Puerto Chiapas, Huatulco, Manzanillo

[CatsareCool]

On my upcoming Coral cruise we are stopping at 3 ports I'm not familiar with, Puerto Chiapas, Manzanillo (actually have been there but went to Colima) and Huatalco. None of the shore excursions looked appealing or interesting to us so we will just wing it and hopefully go into town (although I've heard there is nothing in Chiapas). Are the towns within walking distance from the ship? Does the ship offer any transfers into town? Are there taxis? And is it even worth going into the towns?

[Hlitner]

You are right that Chiapas has nothing near the port and not much further afield.  They did build a nice little port facility which even has an outdoor pool (we saw some crew members taking advantage of that place.  Huatalco is a decent port for a beach day.   There is a beach, within site of the ship, that is pretty nice and is lined with some restaurants and cafes.  We negotiated a great deal on a couple of loungers and enjoyed lunch as well as drinks.  There is a small town/shopping area within walking distance of the ship.  DW and I actually liked this place....but then we do like Mexico enough to live there 10 weeks a year :).

 

Hank

 

[partybarbie]

The town of Manzanillo is within walking distance.  There's a small town square, a church, and some interesting artwork.  There's not a whole lot to see, but you could grab a beer and go for a walk.

 

In Huatalco, there are local panga boats that will take you on a short cruise the nearby beach restaurants.  It's a perfect beach day. 

[bemis12]

35 minutes ago, CatsareCool said:

On my upcoming Coral cruise we are stopping at 3 ports I'm not familiar with, Puerto Chiapas, Manzanillo (actually have been there but went to Colima) and Huatalco. None of the shore excursions looked appealing or interesting to us so we will just wing it and hopefully go into town (although I've heard there is nothing in Chiapas). Are the towns within walking distance from the ship? Does the ship offer any transfers into town? Are there taxis? And is it even worth going into the towns?

 

A great place for a question like this would be the Ports of Call- Mexican Riviera forum. You might find some good insight there.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/124-mexican-riviera/

 

 

Edited October 29, 2018 by bemis12

[richsea]

We stopped in Huatalco on a Celebrity cruise some years ago, and just walked off the ship toa charming, friendly town with shopping and restaurants/bars right on the beach, all almost within a stones throw from the ship.probably our favorite Mexican port if you just want to chill for the day. Loved it! 

Sorry, not familiar with the other ports.

!

[AryMay]

These were 3 of the stops on our Holland America Panama Canal cruise this past spring...all new ports to us. Normally we arrange our own tours but on this cruise we had a lot of OBC so ended up doing tours that we booked through the ship. The tours were all done on coach buses but were surprisingly good. I'm not sure if similar excursions are offered on Princess, but I have blog posts from each of these ports if you care to read and see photos from our tours. The blog posts also have links at the top to YouTube videos I did of each port. (Not professional by any means!) 😉

 

Puerto Chiapas

Huatulco

Manzanillo

[Pam in CA]

In Puerto Chiapas, I took a terrific Princess tour that went to Izapa Mayan ruins and Tapachula. Really enjoyed it. 

[crystalspin]

At Puerto Chiapas, we went to a fascinating archaeological museum, that apparently was actually in Tapachula -- there was a shopping area near by. Then we went to ruins, also fascinating, but hot-hot-hot. So hot and sunny they provided enormous golf umbrellas free of charge. This was a NCL-ship excursion. Then we went back to the port and shopped at the purpose-built "tent" with big fans (not AC) and $1 beers. Great place for Xmas shopping!

[Renmar]

15 hours ago, AryMay said:

These were 3 of the stops on our Holland America Panama Canal cruise this past spring...all new ports to us. Normally we arrange our own tours but on this cruise we had a lot of OBC so ended up doing tours that we booked through the ship. The tours were all done on coach buses but were surprisingly good. I'm not sure if similar excursions are offered on Princess, but I have blog posts from each of these ports if you care to read and see photos from our tours. The blog posts also have links at the top to YouTube videos I did of each port. (Not professional by any means!) 😉

 

Puerto Chiapas

Huatulco

Manzanillo

Thank you sooooo much for this post. We are on the 19 day Panama Canal cruise next month and could not find much info for the ports. Your blog helps a lot.

 

Theo

[CatsareCool]

Thank you for all your input about these ports. We're leaving in a couple days and now have a plan for these 3 ports. Just get off the ship, walk to the towns for a bit, then come back to enjoy some beach time and of course a couple beers to refresh us. You can always get great and informative answers from CC!

[2 cruzen]

On 10/30/2018 at 10:52 AM, Renmar said:

Thank you sooooo much for this post. We are on the 19 day Panama Canal cruise next month and could not find much info for the ports. Your blog helps a lot.

 

Theo

We are doing the 19 day partial transit in Sept 2019. Our plans are

Huatulco-DIY beach day

Puerto Chiapas-Izapa Arch site

Puerto Quetzal-Antigua on our own

Puntarenas- ???

San Juan del Sur-visit Granada

Manzanillo-Turtle Sanctuary 

 

could you please report back back if you did any of these and/or what you did? 

 

Thanks!