Mexican Riviera with 1 Year Old

[LisaT91403]

We are bringing our DS on the Mariner of the Seas in April, and are not bringing a car seat with us. I am wondering if this means that we cannot go on any excursions, as I think they all would require some kind of ground transportation. Does anyone know of any excursions that don't require this?

 

Also, are there any beach resorts within walking distance in any of the ports (Cabo, Mazatlan, or PV)? We were thinking this might be an option for us.

 

Thanks!

[crusinmama06]

If your excursion takes a tour bus, then you won't need a car seat. Some excursions take a boat, no car seat. ;)

 

Some excursions use a small van, then yes, I bring our car seat.

 

The tricky thing is that there is really no way to tell 100%. You can look at the excursions on the Port of Call board (here at CC). Some excursions consistently take buses. But it's not always fool proof.

 

Will they stop you from putting a baby in a van on an excursion with no car seat? No, they won't. But as I have said on every other car seat thread....the laws of physics are not different in Mexico. ;)

[LisaT91403]

I agree about the laws of physics! We already decided not to bring the car seat, and that's why I was asking about things within walking distance (or boat...I guess you can take a water taxi in Cabo?) Maybe I should post on the Mexican Riviera board to see if anyone knows of excursions that don't require ground transportation.

 

Thanks!

[MnAsMom]

I PV there is the Krystal Resort. Not far from the port... walking distance. I believe they let you use the pool/playground etc in exchange for buying a couple of drinks? Lots of people suggested this hotel when I asked on the PV board! Apparently you can get a great beach side massage for a great price... maybe do a swap with your husband.. and each of you get a relaxing massage much cheaper than on the boat!

 

http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/mexico/puerto-vallarta/nh-krystal-puerto-vallarta.html?type=gallery

 

Here is the info I gathered for myself and a friend who were cruising the Mexican Riviera... our kids are a little older but you may find this info helpful!

 

Hotel Finnisterra in Cabo

Both apparently amazing FREE resorts that will let you use their facilities if you mention you are a cruise passenger.

 

Info on the massage at the Krystal hotel in Puerto vallarta

 

Krystal Hotel Massage and Pool- for a couples massage- which welcomes cruisers and crew for free day use, no towels included (bring ship towels). Don’t go the long way out to the main drag; take the shortcut down the back street. Go off the gangway, walk to the right around the circular building, then across the square in front of the flea market, then head for the large white wall with a yellow wall behind it, go through the gate at the left end of the white wall, and go down this street to the end, where you will see the “Welcome cruisers to the Krystal resort”. You can see this route from an upper deck on the dockside of the ship. (About 8-10 minute walk from the ship) and hang out at the pool there you can walk from the dock. They have an amazing pool area, including a wonderful children's pool, plus a playground and nice beach. http://www.vallarta-info.com/hotelzone.html

 

As you come off the ship, go thru the little market area and you will see a gate leading to a cobblestone street. (not really an alley). You walk down this street about 3 blocks. You will dead-end at a construction site, but then turn left and just a few steps from the street you were on is a gate in the adobe whitewash wall. There were guards there and we told them we were getting a massage at Krystal (but others from the ship just showed those same guards their seapass from the ship and were let in. Then, you make a quick right and left, and you are headed toward the pool area and massages. Just past the construction, turn right and you will see a wide staircase, with pillars on top and a large thatch roof bar area. Up these stairs is the pool area, which was fantastic! The pool is really 3 pools in one, with bridges connecting the 3 areas. In the area we hung out, there were tile chaise lounges built into the pool and you could lie on them, reading a

book or whatever, just partially submerged. There were some umbrellas to keep you cool.

The massage area was just a bit farther from the pool area, but there were NO signs visable. As described there is a 3 room cabana, two massage tables in each, I think. Outside there is one spa attendant sitting under a thatch umbrella, so you can walk up to her to cnfirm your reservation.http://www.go2vallarta.com/milleniummassage/

 

MASSAGES

Therapeutic massage (60 min) 40.00

Therapeutic massage (75 min) 46.00

Four hands massage (60 min) 75.00

 

MAZATLAN

 

In Mazatlan people seem to recommend Stone Island.

