Shore Excursions on Mexican Riviera

[smudge's mom]

Our 11 day cruise begins in 37 days. Can't come too soon for us. Fiqure it is time to book shore excursions. Looking for advise. Will be going to Carbo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Ixtapa (Zihuatanejo) and Manzanillo. Any 1st hand knowledge of good and bad trips appreciated

[morriscats]

You will have so much fun. We have been 3 times in the last year. We love Randi's in Mazatlan - her friend Mazatlan Frank has some nice tours there also. The first time in Mazatlan we did the City Tour through the ship and didn't like it as much. The bus stopped at every "diamond place". With Randi you go to Stone Island, see how they live and the beach is great. In PV we have done the Paradise Village tour through the ship - we enjoyed that with the grandkids. Beautiful resort with pool and all. We also walked to the Krystal Hotel - another beautiful pool and lots of relaxing. In Manzanillo this last time we didn't book a tour, just took the "shuttle" to town and it was miserable. Not much to do and it was sooo hot. I have heard that the resorts are nice though. Here we could not wait to get back on the ship. In Cabo we just walked around town - made our way to CaboWabo. That was nice. Have a great time.

[PINEY10]

Randi is great--we were there twice in the past two years and we had a terrific time. Beautiful ride, horses were great, and the beach was fantastic. Randi has it all.

 

In Cabo the first year we took a kayak snorkel excursion to santa margarita. It is much better than the kayak trip to Los Arcos--too close to the ships and can be very rocky. Our trip was with Baja wild:http://www.bajawild.com/

It was great and the outfit was one of the best. In Puerto Vallarta, one year we went to John Huston's hideaway that was great and last year we did an eco-kayak, snorkel/beach tour. One of the best we've ever been on--it was with Puero Vallarta Adventures. Excellent outfit--also did the John Huston hideaway (can't remember the name) although we did book both through the cruise ship because we thought timing would be short.

[springtxbill]

In Mazatlan we took the city walking tour and it was interesting and no real shopping pitches. :)

[MSBYRDY]

I can't recommend Randi's horses in Mazatlan highly enough. We had a great time and we're not "young". LOL

Marilyn

[JNLROSE]

Just posted a review of our trip! 3 Threads! :rolleyes:

[doree]

We are leaving in 4 wks for this trip. Who is Randi and how do I get in touch????

[morriscats]

Randi is the neatest lady who loves what she does and it shows. She takes you on a wonderful horseback ride through the coconut groves and then onto the beach with her able guides. Then on to Victors for the best shrimp and onion rings (and guacomole). Would not miss going with her when we are in Mazatlan. She has a website (not supposed to give it on here) - type cruise mexico (no space) dot org - go to the Mazatlan thread. Hope she has some openings. She books up quick. If you go, tell her hi from us.

[Ine]

In p. Vallarta make the whalewatch tour with Open-air expeditions. www.vallartawhales.com. They sail with Zodiac, beest chances to see many whales.

 

Or the Sietta Madre tour with beach-barbecue.

[xanax]

Hi!

 

Does anyone have any feedback on Blue Adventures Snorkeling/Diving in Cabo?

I think they also are under the name Adventures Azul. Thanks in advance!

[TourDeCruise]

Thanks to all for the valuable information. Keep it coming. We have a couple large "reunion" groups on the rollcall for our Mexican Riviera cruise next fall. Does anyone know how the water temperatures and sea conditions (calm?) typically are in early to mid-November for kayaking and/or snorkeling? Smudge's mom might want to know the same for February.

 

Also, are there any historic sites to visit in any of these ports?

 

Also, any restaurants/clubs close to where Mercury docks that you might recommend for group get-togethers at the end of the port day?

 

Thanks again!

[MSBYRDY]

Feel free to email me at Msbyrdy@aol.com and I'll give you all the information and website info for Randi and the horses. One of the best excursions we've ever done.

Marilyn

[JJPNYC]

Just back from the 11/26 Mercury trip and here's the rundown and what my wife & I did:

 

Cabo - we did the ship's kayaking to Los Arcos. Fairly priced and fun. The snorkeling was good as well. Would recommend for those athletically inclined as the kayaking could be a bit tiring if you're not used to it. The kayaking leaves/returns from the main beach so when you're done, you can just stay on the beach for a bit & there's some decent beach restaurants to grab beers/lunch at afterwards.

 

Puerto Vallarta- we did the Sierra Madre Hiking tour through the ship. We DO NOT recommend this. Basically you're on the same bus as those doing the zip-line tour as both the hiking & zip-line originate at the same place. It's about a 45 minute drive to the place & then you have probably about a 60 minute hike. The tour guide was not that great besides saying "here's some trees, there's some plants" type of stuff. From the look of things though, the zip-lines we would do the next time.

 

Mazatlan - we did Randi's Enough said as I think that this is well known. Anyways, Randi's totally lived up to our expectations and then some. Randi also now knows that Mercury may be flip-flopping which days it calls on Mazatlan so if you're doing Mazatlan on Day 4 rather than Day 3, Randi is aware of this situation now.

 

Acapulco- we rent a van with Rosie & others. From what I heard at dinner, most others did the same thing in various guises.

 

Zihua- did the ship's "Sailing & Snorkeling". While pricey @ $75, it wasn't bad. It's a good sailing ship you're on, the snorkeling is good in an uncrowded place, and on the way back it's an open bar with beer & margaritas.

 

My wife also did parasailing in Cabo, it's $30 for the ride. There's a boat operating right at the tender pier and the whole ride lasts for about 30 minutes. They charge for non-riding passengers (they were asking $10), but I was able to negotiate this down to a few dollars only.

 

Feel free to e-mail me at jjpnyc@hotmail.com with any other questions as I'd be happy to help out.

 

Jeff