Which port can give us the most "local / cultural" feel? Cabo, PV, Mazatlan?

[mkkao924]

Our cruise next March will stop at Cabo, PV, and Mazatlan, and I am trying to pick at least one port that has unique local feel (so Cabo is pretty much out I guess) that we can walk around. Any suggestions?

 

We have two kids, 11 and 6, and what we want to do includes

- Beach day for one port (Looking at Cabo/Medano Beach, PV/Stone Island, or other?)

- Resort day pass for one port (no clues right now)

- Local walk / tour

- Spa if it fits the schedule

- [optional] Dolphin excursion in PV, because they also have a water park there. Question: can we plan to stay there the entire day or we will get bored quickly?

[Theosprey247]

Local walk: Mazatlán (although PV is nice you are thinking about the Dolphin excursion we are booked for Dec)

Beach : Cabo (although Stone Beach has restaurants, facilities, and is simple to get to.  the beach itself is great).

check out resort for a day . com for day passes. 

[Mike45LC]

Cabo for Medano Beach (by way of glass bottom boat ride to the Arch) -- otherwise, Cabo is pretty much worthless.  

 

Mazatlan, walk to El Centro, check out Cathedral and Market.  Kids might be entranced by dead hog heads in the meat cases, or grossed out.  Maybe go to resort in Romantic Zone via golf cart?  Or Stone Island.  [ Stone Island is Mazatlan, not PV.]

 

PV:  Walk around El Centro.  I think the kids are too young for Tequila Tastings.

 

[SDPadreFan]

Definitely Mazatlan for the cultural aspect. Read this post - I posted some pictures of the Pino Suarez Mazatlan Market and provided some other guidence.

 

When in March is your cruise. If it's not too late - the whales will still be in Cabo for a little while longer. Definitely worthwhile for the kids. I like doing the catamarans for that (like Pez Gato) but there are other options. Any whale watch tour will also include a stop by Cabo's arch and the sea lion colony so you don't have to do that separately.

 

[mkkao924]

5 hours ago, SDPadreFan said:

Definitely Mazatlan for the cultural aspect. Read this post - I posted some pictures of the Pino Suarez Mazatlan Market and provided some other guidence.

 

When in March is your cruise. If it's not too late - the whales will still be in Cabo for a little while longer. Definitely worthwhile for the kids. I like doing the catamarans for that (like Pez Gato) but there are other options. Any whale watch tour will also include a stop by Cabo's arch and the sea lion colony so you don't have to do that separately.

 

 

Thank you! I will for sure read your post.

 

For whale watching, we took Alaska cruise this past summer and did the whale watching. We were fortunate to see a pod of humpbacks (7+) doing bubble net feeding. That's some experience...

[SDPadreFan]

Mostly a pretty different experience in whale watching. In Alaska (we were there too on Carnival Miracle in June), the whales are there to feed. In the Southern Baja area (and PV), that is their summer playground. They are there to procreate (in a couple of secluded bays) and around Cabo and PV they are there to play and teach their newborns how to act like proper whales. Most common behaviors are spy hopping and breaching. Here are a couple of pictures I got in Feb 2008 using a Canon PowerShot S3 IS. Definitely my lucky day with that basic camera.

 

 

 

When We are at our timeshare in Cabo in the winter, we can sit on our balcony and watch the whales all day. Mostly they spy hop close to the beach there. They get so close to the shoreline (very deep water) that you could probably throw a Ritz Cracker at them.

 

My wife (on right) and best friend (on left) having morning coffee watching the cruise ships sail by.

[Hlitner]

I have an observation from the perspective of a frequent cruiser that just happens to live in Puerto Vallarta for part of the year.   Many cruisers tend to favor cruise line excursions, private tours that often take the to "tourist" oriented places, etc.  They take a "walking tour" where the tour leader guides them into specific shops that are designed to please cruisers/tourists.  

 

If you want to experience the local culture in just about any port, you should consider just going off on your own and avoiding the cruiser/tourist-centric things.  My goodness, just look at the CC threads where folks talk about going to Walmart, Sam's, etc.  I live in PV 10 weeks a year and have not been inside Walmart (we have two Superstores) in several years!   When folks who come to Puerto Vallarta and take themselves to Diamonds International, Senor Frogs, etc. they are not getting the local culture.  In Puerto Vallarta you can take a local bus (from outside the cruise port) into town for $10 (pesos which is about 50 cents).  On the bus you will see a mix of gringos and locals and experience how most locals get around!   Once in town (Centro or the Romantic Zone/Old Town) you can walk around, go into various shops,  chat with sidewalk vendors, enjoy the fabulous food, etc.  Stop in one of the shops/stands that feature Huichol Art.  Go into some of the fabulous art galleries and admire the works that are indigenous to Mexico.  In PV there is a lot of pride in art.  In fact, you can see this by just walking along the Malecon and enjoying the sculptures (some done by very well-known Mexican artists such as Sergio Bustamante.   Here is a link to a site that explores our Malecon sculptures: Sculptures & Statues on the Malecon/Boardwalk in Puerto Vallarta