 

In Mazatlan we do the Paplantas Flyers + resort visit. This is done using taxis though, so car seats are a consideration!

 

In Mazatlan last time we took a taxi to the Aquarium. I think it was about $3 admission per person and it's a very nice aquarium. They have a good variety of interesting displays and a couple of really cute shows, especially the sea lion show. This was also a kid friendly and cost effective excursion. We have heard El Cid has a nice beach and pool that cruise ship passengers can use.

 

CABO

 

In Cabo, the Lands End boat tour is short, but fun.

 

Cabo is a really fun place. You can take a glass bottom boat ride to the beach, walk around town or take an excursion. We did a tour once that took us to a glass blowing factory, San Jose del Cabo (very cute town about 20 minutes away with great shopping and beautiful church and town sqaure) and also to a cactus farm. It was fun.

 

In Cabo we have gone twice to Mendano Beach (take a water taxi over from the pier) and have had a great time. The water can get a little scary with a strong current and it drops off real quick depth wise. But my son loved playing in the sand there.

[Ula]

You might want to ask this question in the Mexico Ports of Call forum. I have done the Mexico run four times. One thing we have noticed is many of the cabs do not have seatbelts so a car seat is pretty much of no use.

Of the three ports Matzatlan and Cabo have plenty of things to do and see right off the ship. We walked to old town Matzatlan and watched cliff divers and such. A good stroller would be handy. PV you might want to research more. They have a market area right off the ship and a parrot sanctuary, but things closer I do not know.

[Kerry's Girls]

This is what worked great for my 1-year old twins:

 

PV - Krystal Hotel; has a great toddler pool; playground with swings, etc; beach with palapas for shade (bring a $5 to tip the guy who will set you up). I always buy lunch/drinks there since they're letting me enjoy the facilities for free.

 

Mazatlan - the shore excursions do not use a bus - it's all local taxis. There are instructions on the ports of call board on how to walk to the ferry to Stone Island.

 

Cabo - there's a short shore excursion (Land's End) that leaves from the pier on a boat that takes you along the coast to see the rock formations/seals, etc. There's an enclosed area that makes this nice with a toddler.

 

Best,

Mia

[LisaT91403]

Thanks to you all...lots of great ideas!

[katp]

We just returned from the Mex Riv - no kids (this time). It's not necessary to book excursions. Save your money for beer, I say! In all three ports there are plenty of things to do/see that you can easily walk to. We're in snowy MN and really just wanted beach time in all three ports. If you are interested in that, here are my recommendations:

 

Vallarta: Relax and eat your breakfast on the ship while all the excursion folks debark. It's a little nutty on the pier with all those folks milling around, so if you wait an hour until they're all gone, it will be much calmer. Just outside the terminal, you can catch a yellow cab to Old Town. It will cost around $10. Ask them to drop you off at La Playa del Muertos (the beach of the dead). There are plenty of spots there to "buy" a chair with shade (cost is about $5 and includes a margarita) and the baby can play in the sand. The waves are lovely and the beach is clean. It was my favorite stop on this vacation. Anyways, there are plenty of beach food options as well as a multitude of (remarkably affordable) restaurants to choose from. Skip the stroller, lube up with sunscreen and put the baby on your shoulders for a nice walk up the beach. We walked all the way back to the ship, which took a couple hours (we were in no hurry and stopped multiple times to sit with a beer on the way), but it's a fair amount of walking if you're carrying a heavy baby. You could always walk the retail areas with an umbrella stroller, but the sidewalks are narrow and the traffic moves quickly. The beach was lovely in PV with lots of shopping, eating, sand sculptures at the boardwalk and beach time. You can always catch a cab, VERY EASILY, to take you back to the terminal if you tire of walking.

