What kind of excursions will interest both an 11 yr old and an almost 5 yr old?

[joejo]

Hello all :)

 

I am looking for excursions in the Mexican Riviera (Los Cabos, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta) for myself and my two kids, 11 and almost 5. We are planning on doing a beach type day at least once, but I think it will become boring if we do that each day.

 

Any ideas? I am the only adult on this trip, so we can't "divide and conquer".

 

The 11 yr old is very athletic and loves being involved in things. The 4, almost 5, yr old is also active but obviously can't participate in all the same activities as the 11 yr old :) On our beach day I thought that the 11 yr old could do a banana boat ride or something like that to suit her idea of fun.

 

Does anyone have any ideas for traveling with the 2 kids that aren't very close in age? I want them both to have fun :) I'm more frugal than a spender, so budget friendly ideas are especially welcome!

 

Thanks!

[cb at sea]

Most of those sort of "excursions" are easily (and affordably") done at a public beach...so you can let the 11 year old do her thing, then do something for the 5 year old...

There won't be much that both will be able (or want) to do at the same time.

Just being on a cruise is a major "high" for almost everyone! Don't feel that you have to spend a ton to enjoy yourself!

Get yourself a guidebook on your ports..it will tell you ALL of the things that may interest anyone...from toddlers to adults....it will be the best investment into your vacation you can make!

[boulders]

I have 3 kids aged 14, 11 and 4 1/2. Things that appeal to all of them are: boat trips, anything to do with animals, shopping for souvenirs :). We haven't sailed the Mexican Riviera, so I can't give specific excursion advice.

 

There is also the possibility of leaving the almost 5 year old on board at the kids club while you do something more exciting with the older child. In fact, my kids love being on board the ship more than the ports.

[AnnaP]

There is a water park in PV that we did there. They have a Swim with the Dolphins booking that was very inexpensive. I think we paid like 70.00 or something? It looks like now they have significantly raised the rate to $120 :( I will say my son had a great time and it lasted longer than advertised.

 

I remember we regretted not spending the whole day there as they had some pretty cool slides as well as an area for younger kinds. When we went my son was 4 and he loved it.

 

Here is the link: http://www.splashvallarta.com/index_eng.html

 

We took a taxi and the whole day was pretty cheap.

 

 

A.

[joejo]

Thank you AnnaP - that is perfect! Both kids are excited about going there!

[joejo]

I wonder how far or long it is by taxi....

[MnAsMom]

We did the mexican riviera last summer on the Nickelodeon Cruise. It was great. Our boys are 4 and 8.

 

Cabo we took a glass bottom water taxi to the arch... saw the rock formations, sea lions etc. then on to Medano Beach and went to a restaurant called The Office. We got a table there, ate some amazing steak tacos... kids played in the water/sand. We left our stuff at the table and rented a couple of jet skis.... the kids loved zipping around the bay. The water taxi guy came back at the time we had negotiated with him earlier and took us back to the tender pier. There is a dolphin swim excursion right there too.

 

In Mazatlan we ended up going to a resort El Cid El Moro. They have a water platform waterfall that the older one loved doing cannon balls from. They have a larger waterslide my 8 year old enjoyed and a smaller one where we could catch our 4 year old at the bottom... shallow pool there. We just told them we wanted to spend the day and would buy our own food/drinks (left my husbands id at the desk) but apparently you can pay $35 for an all inclusive day pass. The Golden Zone beach out in front was cool.... more waves than cabo but my little guy collected some shells and enjoyed the beach for a bit.

 

The other option that I have heard about over and over is Stone Island in Mazatan. If you go to the MR board you can look up the directions to walk to the water taxi station from the pier. It is something like 3 or 4 dollars for the water taxi. There are open air rustic restaurants on the beach. You can rent atv's or horses or banana boat rides right there on the beach. All the restaurants supposedly have delicious shrimp! I read on the other board this morning that they are thinking about doing some major development over on Stone Island so the whole place may be changing in a very big way soon.... might be worth seeing it before it does!

 

In Puerto Vallarta you could do the dolphin excursion at Aquaventuras park (it is up in Nuevo Vallarts so a good 20+ minute ride in a cab) and then spend some time on the water slides and lazy river. http://www.aquaventuras.com/

If you want to buy a day pass at an AI there is one adjacent to the pier that offers day passes for $35 adults and $18 kids. It's called Crown Paradise club. They have a kids pool with pirate ship and water slides. The beach is ok... not a fancy one but I don't think my kids would care. You can also get a cab down to the Dreams in Puerto Vallarta. They charge $58 for adults and half for kids. Supposed to be a beautiful resort... flanked by cliffs .... beautiful beach... simple pool but no waterslides or anything like that. I heard something about trampoline etc but someone recently said the tramp was only open for a short time and they had a hard time getting boogie boards and pool chairs. The food is supposed to be great and if you are lucky you might be there while they are doing a baby sea turtle release. We are still trying to decide which resort we will visit on our cruise in 2 weeks.

 

There is one other resort in PV that welcomes cruise passengers ... you pay 20 dollars but they apply it towards food/drinks while you are there. It's called the Krystal. They have a spa that has great massages apparently... if you are interested in that. The Krystal is walking distance from the pier too supposedly.

 

Hope this is helpful! Have a great cruise!

[joejo]

Thanks :)

 

The hardest part of all of this is that I have never been to ANY of these POCs! I feel so out of my element!