 

Even little things like coffee shops become symbolic of tourism.  In PV we have several Starbucks which are just like Starbucks anywhere in the world.  You can go inside, get your usual Starbucks drink and pastry, and sit at a table.  or/....  You can go find a local coffee shop such as "Vallarta Coffee Roasters"  (my own go to place for coffee) which buys all their beans in Mexico, does their own roasting at the store, and has a selection of local pastries/snacks.  This place also has a cigar humidor full of Mexican cigars and sells Mexican chocolates.    But if you want to spend your day at Walmart, McDonalds, Starbucks, Dominos Pizza, Burger King, Costco, Home Depot, etc....we have all that stuff!  Just don't go home and complain that you did not find Mexican culture :).

 

The local culture is there is you want to take the time to explore the options.  Heading off to a beach club, hotel swimming pool/beach, etc.  is not going to get your local culture.   This is true, not just in PV, but in Cabo, Mazatlan or any other resort town.

 

Hank

 

 

[SDPadreFan]

On 9/26/2022 at 1:07 PM, Mike45LC said:

Cabo for Medano Beach (by way of glass bottom boat ride to the Arch) -- otherwise, Cabo is pretty much worthless.  

 

Mazatlan, walk to El Centro, check out Cathedral and Market.  Kids might be entranced by dead hog heads in the meat cases, or grossed out.  Maybe go to resort in Romantic Zone via golf cart?  Or Stone Island.  [ Stone Island is Mazatlan, not PV.]

 

PV:  Walk around El Centro.  I think the kids are too young for Tequila Tastings.

 

Definitely your own personal opinion. We've been going to Cabo every year since 2004 for at least a week (sometimes two). As well as several stops when on cruise ships. We'll be there again for a week at the end of October and again briefly in Nov/Dec off the Carnival Panorama. Never really had a bad or useless port call (and that includes 24 years in the Navy). Guess it all depends on what you make of it. I've even had a fantastic time in Karachi, Pakistan (early 1987).

[SDPadreFan]

42 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

In Puerto Vallarta you can take a local bus (from outside the cruise port) into town for $10 (pesos which is about 50 cents).  On the bus you will see a mix of gringos and locals and experience how most locals get around!   Once in town (Centro or the Romantic Zone/Old Town) you can walk around, go into various shops,  chat with sidewalk vendors, enjoy the fabulous food, etc.  Stop in one of the shops/stands that feature Huichol Art.  Go into some of the fabulous art galleries and admire the works that are indigenous to Mexico.  In PV there is a lot of pride in art.  In fact, you can see this by just walking along the Malecon and enjoying the sculptures (some done by very well-known Mexican artists such as Sergio Bustamante.   Here is a link to a site that explores our Malecon sculptures: Sculptures & Statues on the Malecon/Boardwalk in Puerto Vallarta

 

Hank

 

 

Couldn't agree with you more Hank. Couple of questions. We will be stopping in Puerto Vallarta right after Thanksgiving on Carnival Panorama. We will make the obligatory trip briefly over to Sam's Club (want to get a couple of bottles of Kahlua) but I also see there is a Chedraui nearby as well. Pretty familiar with Chadraui as they have those in Cabo. Would that be a better place to get the Kahlua? I'll have peso's since we always try to use the host countries currency as a sign of respect.

 

Then I'm interested in taking the bus down to the area of the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Church) as we like that area and it's a stunning Church inside. Also want to explore the Isla Cuale area as we have never done that. I see there is also a Mercado Municipal Rio Cuale near there. Any opinions? Worthwhile? Lunch suggestion in the Centro area or even at the Mercado? We like popular, local "hole in the wall" places. In Cabo, we always try to get to either Gordo Lele's (for carne asada tacos) or Tacos Gardenias (our favorite fish tacos) for lunch at least once a year (and more when we can swing it).

 

Have to be back to the ship for the Rhythm's of the Night excursion by about 3pm so may just get a cab back, but if the bus was an option, where would be the best place to catch it down in that Centro/Rio Cuale area.

[Hlitner]

6 minutes ago, SDPadreFan said:

Couldn't agree with you more Hank. Couple of questions. We will be stopping in Puerto Vallarta right after Thanksgiving on Carnival Panorama. We will make the obligatory trip briefly over to Sam's Club (want to get a couple of bottles of Kahlua) but I also see there is a Chedraui nearby as well. Pretty familiar with Chadraui as they have those in Cabo. Would that be a better place to get the Kahlua? I'll have peso's since we always try to use the host countries currency as a sign of respect.