 

Mazatlan: We did Stone Island. Love Love Loved it and I can't wait to bring my kids here. The beach is sooooo quiet and peaceful. The sand is very flat and the water is calm and shallow. It seems like the perfect spot to bring small kids. So here's how we did it: Debark the ship and walk through the terminal. The vendors are VERY aggressive here - they jump on you as soon as you get off the trolley that brings you through the shipping yards, but if you survive the gauntlet walk through this area you will be home free. Exit the terminal and go to the street. You can take a cab here, but we walked - it will take you 10-15 minutes MAX. I wouldn't bother with a stroller for this one - the walking is minimum and I think a stroller on the beach is a hassle. But I digress.... so, you're at the street... turn left and walk towards the water. When the street ends at a T, keep going straight down the dirt road to a little shack (was it blue?) at the water. You can buy passes to the water taxi here for $2 per person. The water taxi takes you across the channel and drops you off at Stone Island. Go up the dock, across the dirt road and walk down the short trail to the beach. Voila, you're there. You can walk the entire beach in 15-20 minutes and then decide where you'd like to set up for the day. We chose Lety's because it got such wonderful reviews on this forum. The chairs all have umbrellas, the bathrooms are very clean and the shrimp is to die for. We walked up into the restaurant (I use this term loosely - it's all open air) to place orders, which is no biggie. The vibe on Stone Island is very laid back and relaxed. Perfect spot to bring a book and have a peaceful day. We could see where the cruise ship excursions were partying up the beach, and if you are looking for a little more action/activity, there's no stopping you from joining them. I think we spent about $40 this day and it included several cocktails each, home-made tortilla chips/salsa and garlic shrimp. The trip to/from the beach shouldn't take more than a 1/2 hour including all walking. ATVs, parasailing, volleyball and horseback riding are all available at this beach, but we enjoyed just relaxing with the sound of the waves. It was exactly like those Corona commercials you see... can I go back NOW?

 

Cabo: When you get off the tender, you'll be in the Marina. You can walk all the way around the marina in about 20 minutes, more if you stop and shop/eat. There are MANY eating/drinking places along the marina, both independents and chain restaurants. There are all kinds of off-shooting streets around the marina with lots of shopping and more eating. It's really very lovely, however we found that it got quite warm when we left the waterfront. If you feel like hitting Mendano Beach, go to the end of the marina, turn left and go up the hill along the beautiful new condos. When you reach the top of the hill (10 minutes with a baby?) you can cut down through a paved "alley" to the beach and it drops you off by Billigans (blue umbrellas). The vibe here is much more of a party atmosphere, very spring break-ish with drinking games and hot waiters. Plenty to watch and do without spend a lot of money. We loved it and ended up staying all day and only spent $50 with several buckets of Sol ($10 each), nachos and tips. If you don't feel like strolling through the marina, you can easily catch a water taxi - don't know the cost as we liked walking. Again, the walk to the beach isn't more than 30-45 minutes.

 

Sorry this turned into a book - we just had such an awesome time in the Mex. Riviera and can't wait to return with our kids. We'd do the exact same thing, except maybe try to hit a whale watching excursion in Cabo. They were EVERYWHERE and would have loved to see them up close. I don't know if I'd want to to that type of excursion with a baby.... Anyways, if you're interested in the beach and would rather save your pennies for Coronas instead of taxis or excursion/entrance fees, then it's totally do-able with VERY little effort. Have an awesome time!!

[lintman]

katp, I loved the great review/recommendations you made. We are going to the three ports you just listed in under a month with a 4 1/2 year old and our almost 2 year old.

 

What you described for Mazatlan and Cabo were pretty close to what we had been planning on. I am pretty iffy on taking a taxi with my kids and no carseats even. I will have a find out if there are busses that run to the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta. We have been thinking that is where we would like to go there.

[Ula]

Kapt,

That was a wonderful summary of things to do in Mexico. Someone should save it for future cruising families to read.