Mazatlan cliff divers without an excursion?

[moejoe4]

We will be in Mazatlan next month (wahoo!!). We are going to do it ourselves. No formal excursion. We would like to see the cliff divers, Golden Zone and Stone Island. There will be 6 of us ages 3-67.

 

What would be the best route for us to take? Which one first, second, etc.?

 

Thanks!

Dana

[swedish weave]

We will be in Mazatlan next month (wahoo!!). We are going to do it ourselves. No formal excursion. We would like to see the cliff divers, Golden Zone and Stone Island. There will be 6 of us ages 3-67.

 

What would be the best route for us to take? Which one first, second, etc.?

 

Thanks!

Dana

 

Since Stone Island can be cool in the mornings, I would get two pulmonias or one big taxi and have them take you on their standard route that goes toward the lighthouse, through the "Beverly Hills" of Mazatlan, then to the malecon to see the cliff divers. After that, they will go to the gold zone, then back down through old town to the cathedral and mercado, then back to the ship, or have them take you to the water taxi terminal so you can go to Stone Island. The pulmonias want about 20 dollars per hour, but will do better, and the water taxi is 3 dollars or 25 pesos per person round trip. If you don't spend a lot of time shopping, you can do the city in two to three hours, then spend the rest of the day at Stone Island.

[deevmo]

I agree with Swedish Weave - Four of us went last year. Wait until you are on the street to hire a taxi or pulmonia because they are ususally cheaper. We paid $10/each = $40 total. Our driver gave us a tour of Mazatlan, then went to the cathedral (here he stayed parked and we walked around). We walked 2 blocks to the outdoor flea market (mercado), shopped for awhile, then he took us to see the cliff diver, then drove down the malecon to the golden zone. We didn't really shop in the golden zone (touristy). Then he dropped us off at the water taxi for Stone Island.

 

Don't be afraid to negotiate a good price. I loved the pulmonia because it was so easy to take pictures since there are no windows! Be sure to explain exactly what you want when you negotiate the price.

 

Have fun.

[moejoe4]

I agree with Swedish Weave - Four of us went last year. Wait until you are on the street to hire a taxi or pulmonia because they are ususally cheaper. We paid $10/each = $40 total. Our driver gave us a tour of Mazatlan, then went to the cathedral (here he stayed parked and we walked around). We walked 2 blocks to the outdoor flea market (mercado), shopped for awhile, then he took us to see the cliff diver, then drove down the malecon to the golden zone. We didn't really shop in the golden zone (touristy). Then he dropped us off at the water taxi for Stone Island.

 

Don't be afraid to negotiate a good price. I loved the pulmonia because it was so easy to take pictures since there are no windows! Be sure to explain exactly what you want when you negotiate the price.

 

Have fun.

 

Thanks, that is exactly what we are wanting to do. So we can just hire a taxi/pulmonia for a couple of hours?

 

Dana

[pulledporky]

Did this just last week. Walk out to the street and pulmomnia's are lined up for miles. Ricardo offered $20 for one hour or $40 for 3 hours. I'm trying to not negotiate all their profit out these days; heck, I'm on vacation - these guys are trying to make a living. Seems Ricardo had all the important standard phrases down pat, but once we left the terminal it became clear he did not speak much english. I read on here once to ask the driver how much snow does mazatlan get. You'll find out how much english they REALLY speak. No problem though, he carted us all over town to the above mentioned spots and one stop at Walmart. Maybe an hour and 45 minutes we were back to the water taxi then off to Victor's.

 

I took several bags of Halloween candy and handed them out as we went along. It was very appreciated. We went thru the shrimp market and Ricardo stopped right next to a vendor. I threw the kid a few packs of Skittles and he had a huge grin (mmmm, taste the rainbow). Ricardo reached out of the pulmonia a grabbed a raw shrimp from one of the baskets - peeled it and popped it in his mouth. I thought a squeeze of lemon and a splash of tapatio would make that a good treat.

 

They'll stop at the cliff divers rock. When there is a big enought crowd he will make his jump. There are guys working the crowd for tips.

[swedish weave]

Did this just last week. Walk out to the street and pulmomnia's are lined up for miles. Ricardo offered $20 for one hour or $40 for 3 hours. I'm trying to not negotiate all their profit out these days; heck, I'm on vacation - these guys are trying to make a living. Seems Ricardo had all the important standard phrases down pat, but once we left the terminal it became clear he did not speak much english. I read on here once to ask the driver how much snow does mazatlan get. You'll find out how much english they REALLY speak. No problem though, he carted us all over town to the above mentioned spots and one stop at Walmart. Maybe an hour and 45 minutes we were back to the water taxi then off to Victor's.

 

I took several bags of Halloween candy and handed them out as we went along. It was very appreciated. We went thru the shrimp market and Ricardo stopped right next to a vendor. I threw the kid a few packs of Skittles and he had a huge grin (mmmm, taste the rainbow). Ricardo reached out of the pulmonia a grabbed a raw shrimp from one of the baskets - peeled it and popped it in his mouth. I thought a squeeze of lemon and a splash of tapatio would make that a good treat.

 

They'll stop at the cliff divers rock. When there is a big enought crowd he will make his jump. There are guys working the crowd for tips.

 

Your comment about snow brought back some good memories !! A driver many years ago had a picture of his pulmonia sitting in a bunch of pine trees in the snow. To make a long story short, someone had done the picture on photo shop and sent it to him. On trips after that, I would go outside the building and ask for the guy with the car in the snow and they would find him for me. He has stopped driving, and now works as a dispatcher, but his son (who has a college degree in engineering) is now driving a pulmonia and we have made a few trips with Pedro. Good kid, good English, and took us to get re-acquainted with his dad !!! They are certainly nice people !!

 

That outdoor shrimp market is a neat thing to see. Too bad they don't cook it there !!! Some of the "kids" from the ship go to the Mercado and buy shrimp and go upstairs and clean it and cook it themselves. They use fresh vegies from the market and put together a fantastic lunch !!!