Mazitlan or overnight in Puerto Vallarta

Hello

In your opinion for a Mexican riveria cruise out of LA would you choose a overnight in Puerto Vallarta or a stop in Mazitlan ? Because one intinerary does one or the other

What's so great about your answer or each port ???

Thank you

Hello

 

In your opinion for a Mexican riveria cruise out of LA would you choose a overnight in Puerto Vallarta or a stop in Mazitlan ? Because one intinerary does one or the other

 

What's so great about your answer or each port ???

 

Thank you

Puerto Vallarta would be my choice. Mazatlan port is an industrial . You have to shuttle from the ship to gate of the port.

The shuttle in Mazatlan isn't a deal breaker for us and it's not as horrible as it sounds. They're constantly running and there's a lot of them.

Our thing is.... where do we want to eat? For us PV has more restaurants that we know and like. In both ports we eat at more local places.

Either port is away from the 'tourist' areas. Mazatlan you can walk, take a pulmonia or boat. PV it's a long walk to most places so need a taxi or local bus.

The night life along the PV Malecon is hopping. Many restaurants are only open after 6.

Both ports have pluses and minuses. Neither is a mistake.

Puerto Vallarta would also be my choice. We honeymooned here 28 years ago and have had many land vacations here as well. So much to do, so many great restaurants, we love PV! We have only cruised to Mazatlan, enjoyed it,still would do the overnighter in PV.

:D

Thank you

I love tacos and Mexican food is my favorite when we went to Ensenada I ate so many tacos

So Puerto Vallarta would be a destination for tacos? Lol

Any suggestions on restaurants or stands you recommend in Puerto Vallarta ??

Thanks

Absolutely Puerto Vallarta. Just take a blue/white bus with Centro on the windscreen (not those with tunel, they go a different route), get off at any place near the Malecon or old town.

Cost only 7,50 Pesos per person one way.

Check this great website by JR for maps and lots of information, but also the food section, you will be surprised.

http://vallartainfo.com/

Both ports have pluses and minuses. Neither is a mistake.

We've done both. We really enjoyed the overnight in PV, allowed us to see Rhythm of the Nights. But we really love Mazatlan also.

PV we'll take the bus down to Old Town, have lunch near the pier and then work our way back up the Malecon. Usually grab a taxi back. Great time to be had.

Mazatlan we'll walk across the street and follow the blue line into town. Mill around the Church, over to the Mercado, then grab a pulmonia back to the water taxi. Across to Stone Island for lunch at Lety's and an afternoon with our toes in the sand.

It's all in what YOU want to do. We've done the Riviera cruise many times and we've done all the excursion etc we want. Now we prefer just to kick around, maybe walk down some streets we haven't been on before (always staying in the "right" area), finding good eats, and of course cold beverages.

Thank you

 

 

 

I love tacos and Mexican food is my favorite when we went to Ensenada I ate so many tacos

 

 

 

So Puerto Vallarta would be a destination for tacos? Lol

 

 

 

Any suggestions on restaurants or stands you recommend in Puerto Vallarta ??

 

 

 

Thanks

Tacos are such a small part of Mexican cooking. ;)

We stay away from the typical tourist places.

In PV we like several restaurants on Basilio Badillo-Pancho's Takos (opens at 6pm) and El Mole de Jovita. On the beach La Maquina (near the plaza at the top of the Malecon) and Malecon (at the end, across from McDonalds). All take American.

Another place are the restaurants mercado (open during daylight, best to use pesos) at the stoplight behind Sam's Club across the street from the pier. Sis and I had two huaraches (like a tostada) and two made to order melon agua frescas for 100 pesos. Check out one of the tortillerias. We brought back a few tortillas to eat onboard, $2.5 pesos.

Walmart typically has the best exchange rate, about .5 off the official rate.

In Mazatlan we eat upstairs at one of the restaurants in the mercado. There is a rosposada(sp?, shaved ice) guy in front of the church. Piña is excellant, just ignore the bees. :D

The area around the mercado is interesting, a typical Mexican city, not built for tourists. We like looking at the fabric stores and appliance stores.

Like PulledPorky we've done variations of these itins many times. For us it comes down to what we want to eat at time of booking.

