Stone Island Excursion Ruby Princess a Bust

Don't waist your money or time unless you want to be bothered with constant pressure to buy from local vendors. The excursion description is deceiving.

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pretty much anywhere I've ever been in Mexico that isn't on a private resort is full of vendors trying to sell you stuff. Can you elaborate on why this was so bad? Are you not an experienced mexico traveler so this type of thing was shocking to you? Were the people rude? Did you feel unsafe? Was there anything good on the excursion at all? thanks.

Saw the RP in Cabo when we visited on Miracle.

Got pestered when we got off the tender, but headed to the main beach on a water taxi for $5 each and grabbed some beach chairs and umbrellas behind the ropes for a $20/head drinks prepayment. Never got pestered again that day.

At Mazatlan we went to the golden zone beach and got pestered constantly by trinket/hat.sun glasses vendors.

At Puerto Vallarta went on Los Veranos zipline tour so no vendors. It was an absolute blast. Got reamed at their restaurant/bar but they gotta make a living.

My husband and I did the Stone Island shore ex in November 2016. We have been to Mexico many times and know what to expect, but I must say we were disappointed with this excursion. You board a well-used boat and motor over to the island. Our captain wasn't very skilled at docking so it took numerous attempts. My husband almost volunteered to do it for him. Once we docked it was a trick getting off. The boat didn't line up with the dock and there was a huge gap. You had to kind of make a jump in order to make it.

There were carts with wooden planks as seats and the carts were pulled by a tractor. It's not as quaint as it sounds. The boards bowed terribly under the weight of everyone sitting on them. We sat nearest the sides so that in case the boards did snap we wouldn't be in the middle with huge pieces of wood being shoved you-know-where.

The ride to the beach was depressing. From what we understand after discussing it with some on the tour and then others on board the ship, Stone Island has really gone in a downward spiral due to drugs. The roads are dirt and not smooth. This is fine, but you would think they'd make some attempt at a modicum of beautification of their little island. Garbage is everywhere. Broken down cars, parts and pieces of what was once a vehicle, abandoned housing structures, etc. There were some dogs running around along with chickens. It is very poor community and one did not sense any pride in their little town.

Once we arrived at the beach we were let off near the outside of what I think they were referring to as a resort. The ground was all wet and muddy (I think they had hosed it down) and it was filled with mud puddles. We maneuvered through the parking lot and into a covered structure that had open sides.

Most people parked it there as they were exhausted from the boat ride, bumping tractor ride and then walking to the covered picnic benches. My husband and I walked through the structure and out to the beach. There were about six covered plastic tables with plastic chairs. We picked a table and sat down. After a few minutes we were approached that it costs money to sit at one of these covered beach tables. I'm trying to remember what we paid for that table, but I can't quite remember. I want to say it was $20. I'll ask my husband and report back if I'm incorrect in that amount.

The beach was okay. Regular type sand, nothing silky or terribly soft. No seaweed though, which was great. The water was nice and warm. A bit rough at times, but we had fun bobbing around out there. There was a part of the beach we weren't allowed to swim in. We started out down there, but a lifeguard told us we had to leave so everyone stayed pretty much to one area. That was a bit frustrating.

The included lunch wasn't very good. By the time it was served to us it was pretty cold - tortillas were cold and the meat overcooked and crunchy. It was just okay.

Drinks could be had under the structure and you had to hoof it from the beach and through the structure to get to the little table where drinks were offered. These were included as well. There were quite a few vendors on the beach and they did stop often. We've been bothered worse by vendors in Cabo and PV though.

Once the day was done we boarded the wooden-planked tractor pulled carts and headed back to our little boat. Again, the drive through town was depressing. I felt bad for the donkeys and horses tied up at some of the residences. Everyone and everything looked miserable.

It really could be a darling little community. We very much enjoy out of the way places and seeing the real community of a place we're visiting, but Stone Island left us feeling kind of sad.

pretty much anywhere I've ever been in Mexico that isn't on a private resort is full of vendors trying to sell you stuff. Can you elaborate on why this was so bad? Are you not an experienced mexico traveler so this type of thing was shocking to you? Were the people rude? Did you feel unsafe? Was there anything good on the excursion at all? thanks.

I agree that STone Island isn't the greatest. We didn't get pestered but got a little bored there and didn't think the beach was that great. I much prefer a nice private tour of the city and it's neighborhoods. :):):)