Ensenada Tours

[LuCruise]

We'll be on a cruise out of Los Angeles for the first time in July that is stopping at Ensenada.

 

Anyone done any of these tours and if so, any feedback?  We are on Royal but may also be offered by other ships.

• La Cava de Marcelo: The Cheese Cave
• Food and tequila Walking Tour
• Salsa and Salsa

 

Out cruise is only a 3 night so looking for something that isn't too long but gives us a taste of Ensenada (no pun intended)

[KeepCalmBearOn]

I have not done any of them, mostly because I live 90 minutes north of Ensenada half of my time and know the town well. With planning you could easily do your own "food and tequila" tour. The "cheese cave" tour sounds interesting, but if I were traveling to the Valle de Guadalupe, it would be for wine tasting.

[LuCruise]

Thanks for the tip.  Still debating if we do one of the tours or just stay on the ship (as it's a short cruise).  Good to know though that Ensenada is best wine tasting. There are a few wine options.

[JoRoy218]

We stopped at Ensenada on the way back from a Hawaii trip. There’s a fairly short walk into “town” (or ship sponsored trolley). We found your typical array of silver/jewelry shops and of course a good variety of liquor, especially Tequila. We did buy some silver jewelry and DH found tequila he liked. Spent maybe an hour shopping, then back to ship for afternoon cocktails. Did not feel the need to go beyond shopping area. 

[LuCruise]

15 hours ago, JoRoy218 said:

We stopped at Ensenada on the way back from a Hawaii trip. There’s a fairly short walk into “town” (or ship sponsored trolley). We found your typical array of silver/jewelry shops and of course a good variety of liquor, especially Tequila. We did buy some silver jewelry and DH found tequila he liked. Spent maybe an hour shopping, then back to ship for afternoon cocktails. Did not feel the need to go beyond shopping area. 

Thanks.  I was under the impression from another post that you have to take a shuttle if you want to go to town to just walk around and do a bit of shopping?  You can walk too?  Your description is an option for us since the cruise is so short we feel like we don't want to lose too much time on the ship.

[JoRoy218]

41 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Thanks.  I was under the impression from another post that you have to take a shuttle if you want to go to town to just walk around and do a bit of shopping?  You can walk too?  Your description is an option for us since the cruise is so short we feel like we don't want to lose too much time on the ship.

Maybe I should clarify “short” walk into town. From the ship it took about 15 min, on level ground. There was a “parade” of passengers headed to the main shopping street. Mobility challenged can take the transportation into town, they run frequently. Yes, I agree with you, since that was our last full day on the ship, we wanted to enjoy.

[LuCruise]

3 hours ago, JoRoy218 said:

Maybe I should clarify “short” walk into town. From the ship it took about 15 min, on level ground. There was a “parade” of passengers headed to the main shopping street. Mobility challenged can take the transportation into town, they run frequently. Yes, I agree with you, since that was our last full day on the ship, we wanted to enjoy.

Thank you!  Sounds like it won't be hard to know which way to go if many do the same.  Walking 15 min is fine with us.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

4 hours ago, LuCruise said:

Thanks.  I was under the impression from another post that you have to take a shuttle if you want to go to town to just walk around and do a bit of shopping?  You can walk too?  Your description is an option for us since the cruise is so short we feel like we don't want to lose too much time on the ship.

 

What I would call the main shopping district in Ensenada is about 2 miles (3km) walking distance from the cruise port, but if you look at the map link below, there is adequate shopping on Avenida Adolfo López Mateos, just one block in from the entrance to the cruise port and some great taco shops like La Guerrerense Carreta, Birrieria La Guadalajara and the food stalls in the Mercado Negro, easy walking distance.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/ad15bRgPyzs895Pb8

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

If you like wine and they offer it do the Valle de Guadalupe wine country.  My next choice might be the cheese cave.  My third choice would be stay on the ship as walking/riding into downtown for shopping is good for about ten minutes.  

[LuCruise]

6 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

What I would call the main shopping district in Ensenada is about 2 miles (3km) walking distance from the cruise port, but if you look at the map link below, there is adequate shopping on Avenida Adolfo López Mateos, just one block in from the entrance to the cruise port and some great taco shops like La Guerrerense Carreta, Birrieria La Guadalajara and the food stalls in the Mercado Negro, easy walking distance.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/ad15bRgPyzs895Pb8

This is so helpful.  Thank you!

[LuCruise]

35 minutes ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

If you like wine and they offer it do the Valle de Guadalupe wine country.  My next choice might be the cheese cave.  My third choice would be stay on the ship as walking/riding into downtown for shopping is good for about ten minutes.  

Thanks!  Definitely some options to consider.

[floridacruiser14]

Has anyone gone on the Princess excursion Cheese, Wine and Award Winning Cuisine?

What were your thoughts on the excursion?

[highloyo]

I don’t believe the cheese cave excursion is offered on Princess. Is there an independent tour from town and any insight about this adventure?

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

On 6/28/2023 at 10:16 PM, highloyo said:

I don’t believe the cheese cave excursion is offered on Princess. Is there an independent tour from town and any insight about this adventure?

Not sure, but I have an excellent private driver who would take you wherever you want to go.  

 

[highloyo]

5 hours ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

Not sure, but I have an excellent private driver who would take you wherever you want to go.  

 

Thanks, I’ll bookmark your post.

[LRDR01]

On 4/21/2023 at 10:00 AM, LuCruise said:

We'll be on a cruise out of Los Angeles for the first time in July that is stopping at Ensenada.

