Ensenada - Best things to do or recommended tour?

[meliss35]

My girlfriend and I are going on a cruise that stops in Ensenada in November. Do you recommend a tour or what to do there? Is there a nice beach nearby?

[MyTMo777]

Not much for beaches there. But we enjoyed just walking from the ship into town (super close). We browsed through the markets, tried some street food, paid a boat captain $2/each to take us out to our ship and tour around it (got some great pictures), and generally just enjoyed the culture of the town.

[Kruisn'Kay]

I’ve been on a few excursions in Ensenada. On Carnival, we went on the ATV & Winery tour and had a great day! It was a good mix of riding ATVs and then wine tasting. I have also been on Calafia Valley wine tour through Royal Caribbean. We visited 2 wineries while on a guided tour. The wineries were very unique with good tastings. Both excursions were very reasonably priced and I enjoyed them more than just going to downtown on my own. 

[chubbypiggy]

On 8/19/2022 at 4:35 PM, MyTMo777 said:

Not much for beaches there. But we enjoyed just walking from the ship into town (super close). We browsed through the markets, tried some street food, paid a boat captain $2/each to take us out to our ship and tour around it (got some great pictures), and generally just enjoyed the culture of the town.

How long is the walk from ship into town?  Easy walk?

[Nike4000]

@chubbypiggy I don't know about walking it, but the shuttle bus from the port to downtown was $4 per person and picked up every 10 minutes. Super easy.

[chubbypiggy]

11 minutes ago, Nike4000 said:

@chubbypiggy I don't know about walking it, but the shuttle bus from the port to downtown was $4 per person and picked up every 10 minutes. Super easy.

Thank you. Was the shuttle also available from downtown back to port, or you had to take a taxi back to port?  

[chubbypiggy]

Also, the shuttle from the port to town is right at the cruise terminal?

[MyTMo777]

5 hours ago, chubbypiggy said:

How long is the walk from ship into town?  Easy walk?

Very easy walk of less than 10 minutes. 

[chubbypiggy]

Thank you.

 

[Nike4000]

@chubbypiggy - Yeah, the shuttle bus picks up at the same place it drops off at downtown. The air conditioned bus runs back and forth all day. The $4 is round trip - they'll give you a ticket to show so you can reboard the bus downtown.

 

The pickup point at the cruise terminal is like 50 yards away from where you disembark from the ship. Walk off the ship, follow the signs that say "Bus to town" and there will be a guy asking if you want the bus to downtown and that it costs $4/person. Totally easy to find - the port area in Ensenada is tiny, so it's hard to miss.

The downtown drop off point is on the main shopping street, so you end up right in the heart of the tourist area. 

 

When you return to the ship, you'll have to show your room key to gain access to the port. It took all of 30 seconds for the port authority officer to check our cards. The bus drops off at the same place it picked you up at. 

 

Seriously easy to do and well worth the $4.

[chubbypiggy]

Thank you for the information, Nike4000.

[oskidunker]

Looking for a good restaurant for lunch near the port. 

[Nike4000]

@oskidunker - It's been a few months since we were there, but I honestly don't recall any restaurants "near the port." I also don't really recall seeing any restaurants I'd want to stop at on the shopping street. However, my caveat is that we weren't looking for food, so I'm sure I totally walked right by a few restaurants. I do remember seeing chain fast food restaurants in the area off of the shopping boulevard, but we didn't stop at any.

[Theosprey247]

Things we have done and enjoyed:  Wine tasting (we visited a vineyard with an excursion, and we visited various wineshops on our own),  Horse back riding on the beach, Visited the La Bufadura (really good tacos there 1st stall).  But our favorite thing to do is walk around and shop.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 11/2/2022 at 12:50 PM, oskidunker said:

Looking for a good restaurant for lunch near the port. 

 

La Guerrerense Carreta, La Ensenada, Carreta de Mariscos el Gordito and La Cienega Restaurante.