Mazatlan: How Nice Is It?

[Editor]

We'll be there the first week of April on the Diamond and are trying to figure out if we should book an excursion or just stay on the ship and soak up the sun at the pool?

 

Any advice?

[mii]

If you have not been there then maybe do a excursion. You will find all sorts of info at the Ports of Call board under Mex. Riviera. Whatever you decide have a great cruise.

 

marilyn

[DetectiveMom]

I took my honeymoon on RCCL Vision of the Seas in April 2002 and our stops were Cabo, Mazatlan & Puerto Vallarta.

 

In my very honest opinion.....I would never go back to Mazatlan again. Where the ships docks is a bad part of town and I was terrified as the taxis are those dune buggies and there were some really scary characters walking around the streets.

 

We went to the El Cid and used their facilities, which were decent.

 

If I went on this route again, I would stay on the ship in both Cabo and Mazatlan. Puerto Vallarta is so beautiful! I loved it there.

[SusieS]

The Cabos beach was absolutely GORGEOUS!!! we went on the Cabo beach excursion, the the resort they took us to was heavenly. As for Mazatalan, we use it as fun shopping day (Golden Zone), & call it good.

[JohnQ]

It depends entirely on what you are looking for. If you just want sun and a beach just like Florida, it might be available at the bigger resorts. If you want to see and experience a little more of Mexico, Mazatlan has it too. It is one of the largest working ports in Mexico, and is therefore in the industrial section of Maz. If you want to see the city, or countryside, there are lots of bus or van tours available. The Sierra Madre tour which you will see on all the ship lists, is interesting to do once, with tour of city and stops at brick making, furniture shop and Concordia, a nice small town with big church in town square. You then go to small cobblestone village that is interesting to walk around in.

 

Stone Island is a step back into Mexico 50 yrs ago. You can ride horses with Randi's Happy Horses, eat fresh bbq shrimp at Victors or other resturants and play around on a beach.

 

The Golden Zone has some of the best prices and shopping in Mexico. So as I said, depends on what you want.

[robtulipe]

We enjoyed Mazatlan when we stopped there on a cruise. We found it to be clean and interesting. We did take a tour in a dune buggy taxi, which was fun and stopped at the market downtown and saw the Gold Zone beach and tourist area. The shopping for leather goods and other mexican products seemed to be better in price and quality than say PV. Four years ago there was a large market set up at the cruise terminals so I would suggest that you at least disembark to see this especially if your want souvenirs from your cruise. The ship does dock at a commercial port facility thus it isn't fancy. This port is the largest Pacific one between the US border and the Panama Canal.

We found PV to be dirty and crowded and the view from the Star Pr. was of a Walmart across the street from the cruise dock. We took a tour of the area and saw the sights but wouldn't want to go back there to vacation. To be fair about our review we did not go north of the cruise dock where most of the resorts are. I read that this area and Neuvo Vallarta are nice.

Cabos indeed has beautiful beaches and great snorkeling at land's end. Take the local boat taxi to Lover's beach on the Baja Gulf side/ Divorce beach on the Pacific side and swim towards the Los Arco ( natural arch at the tip ) from the gulf side. Be warned that the sea lions there may swim out to see what you are doing but quickly lost interest in us and went back to sunning themselves on the rocks.

[DetectiveMom]

Wow, everyone here has such differing opinions of the Mexican Riviera.

 

It's great when everyone can give an opinion without getting flamed!

[morriscats]

The first time we went we took the tour that stopped at every Diamond International store there was. Didn't like that. After that we booked with Randi and went to Stone Island and enjoyed the beach and Victors on the beach. It is a step back in time but we love the tour and the beach.

[carmel]

Go to the POC boards and read about Mazatlan Frank. He is extremely trustworthy, reasonable and nice. We were on his tour in mid-December.

 

He picks you up just outside of the shopping area at the terminal and takes you all over Mazatlan in a nice van with A/C. We saw about everything there is to see in Mazatlan, I think. We stopped for lunch at Tonys on the beach and that was nice. He has a partner in PV named Alfredo that he works with. We took his tour as well and had a great time. Both guys are very reliable and I wouldn't hesitate to rec. them.

[SeaYa52]

We booked Randi's Happy Horses in Mazatlan - and if you enjoy HB riding - this is a wonderful tour. The beach ride was the best we've ever experienced - and Victor's afterward was lots of fun & good food -

[DougH]

I really loved the tours up in to the Sierra Madre, did it twice on ships tours and once with Mazatlan Frank.(Franks was the best) I loved the smaller towns/villages we saw. Frank seemed to know everyone, a fantastic guide.

 

Doug

[dakrewser]

We thought Mazatlan was a far better port than Porto Vallarta. We took the open taxi to the central square and walked around a bit, then walked out to the oceanside and explored the area around the cement pool.

 

After an excellent lunch overlooking the ocean at El Copa de Leche we grabbed another cab and went out to the Zona Dorada for some shopping. This taxi driver was also an excellent tour guide, pointing out everything along the route.