Pulledporkey...we have done the Mexican Riviera quite a few times, but have never had an overnight there until now. We have booked the Rhythm of the Night excursion and would love to have your input on it. Is it very casual...shorts, capris, etc."? How is the boat trip over and back? I'm not sure what weather to expect in April, as we have never sailed at that time. I would appreciate any answers or input you can share. Thanks!

Pulledporkey...we have done the Mexican Riviera quite a few times, but have never had an overnight there until now. We have booked the Rhythm of the Night excursion and would love to have your input on it. Is it very casual...shorts, capris, etc."? How is the boat trip over and back? I'm not sure what weather to expect in April, as we have never sailed at that time. I would appreciate any answers or input you can share. Thanks!

Sure. It is very casual, shorts are fine; same thing you'd wear walking down the Malecon. (You might pack a light sweater or something for the ride back that evening)

When we got off the ship, the excursion meeting point was right there. There will be different groups (maybe 30 people to a group) herded over to the excursion boats (right behind the cruise ship). The ride over to ROTN was about 45 minutes. Open bar over and back if you want. My wife got a little ill going over, but that's normal for her. It was dark when we arrived, the area is very dramatic with all the fire lit torches. When we arrived they asked if we wanted a private table or added to a group. We asked for a private table and were offered a table right on the beach. Very good service, nice buffet, and again an open bar. After maybe an hour we moved to the amphitheater and watched the show. Keep your eyes open, there are characters climbing all over the place before the show. On the ride back the crew does a comedy lip-synch routine for entertainment. I think it was about 11:30 when we returned to the port. A great time.

The ship is open all night so you could go back into town if you wanted.

Any other questions just ask.

Use bug spray for Rhythms of the Night.

Fellow pax contracted Dengue fever in February.

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Had some excellent tacos at 'Delirium Tacos' in Mazatlan a month ago.

As for either/or both?

We've really enjoyed Puerto Vallarta the times that we've been there. It's a neat place. We especially enjoy the beaches to the South of town and Yelapa.

Mazatlan has some hidden charm that may not be immediately evident right on the surface -- due to it being more of a major port/industrial town. However, we also enjoyed it there.

We spent the morning taking a 1-1/2 hour Pulmonia tour($25), taking in the sights along the water to/from the Golden Zone, the cliff divers, various viewpoints etc. -- with our friendly driver giving us various info of the area.

Afterwards, we went to the Posada Freeman Hotel at Olas Altas and enjoyed Margaritas at their rooftop pool for a few hours with the place to ourselves.

When it was time for lunch, we walked a few blocks towards the Centro Historico to Delirium -- An art gallery/taco bistro that was tasty:D. After lunch, we watched some performers in Plaza Machado for a bit, then walked over to the Teatro Angelo Peralta to take a peek inside, followed up by a stroll to the Cathedral.

After about 40 minutes walking around the nearby Mercado Centro, and a stop for some Gelato back at the Plaza, it was a quick Pulmonia ride back to the ship.

Nice day...

Rooftop Pool at Posada Freeman Hotel

Pulledporky ~ Thanks for the info, it is really helpful. I have read the reviews on Carnival's website, but love getting info from people who may not be influenced by the cruise line! So, there's an open bar...sounds great. One question...is there a bathroom available on the boat trips there and back? This could be important...lol! Not sure if we will ask for a table for 2, but with the atmosphere you described, that might be really cool. Not sure if we will continue our party when we get back to the ship, but we know the night life is pretty good in PV. We stayed at an all-inclusive for a wedding a few years ago, and the younger crowd made sure we got on the local bus with them to party in PV at night. It was a great time, but we are older now...yikes!

SadieN ~ Thanks for the reminder. We have insect repellent with DEET on our checklist. We did consider not going because of the mosquito-borne illnesses, but decided that we would probably be OK if we used the DEET...besides, you can't live life worrying about what you can't control, right?

I'd choose PV and do the Rhythms of the Night tour. Did it in December and thought it was fantastic. I'm not a beach person but would consider heading over for the day, the island looked like a great place to spend a quiet day and the dinner buffett was fantastic.

In Mazatlan I usually head up into the Sierra Madre, love visiting the smaller towns

I would definitely recommend an overnight in PV over a day spent in Mazatlan.

I've always wanted to do the over night in PV so that I can go on the excursion for the night time party, believe it's called Rhythm of the Night. It is only available to cruises that stay overnight in Puerto.

Mazatlan is also an extremely small city and there aren't many things to do there for excursions, it's more of an industrial port.