lot of fun and in the $60-$80 range, in Ensenada we went on the ATV's which were expensive $100, which made us very wary, but it was a lot of fun.

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kgarroutte

kgarroutte

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DH and I were in Cabo last year and went snorkeling and kayaking with a GREAT company called baja wild. You can find them on the web at www.bajawild.com We TOTALLY recommend them. They are very reasonably priced. Will be taking some friends with us this Nov for the same excursion. I can give you full details if you like

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