 

Then I'm interested in taking the bus down to the area of the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Church) as we like that area and it's a stunning Church inside. Also want to explore the Isla Cuale area as we have never done that. I see there is also a Mercado Municipal Rio Cuale near there. Any opinions? Worthwhile? Lunch suggestion in the Centro area or even at the Mercado? We like popular, local "hole in the wall" places. In Cabo, we always try to get to either Gordo Lele's (for carne asada tacos) or Tacos Gardenias (our favorite fish tacos) for lunch at least once a year (and more when we can swing it).

 

Have to be back to the ship for the Rhythm's of the Night excursion by about 3pm so may just get a cab back, but if the bus was an option, where would be the best place to catch it down in that Centro/Rio Cuale area.

Hope Ine jumps in on this thread :).  I have never bought booze in Chadraui so have no info on pricing vs Sams.  As to the Isle Cujale area, keep in mind that the large indoor flea market is actually in Centro (adjacent to the Isle).  That flea market is full of the usual Mexican "stuff" with loads of pottery, lower priced clothes, etc.  If is a fun place to browse although you will soon realize that many of the vendors are selling the same products.  There are also some fun shops outside that flea market (on the Centro side) where you can find all kinds of various "stuff."  You will also see some places to grab some food inside the Mercado and on adjacent streets.   As to lunch, you will probably get a different opinion from nearly everyone in PV :).  You can find everything from the usual stuff like tacos, burritos, etc. to fresh fish.  In that neighborhood, for a more upscale lunch, some of our friends like Vitea (on the Malecon) which is a chef-owned restaurant with a decent menu.  You also get the advantage of sitting along the Malecon and people watching.   

 

I also "get it" that most cruisers and short term visitors prefer to have lunch at a place with a view/atmosphere.  The beach, on the southside of the Rio Cujale (this area is called the Zona Romantica/Romantic Zone or Viejo Vallarta (Old Town) is lined with restaurants/cafes that are all open for lunch.  Yes, it is a touristy area, but most of these places have decent food.  At the lower end of the price range there is this somewhat famous Sea Monkey (owned by the same guy who owned the Cheeky Monkey) where you can have basic food with inexpensive beer/drinks while your feet are in the sand.  As you move down the beach there are food venues in various price ranges with all kinds of food.  The beach (Los Muertos) also has more than its share of vendors selling everything from silver jewelry, clothes, hats, etc.  These vendors can be annoying to some folks, but it is part of the local culture and these vendors work hard and are actually quite friendly.  The beach vendors in this area actually have their own "union" and will normally wear white.  Some of these breach vendors are real characters, have been around for years, and have actually built up a clientele among the regulars.  

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Mazatlan by far. It was founded in 1531. If there are excursions you can take into the countryside to see the colonial towns of Concordia and Copala, I'd do it.

 

I used to love Puerto Vallarta. When my parents built their home there almost 40 years ago, it was a lovely place. The population was barely 50,000 and it felt even smaller. Now it is over 1/2 million and feels bigger. I still love the Zona Romantica and the shoe maker who custom makes my huaraches is still there, but I really don't like the new parts of town.

 

The same is true for Cabo San Lucas, which had barely 10,00o people when we started visiting in the 1970s and San Jose del Cabo was even smaller. Now they are bustling metropolises as well.

[pinto18]

On 9/28/2022 at 7:25 AM, Hlitner said:

n Puerto Vallarta you can take a local bus (from outside the cruise port) into town for $10 (pesos which is about 50 cents).  On the bus you will see a mix of gringos and locals and experience how most locals get around!   Once in town (Centro or the Romantic Zone/Old Town) you can walk around, go into various shops,  chat with sidewalk vendors, enjoy the fabulous food, etc. 

I agree...we always take the city bus down to the Malecon...partly because we are cheap 😉  but also we get the feel of what it is like to live there as a local. I think for kids that would be a good experience/lesson ..not everyone gets round driving in Uber or Taxis 

[Deep68]

On 10/3/2022 at 7:56 PM, pinto18 said:

I agree...we always take the city bus down to the Malecon...partly because we are cheap 😉  but also we get the feel of what it is like to live there as a local. I think for kids that would be a good experience/lesson ..not everyone gets round driving in Uber or Taxis 

Can you use dollars for the bus or does it have to be pesos?

[Hlitner]

On 10/12/2022 at 10:35 AM, Deep68 said:

Can you use dollars for the bus or does it have to be pesos?

Maybe yes, maybe no!  It depends on the bus driver.  The relatively new electronic fare boxes (that allows you to insert your money) has stopped some drivers from accepting dollars (or even making change).  My advice is that if you are going to use our local buses, have some Pesos (preferably exact change) to avoid any possible issue.   Like many things in Mexico there are not always clear answers.  Just part of the culture :).

 

Hank