 

Shopping was excellent and we found ALL of the people very friendly and accommodating. When we walked from the plaza to the ocean, for example, we passed people painting houses, trimming bushes, walking dogs, etc. all of whom had a smile and a "Hola!" for a couple of gray-haired gringos. :)

 

Now there's no question that Mazatlan is a working port (one of the biggest on the Pacific), but they also know how to handle tourist traffic. And there's evidently little unemployment as there were no beggars to be found - even in the tourist areas.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Wow, everyone here has such differing opinions of the Mexican Riviera.

 

It's great when everyone can give an opinion without getting flamed!

 

Agree, however one would think that they have made some changes/progress in the last five years, right :D

 

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[Phyljim]

Will echo Carmels thoughts about Mazatlan Frank. We set up a tour with him last January...very nice AC van, he offers several tours each day. I had set up the one that went to concordia area, saw the furniture factories, tile making, was a very interesting and fun day. See John Q's post, M Frank will take you to all those places, and his tour was much less than the ships excursions.

Check the ports sites of CC, Frank will answer any and all questions. Very knowledgeable about the area. And speaks excellent english.

[JohnQ]

Wow, lots of advice. Hope you can use some of it to make your decision. We are going on the SF-Mex Riv cruise next week and will be taking a tour with Frank in Mazatlan. Since we are only in port for 6hrs, we will take a mini Sierra Madre tour plus Old Mazatlan.

 

Last time we were in PV, we took a long tour in Mercedes 4x4's to small towns, rivers, ranches and rainforest, then to beach for BBQ, so we didn't see much else that trip. But 3 or 4 yrs ago, we thought PV was one of the prettiest ports we had been at in Mexico. So as I said earlier, depends on what you need!!!

[Izzy'smom]

I've been to Mazatlan several times (timeshare owner at the El Cid Moro Tower). I've never felt unsafe at all in the golden zone or downtown. I have never been to the ship dock.

 

There is a ton of shopping in the Golden Zone - as well as a lot of restraunts. Senor Frog's is also a popular place for lunch or dinner. If you go downtown there is a cathedral - and also the market place.

 

Should you choose to go to one of the resorts, the pools are great, or you can always head down to the beach to try parasailing.

 

For those of you so inclined, the local Costco has decent prices on Tequila.;)

[JimnKaren]

Got off the Star several years ago and got a ride into the market area. Very interesting as to how they merchandise their wares. Also nearby is the cathedral. Then, not too far away are some outdoor cafes near the art center (there were music classes and art classes going on). There are a couple of interesting art galleries within walking distance too. We preferred Maz over PV.

 

Jim

[Editor]

Thank you all!

Great comments and suggestions.

Unlike many women, I hate shopping when on vacation. I'm into the sights and sounds of the location. Though I don't think my kids (11 and 15) will want to sight see.

 

Still deciding what to do ...

[lchavez]

Stone Island is the best part of Mazatlan! Try it :D

[morriscats]

My kids and grandkids had a ball with Randi riding the horses on the beach. After that we went to Victors and enjoyed sitting at waters edge while they played in the surf. A very gentle slope makes it possible to go out pretty far and the water was so warm. Victors has free boogie boards the kids can use and Randi can set you up with the banana boats if you want. There is plenty of shopping at the pier - Stone Island is our favorite place when we cruise to Mexico.

[bacm]

:) We did Cabo, PV & Mazatlan in Dec and we thought it was wonderful. I was really nervous because I had heard & read a lot of "less than glowing" reports on the boards and I wasn't expecting much at all. We had mostly done Mexico from the Caribbean coastline, so this was a refreshing change.

 

We did Kayaking in Cabo. The water was very rough but it was a blast!

 

We did a tour of PV to the town where "Night of the Iguana" was filmed & enjoyed it very much.

 

We did Sierra Madre tour in Mazatlan and loved it. Mazatlan had the best prices of all of the stops and the food was great.

 

Everyone obviously has their own likes & dislikes & opinions.

This was our 8th cruise & our 1st on the west coast & we loved the stops!

 

[Desert Nurse]

Here's another vote for Randi's Happy Horses. Even if you don't want to ride, Randi will take you to Victor's on the beach where your kids can meet you after the ride. The horses are very gentle and safe for kids. The beach in front of Victor's has a gentle slope and soft sand so the kids could jump in after their ride. I wouldn't considering stopping in Mazatlan without riding with Randi. I also spent a week in Mazatlan last fall and never felt unsafe.

[bacm]

I quess when you take a tour you don't see any of the scary things that people are eluding to. We took tours & the tours did not take us anywhere that we didn't feel safe. As a matter of fact, we were surprised at how friendly the people were. On Mazatlan the tour only took us to very small specific places to shop. It didn't matter to us that it was small because they all seem to have the same things. I quess the tours are very controlled to not make you feel unsafe, we spent the whole day there and were very happy.

[momcharly]

Mazatlan is great I have been vacationing there for about 10 years.the prices from the cruise seem high. take a cab from the pier just get a cabby that speaks english .cheak out the church and downtown be sure to bargain. for lunch try gringo lingo (in golden zone any cab can take you there) they have an all you can eat lunch anything on the menu just keep ordering $15. I loved the cocanut shrimp. I like the shopping in the golden zone. hope this helps momcharly

[DetectiveMom]

Agree, however one would think that they have made some changes/progress in the last five years, right :D

 

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Of course, which is why I stated the dates that I was in each of those ports. :D