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Excursion advice for an active couple


kellig
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Been to the Yucatan a few times, first time to Mexican Riviera. Looking for advice on active excursions or activities. We are in our 40's and fairly active. I am aware snorkeling isn't great in this area, but a trip to the ocean without it would seem strange to me. Thinking of doing a boat snorkel trip in Cabo. Anyone snorkeled there?

 

Also interested in a hiking option or at least a brisk city walking tour if hiking is unsafe in the area. Any experiences in that arena?

 

We appreciate wildlife too, but like to see them in their natural environment (been there done that with dolphin encounter and ended up just feeling bad for them). Love sea turtles and considered the tour to see the hatchlings in Mazatlan. Is there a lot of manhandling of the turtles going on? Are they well treated or does it seem like an operation who primarily wants to make a buck off tourists who want to pet turtles?

 

I'd like to taste some tequila, but don't want too much time to be spent on that activity as hubbie doesn't like it. Assuming there are likely many places in the various towns to do this, by just dropping in? Easy to just stumble upon or should I look for specific spots in advance?

 

We are ok doing some exploring on our own too and don't need to be escorted unless the guide can take us to something we can't see on our own. I have some beginner-intermediate Spanish speaking ability.

 

Any guidance you can provide is great. Thanks!

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Hi,

I haven't seen any "hiking" tours but you can easily do your own brisk walk in Mazatlan and in Puerto Vallarta for part of the day.

In Mazatlan once you get outside of the port area there is literally a blue line painted onto the roadway to show you how to walk from the port area to the main square. We have done that on our own, poked into the covered market and then bargain with a pulmonia( golf cart/taxi) to take you to other parts of the city OR go back to the port and get a water taxi to Stone Island(not really an island) for beach/horse back riding etc.

Cabo is at the edge of a desert. The most unusual thing I've done there is to book a ship's tour to ride camels. The ride is along a beach area and quite fun. The animals look well cared for and rested.

Otherwise, to me Cabo is like Miami on the edge of Mexico so maybe taking a snorkel tour into the Sea of Cortez( warmer water than the open ocean) would be a good experience for you.

Puerto Vallarta is also easy on your own . You taxi from outside of the port area to the malecon(boardwalk) and walk along the oceanfront across a small bridge and your at Playa de los Muertos where you can hang out, get a boat tour or do more adventurous things like para sailing . Folks also do tours to the zip line in the jungle there.

I also like snorkeling but prefer the warmer waters of the Caribbean for that.

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Thanks. We’ve opted to do a snorkeling catamaran excursion to Chileno bay in Cabo. Thinking of walking and exploring PV on own.

For Mazatlan, saw there is a nice hike up to the faro lighthouse. Does the cruise ship doc at the port of Mazatlan? If so that might only be about 30 Walk each way per google maps. Does that sound right?

 

 

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Thanks. We’ve opted to do a snorkeling catamaran excursion to Chileno bay in Cabo. Thinking of walking and exploring PV on own.

For Mazatlan, saw there is a nice hike up to the faro lighthouse. Does the cruise ship doc at the port of Mazatlan? If so that might only be about 30 Walk each way per google maps. Does that sound right?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We walked from the ship to El Faro - took maybe 20-30 minutes to get to the base of the hill. I loved the walk up - you are rewarded with a magnificent view of the city, bay, and ocean. After you come down, you can go back to the ship, but we chose to walk along the malecon. Depending on how much time you want to spend, you can safely walk all the way into town. Google Earth can probably give you an idea of how many miles that is. There are plenty of taxi's available if you decide to get a ride back.

 

In PV, you can take a taxi to the edge of town, and then walk along the ocean on the Malecon (lots of sand castle workers), over the foot bridge, and then on the beach. There are lots of descriptions of the PV walk on these boards.

 

If you get back from snorkeling in Cabo with time to spare, you can also walk along the boat harbor where the tender drops you off over to the Medano Beach. Another option is to take a water taxi or cab there, but I always prefer to walk. If your snorkel tour is an independent one, it's possible they will drop you off at Medano Beach.

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