Puerto Chiapas and Huatulco

[TERRIER1]

We will be on the Panama Canal cruise this January which makes stops a Puerto Chiapas and Huatulco in Mexico. Normally we do our own excursions but I am having difficulty finding any information about these ports. Has anyone been here? Did you take the ship's excursion or your own? Which excursions did you go on? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

[MightyQuinn]

We were in Puerto Chiapas in April/09 on HAL Amsterdam. This is still a relatively new cruise port & it’s very welcoming to cruise ship visitors. The cruise terminal is a large pyramid-shaped palapa & many helpful locals greeted our ship. We caught a 9:00 am shuttle (provided by a local tour outfitter not by the ship) to the nearest city of Tapachula. The shuttles ($10 pp return) ran continuously throughout the day & the trip took about 40 minutes each way. Tapachula is a bustling authentic Mexican town. It doesn’t see a lot of tourists so don’t expect Cabo or Acapulco. We visited San Agustin Cathedral to see its Black Jesus, as well as Casa de Cultura & an Archeology Museum. Then we ventured into the local street markets, full of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats & fish. We noticed shoes, underwear, kitchen gadgets, used appliances & other treasures scattered among the fresh produce. The streets were narrow & packed with shoppers. Real slice-of-life stuff. It was blazing hot when we were there, so we caught some shade in Park Hidalgo in the town centre (where we seemed to be a curiosity to locals) before having tacos & cervesas in La Parilla, a local diner that was so-so. We caught the 1:00 pm shuttle back to Puerto Chiapas & explored the cruise terminal palapas. They housed all manner of arts & crafts (both souvenir & artisan) and local musicians & dancers entertained throughout the day. There was also a beer garden & a swimming pool that was very popular with HAL crew. Puerto Chiapas really seems to appreciate its cruise business & staged a lovely farewell song & dance tribute as we sailed away.

 

We’ve been to Huatulco twice. We spent a week at an all-inclusive 10 years ago when the town was still relatively undiscovered & we were there again in April/09 on HAL Amsterdam. We were struck by how much the area had developed since our first visit. We docked at Santa Cruz, within walking distance of a lovely beach with several restaurants, bars & local operators offering snorkeling, diving, sailing & fishing tours. Huatulco is a hang-out kind of place & many folks simply settled at a nearby beach for the day. We visited the main town of La Crucecita, a small & charming Mexican town. We walked (about 35-minutes going at full tilt) but taxis were available. Our first stop was the local church to see the huge ceiling painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Very impressive. Then we wandered the town, popped in & out of shops & relaxed in the central plaza. We had a great lunch at San Juan de las Naranjas & very much enjoyed the local specialty of Tlayuda Pollo. We retraced our steps back to Santa Cruz & poked around the beachfront before heading back to the ship.

[TERRIER1]

Thanks for all the lovely information. I am debating whether to hang out at the beach i Huatulco or take the cataman tour of the bays.

[SunDapple]

Thanks for all the lovely information. I am debating whether to hang out at the beach i Huatulco or take the cataman tour of the bays.

 

We stopped at these two ports on an Azamara Quest Panama Canal cruise . In Chiapas we did a ship's excursion to a lovely beach house for the day. It was one of the best ship's tours I've ever done. It was billed as an opportunity to learn how to make quesadillas (pretty simple), but the time at the beach house was the best part. It was a small group, less than 20 people, and a magnificent private house. We walked on our own from the house to the beach, which was, for the most part deserted, private and beautiful. Took some memorable photos there and hung out, then walked back to the house for lunch (those quesadillas).

 

Huatulco was, for us, a beach hangout day, although we did some good shopping in the area. Can't say that we got any bargains, but we were very pleased with the lovely black ceramics we brought home, and we enjoyed lunch and margaritas at one of the many beach restaurants.

 

All in all I'd have to say that, without any high expectations, these were two very enjoyable ports.

[TERRIER1]

Thank you so much for the info. We have a tour called " Private Beach House and Quesadilla Making" also. I am saying to myself "what are you kidding - I know how to make quesadillas" so until you told me about your experience I would have never considered it.

 

The other tour is "Mi Pueblito Mexican Town" which is a combo of chocolate making and Izapa ruins. Now I need to consider what you said since it sounds great. Did anyone go one this chocolate tour? Thanks.

