Cruise With One Day In Acapulco - Is It Safe?

[ChevyCruiser]

We are planning a cruise that has a one-day stop in Acapulco. What is the port area like? Are there things to do nearby? Or would this be a good day to stay onboard and enjoy the ship?

 

Thanks!

[LHT28]

Book a private tour and see the sights or you can walk across the road to the fort (use the bridge though)

some shops at the port & some vendors just outside the gates

[swedish weave]

We are planning a cruise that has a one-day stop in Acapulco. What is the port area like? Are there things to do nearby? Or would this be a good day to stay onboard and enjoy the ship?

 

Thanks!

 

If you haven't seen the cliff divers, it is a great show.

[merinski]

I don't think I would get off the ship right now in Acapulco. We were there last yr. & we went with acapulco Rosie on a tour. It was good, but we went to the cliff divers & it was hard to see with the crouds there. Now with all the problems they have had, I would stay on board, but that is my opinion.

 

We are planning a cruise that has a one-day stop in Acapulco. What is the port area like? Are there things to do nearby? Or would this be a good day to stay onboard and enjoy the ship?

 

Thanks!

[riffatsea]

I would definitely get off the ship in Acapulco.

We were there last year and I STILL don't understand why some cruise lines are not going there THIS year.

You can walk from the cruise terminal right across the street to Fort San Diego with its very interesting museum.

We then walked from the fort to the main square which had lots of cute stalls with things for sale, flowers, music, etc. We were going to take a taxi from there to the Hotel overlooking the bay for a drink but were too hot/tired so we just walked back to the ship.

There is a lot to see and do there. NOone can guarantee your safety in any city! Look what happened in Tucson at the local supermarket!!

[Rosefloater]

I would definitely get off the ship in Acapulco.

We were there last year and I STILL don't understand why some cruise lines are not going there THIS year.

You can walk from the cruise terminal right across the street to Fort San Diego with its very interesting museum.

We then walked from the fort to the main square which had lots of cute stalls with things for sale, flowers, music, etc.

There is a lot to see and do there. NOone can guarantee your safety in any city!

 

We did the same thing. To get to the fort, when you exit the port, make a right and go over the bridge. Much easier than going down to the light. At the Main square (Zocalo), there is also the Cathedral. It is Greek in style. We then went into town for dinner.

 

Never felt unsafe there walking around the Zocalo (we didn't see any other tourists there). No vendors came up to us to get us to buy something unlike at the divers. I felt more uncomfortable at the pier with the taxi drivers & tour guides hounding us for our business and also at the divers where the vendors got into your face and wouldn't take no for an answer. (Had to say no multiple times.)

[dforeigner]

Never felt unsafe there walking around the Zocalo (we didn't see any other tourists there).

 

I wonder why?

[riffatsea]

We saw other tourists at the fort and at the square(zocalo). Mostly we saw locals but then that is what we enjoy IF there were just a bunch of tourists around we wouldn't want to be there!!

[gomexico]

Other than students from local schools who visit Fort San Diego on field trips, most if not all of the people you'll see in the Fort are tourists - and, depending on the day of the week, there can be many. And though Plaza Juan Alvarez - frequently referred to as "the Zocalo" - is a center for local residents many tourists stop there and at the adjacent Malecon. Most tourists visiting Mexico are Mexican tourists so unless you're very familiar with Acapulco and Mexico City (where most of the Acapulco tourists come from) it's not easy for a foreign tourist to discern who is who. Also, it's not all that easy to always know who is Mexican and who is there from a foreign country - it's not like Mexicans wear signs or flags imprinted on their right wrist.

[Rosefloater]

You could tell that the people that we saw in the Zocalo were not tourists. Watch tourists and non tourists where you live. Tourists will more than likely have cameras and look up and around at the buildings, scenery and street scenes. Non tourists will usually walk from point A to Point B with no camera and looking straight ahead.

 

FYI - There were no major holidays when we were there and we were there in the middle of the week. The people that we saw were locals.

 

Unfortunately, most people that go to the fort are taken there as part of a tour (either privately by a taxi or part of a group tour). They then get back in the vehicle and go to another place and usually miss the Zocalo and church.

[gomexico]

Rosefloater, thanks for your response. Not all tourists act alike, though. Just because someone doesn't have a camera out and pointed at something doesn't mean they're a local and not a tourist. I see relatively few Mexican tourists with cameras in-hand, or using them in places such as the Zocalo ... or even the Fort. The area around Plaza Juan Alvarez is a magnet for people seeking low-cost lodging and restaurants and/or who enjoy the "Mexican experience."

 

Regarding tours, drivers, etc. Many of the van drivers and guides avoid taking foreign tourists to many, if any, locations where local residents congregate, shop, etc. There are exceptions, but I think they are few. If the Zocalo and surrounding area, or the Caleta neighborhood, to name just two, are not on your tour itinerary then Ithink you've selected the wrong person(s) to show you around.