 

Anyone done any of these tours and if so, any feedback?  We are on Royal but may also be offered by other ships.

• La Cava de Marcelo: The Cheese Cave
• Food and tequila Walking Tour
• Salsa and Salsa

 

Out cruise is only a 3 night so looking for something that isn't too long but gives us a taste of Ensenada (no pun intended)

We did the Cheese Cave while on the Navigator of the Seas.  This was a really fun excursion.  It's about a 30 min drive outside of Ensenada, so, if you are looking for some downtown experience, this would not be the one.  The only downside of this tour was with the bus used to and from.  Unless they have changed the transportation from when we went (about a year ago), you will want to make sure you get a seat near the front.  Otherwise, the tour was great.  You get a tour of how the cheese is processed, get to taste several different types of cheese, ice cream samples and have a wonderful lunch.  We have been to Ensenada many, many times and try to do something different each time.  This excursion was one of our favorites.

[cruiselover04]

Never been to Ensenada but due to stop there next year on our cruise on Navigator of the Seas. I have read that you can walk to “the blow hole”.   @scottca075 Would you have any useful information on this? 
 

Thanks 

Jenni 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, cruiselover04 said:

Never been to Ensenada but due to stop there next year on our cruise on Navigator of the Seas. I have read that you can walk to “the blow hole”.   @scottca075 Would you have any useful information on this?

 

The famous blowhole, La Bufadora, is most certainly not walkable. It is at least 15 miles south of the cruise port.

[cruiselover04]

1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

 

The famous blowhole, La Bufadora, is most certainly not walkable. It is at least 15 miles south of the cruise port.

Thank you. Definitely won’t be doing that walk. lol. 

[sailawaybellaluna]

Just chiming in, as we have been to Ensenada quite a bit via ship and also driving from our home in Southern California.

 

We typically head out to Guadalupe Valley, as we love wine and the scenery is pretty and relaxing for a 30 minute drive. The buses usually give you the option to hop out downtown as well on the return journey if you want to shop. I believe most of the wine tasting excursions right now are limited to LA Cetto, Dona Lupe and sometimes Liceaga. 

 

I recently did the Marcelo Cheese Cave, and was very impressed by the tour. The scenery is beautiful and the food and drinks are great. Now a disclaimer: if you have poor weather, I really wouldn't do this tour. We went in February and it was very cold, windy and rainy. We stood out in the dairy portion to see where they milk the cows and were freezing and getting wet. The cheese caves are set on beautiful land with outdoor picnic areas but we couldn't enjoy them again, due to the weather. The owners had set up a lovely experience indoors, but it was still very cold. Even the bathrooms are semi-outdoor and we were absolutely freezing. Getting on and off the bus was a very muddy experience, and I felt so bad for the bus driver setting down towels to try and save his interior. If weather isn't an issue, I'd do the cheese cave again in a heartbeat!

 

I'm actually getting ready to go back to Ensenada and wondering if anyone has visited the El Cielo Winery? Any feedback on those excursions?

 

Thanks!

[KeepCalmBearOn]

3 hours ago, sailawaybellaluna said:

I'm actually getting ready to go back to Ensenada and wondering if anyone has visited the El Cielo Winery? Any feedback on those excursions?

 

I know nothing about the excursions, but we've stayed at the resort for some long weekends. It is a great location to explore the Valle De Guadalupe and their restaurants are great.

 

If you can find a way to a Javier Plascencia restaurant in the VdG, do it.

 

http://www.chefjavierplascencia.mx/eng/restaurants

[SelectSys]

On 11/15/2023 at 12:02 PM, sailawaybellaluna said:

if anyone has visited the El Cielo Winery

I have been inside El Cielo a couple of times and once did a tasting there.  The tasting room is in the basement and process includes a video of the history of the winery.  It is owned by a hotelier from Cancun if memory serves my correctly.  Overall it's not a bad experience but I am not in a hurry to return.

 

On 11/15/2023 at 4:07 PM, scottca075 said:

but we've stayed at the resort for some long weekends.

The room rates at the resort are pretty darn high.  Did you think it was a good value?

[KeepCalmBearOn]

20 hours ago, SelectSys said:

I have been inside El Cielo a couple of times and once did a tasting there.  The tasting room is in the basement and process includes a video of the history of the winery.  It is owned by a hotelier from Cancun if memory serves my correctly.  Overall it's not a bad experience but I am not in a hurry to return.

 

The room rates at the resort are pretty darn high.  Did you think it was a good value?

 

Not sure what you consider high, but we've never paid more than $300 a night, which is about 1/2 the cost of an equivalent place in Temecula.

[SelectSys]

18 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

Not sure what you consider high, but we've never paid more than $300 a night, which is about 1/2 the cost of an equivalent place in Temecula.

Thanks for the information.  The resort is definitely a beautiful property from what I have seen from the outside.  If Temecula is $600 / night, then Cielo is a bargain.  

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 11/17/2023 at 3:43 PM, SelectSys said:

Thanks for the information.  The resort is definitely a beautiful property from what I have seen from the outside.  If Temecula is $600 / night, then Cielo is a bargain.  

 

During the week in Temecula you can get great rooms, at wineries like Ponte, South Coast, and Carter for under $300, and the Temecula Creek Inn or Inn at Europa Village for even less, but on weekends when we can get away, prices really spike. Domaine Chandon seems to always be high.