[SunDapple]

Since you have, what appears to be, the same opportunity to go to the beach house (same beach house?) I will elaborate on this tour. Living in CA for many years, making quesadillas is nothing new to me, but what was nice on the tour is that we made our own tortillas first, in a tortilla press, and then cooked our quesadillas on a large comal. The beach house we went to had a really nice tile pool in the patio area, which was available for our use all day. When we first arrived at the house we were offered cold cervezas, and later after lunch there was an opportunity to taste a few different tequilas. Interesting, but not my thing. Upon departure we were presented with a small, colorful, typically Mexican "pot" (open jar?) as a souvenir. Very cute, my girls stand their make-up brushes in them.

 

I don't remember if the chocolate tour was offered to us, but we have been to several ruins in Mexico, and to Machu Picchu in Peru, so probably wouldn't have done another Mexican ruin if it were offered. Good luck with your decision. :)

[TERRIER1]

Thank you so much for elaborating. I like chocolate more than quesadilla (lol) but the private house sounds very nice.

[conan]

If you go into the Ports of Call Board on CC and select Mexican Riviera you find some musings from past travellers about Izapa. My impression is that the site is not very well developed, is very "rustic" and unless you are a fan of archaeological digs, there is little there to commend the effort of getting there. Since this is a relatively new port, it seems like they're scratching to find things to do. In any event, going to that board and reading what others have said may help you make up your mind, chocolate or no chocolate. Can you do chocolate without the attendance at the ruins? We are "in the same boat" as we are visiting this coast on Regatta in early February and not finding a lot. Mighty Quinn's comments above gave us food for thought and we are grateful.

 

Happy sails!

Conan

[MightyQuinn]

Each shuttle to Tapachula had an escort whose apparent role was to make sure that cruisers came away feeling good about Puerto Chiapas. In our case, it was a young student in the tourism program at a nearby college. He talked non-stop en route, describing local history & culture. He also asked if anyone was interested in seeing Chocolate City and/or Izapa Ruins. If so, he would make arrangements with other students to meet the shuttle in Tapachula & take folks to either place. We weren’t interested but we did observe the hand-off of fellow pax & everything seemed legit. YMMV.

[TERRIER1]

Thanks again MightyQuinn. I would like to take a "local" tour to Izapa Ruins with a stop to the Chocolate City which is Tuxtla Chico. WOuld you know if they would arrange that at the pier after you get off the ship?

[MightyQuinn]

Thanks again MightyQuinn. I would like to take a "local" tour to Izapa Ruins with a stop to the Chocolate City which is Tuxtla Chico. WOuld you know if they would arrange that at the pier after you get off the ship?

Terrier, it certainly was possible when we were there in April/09. Right inside the cruise terminal palapa, there were several operators selling various tours including Chocolate City and/or Izapa Ruins. They had photo albums full of sample pics & descriptions for each tour. I also recall seeing sandwich boards that were advertising tours, just outside the palapa. But since we were only interested in the shuttle to Tapachula, I really didn't pay much attention. YMMV.

[sj cruiser]

If you're up for an adventure, rent a moped in Huatulco. We rented one for 6 hours and visited coves to the east of Santa Cruz (more developed with big resorts for tourists), coves to the west of Santa Cruz (beaches where locals visited and where we had lunch under a palapa--best grilled octopus) and La Crucecita.

 

The cruise ships dock in Santa Cruz. At the end of the pier is a beach and some shops. Look for the mopeds and you can negotiate a deal for the day. Make sure the moped has enough power to get up the hills.

 

Also make sure you have bug spray. We were there in November and were bitten alive by no-see-ums as soon as we stepped off the ship.

[Gigibear]

I was so pleased to read some of the posts regarding Puerto Chiapas and Huatulco. My teen daughter and her friend (her first time on a cruise) will, I'm sure, enjoy those ports. Are there any known concerns with crime or local scenes /activities that wouldn't be good for young teens?

[sitraveler]

You know this is 5 years old??

[orchestrapal]

I was so pleased to read some of the posts regarding Puerto Chiapas and Huatulco. My teen daughter and her friend (her first time on a cruise) will, I'm sure, enjoy those ports. Are there any known concerns with crime or local scenes /activities that wouldn't be good for young teens?

 

With very good supervision they should be fine but, it is Mexico after all,and I would not take my eyes off of them.