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December cruise with teen/young adult


A&Jfamily
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We are looking at planning a mid/late December 2018 cruise with our sons who will be 14 and 20 at the time. We are big nature lovers (animals, snorkeling, kayaking etc) and also love day tours of the area; we like the beach, but not just to bake in the sun. We love sailing so boats are a plus. Stops will be Cabo, Mazatlan and PV. We have no issue booking private excursions as long as the port is safe and we have a reputable provider.

 

Am I correct that Cabo is the place for whale watching? I would like to kayak those lovely rocks, but not sure how that can be combined with a zodiac for the whales. Any provider that anyone can recommend?

 

Mazatlan looks like we would want to go into town and see the Cathedral and go to Stone Island. Sounds like we can easily do that on our own? Or, since it is our first time, I would be open to a tour, if you have someone in mind. Specific directions and advice would be appreciated!

 

Where I am struggling is PV...I really don't want to spend $140 per person to go to Las Caletas, though it sounds lovely. We also don't want to zip line as we have done that a couple of times in the Caribbean. I read about the zoo, but that seems pretty far to venture off in a port that is new to us. Marietas Eco adventure sounds right up our alley...thoughts on that vs. Las Caletas? Will it be too cold to be in the water?

 

Any other suggestions for my nature loving family of 4 would be much appreciated...coming from the east coast and having never cruise the pacific I have no idea what to expect!

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For the most part we let our stomachs guide us.

 

Cabo is a purpose built tourist town. Started as a fishing village then it was discovered.

The Marina area is built to American tastes. Going a few blocks away you'll get away from that. Lately we've been going to Los Guacamayas https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g152515-d5987251-Reviews-Las_Guacamayas-Cabo_San_Lucas_Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html?m=19904. A few doors to the left as you exit you'll find a La Michoacana ice cream shop.

 

PV's claim to fame is The Night of the Iguana. We think of PV as being similar to San Francisco in terms of attitude. Our favorite restaurants open after 6. We like the smaller places. La Maquina on the beach is good, near the Rio Cuale. https://foursquare.com/v/restaurante-bar-la-maquina/4ee3ff710e011d5245c8cd81

Lately we've been going to the Mercado. About 10 minutes from the ship, the first light up the street, behind Sam's Club/Walmart. It's on the southeast corner. Lots of little places to eat in there. A few weeks ago DH and I got three Agua Frescas and two huaraches ( a type of tostada) for 150 pesos w/tip. In the Mercado there's an Agua Fresca guy who sells unique drinks- plum, menta, Red Fruit.

 

Mazatlan the thing to do is to take a Pulmonia for a two hour tour (approx $20). Across from the Cathedral (check out its windows) is the two story Mercado. Most restaurants are upstairs.

 

Most places will accept USD but we like to use pesos in the smaller places. A few weeks ago merchants were giving 17/1, the official exchange rate was 18.7/1. Not enough of a difference to worry about. FWIW the PV Walmart usually gives the official exchange rate.

 

Lots of info on this board, just need to slog thru it.

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Am I correct that Cabo is the place for whale watching? I would like to kayak those lovely rocks, but not sure how that can be combined with a zodiac for the whales. Any provider that anyone can recommend?

 

Mazatlan looks like we would want to go into town and see the Cathedral and go to Stone Island. Sounds like we can easily do that on our own? Or, since it is our first time, I would be open to a tour, if you have someone in mind. Specific directions and advice would be appreciated!

 

 

Cabo is definitely the place for whale watching if you are there at the right time, which December should be. We were there a few months ago (early Feb.) and I highly recommend Whale Watch Cabo for an excursion. They were a really well-run outfit. We did their small boat tour; they limit it to 10 people, and the boat has a cover, which was welcome in the hot sun. No need for a zodiac, these small boats get where they need to go. (And they take you past The Arch on the way out to the Pacific, so you do get a closeup view of the rocks.) We had fantastic luck that day, got to see a mama humpback teaching her three-week-old calf how to breach. Priceless!

 

Mazatlan is very do-able on your own. I agree with the advice to hire a pulmonia driver for a couple of hours to take you all around, either before or after you walk around the old City on your own. And the Cathedral is well worth seeing.

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

Mama%20Humpback%20breaching%201024x896_zpsqwtv8q3c.jpg

 

Mama%20breaching%202%201024x615_zpsk46upm2q.jpg

 

Mama%20breaching%203%201024x662_zps7vb8vavj.jpg

 

Mama%20splash%201024x631_zps1xd7axnu.jpg

 

(photos by turtles06)

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We are going to try the Amazing Race Cabo when we go, we loved the one in Cozumel, so hopefully this one will be fun too. When we stayed in PV we used Vallarta Adventures, did the Xtreme Adventure and the Outdoor Adventure, can't recommend them enough, those days made our trip. Those are lots of zips, so you don't want to do that, we also used them for Las Caletas, it was nice, but we enjoyed the active stuff much better.

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