Mazatlan - What would you do?

We will be in Mazatlan November 1st and don't want to do a ship's excursion. We are thinking of hiring a pulmaria (sp?) for a couple of hours but where should we ask the driver to take us? Can we just say "show us the sites?" We would like to end up at a nice/fun beach restaurant and spend a few hours at the beach.

Thanks for your suggestions.

We always go to Hotel Playa Mazatlan in the Golden Zone. Lovely lowrise hotel. They have a nice buffet lunch there, and the drinks are potent and good [emoji50][emoji483][emoji2].

Beautiful beach. Nice, friendly employees. Chairs and palapa at no charge as long as you buy beverages.

Honestly, there isn't a whole lot to see in Mazatlan unless you travel along the shore or go to the church. We just love to make that our dedicated beach day. Last October it was too hot to do anything but beach it. Lots of shopping nearby that hotel, too, but they will hound you until you think you are going crazy.

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What you do will depend on your interests. You can walk the blue line(yes there is a line painted onto the street) which will take you to the central square with the church and the covered marketplace. We have found pulmonias there while resting in the square. We asked to be taken to the cliff divers which are on the seaside pathway. There is also a lighthouse you can climb if you have energy. Closer to where the ship docks you can get a water taxi to take you to Stone Island which is where you can hang at the beach with seaside palapas, food and water activities. You don't have to take a ship tour . It is an easy port to handle on your own.

Which is better for a convenient, quality, scenic setting and relaxing day pass - the Hotel Playa or the Marriott Casa Magma?

All great info. Thanks for posting.

Which is better for a convenient, quality, scenic setting and relaxing day pass - the Hotel Playa or the Marriott Casa Magma?

Didn't even know Mazatlan has a Marriott.

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Didn't even know Mazatlan has a Marriott.

 

 

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Oops. My question was meant to be about PV. Dumb me...wrong port, wrong thread, just plain wrong... [emoji15]

You can also ask your driver to swing by the Miramar Condos (which is on the malecon) and see where "El Chapo" was captured for the second time. Apparently the Miramar is one of the most photographed sites by tourists in all of Mazatlan.

Maria's Happy Horses on Stone Island, great excursion

I'd suggest that you take a stroll along the blue-lined cobblestone walkway that runs from the cruise terminal into town. It's a pleasant walk and there's plenty to see in town.

http://cruiseports.ca/mexico/mazatlan.html

Mazatlán Stone Island..............https://youtu.be/c3yvNHZ0hX8

We went many years ago, but got away from the crowd and had a great day. We ended up at playa Bruja and ate at a restaurant there with great shrimp. Spent much time at the beach. We also had a horse ride on the beach with Gingers horses there but she is no longer operating that business.

Here is a link to the restaurant

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g150792-d1077950-Reviews-Mr_Lionso_Playa_Bruja-Mazatlan_Pacific_Coast.html?m=19904

We used the restaurant bathrooms to change into our swim suits & as needed after our lunch.

Here are visitor reviews of playa brujas

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g150792-d153039-Reviews-Playa_Brujas-Mazatlan_Pacific_Coast.html?m=19904

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Stone Island is a fun day as others have said.

If you want a beach away from the crowds, Playa Bruja is good, but, the area has grown some over the past 10 years so the restaurant doesn't feel as local as it used to. First time 10 years ago we were the only non-Mexicans now the restaurant is mostly non-Mexican.

There is a fun, interesting blue agave (can't officially call it tequila since it is in the state of Sonora) factory about 35 min outside of town (on outskirts of La Noria) that makes tequila the old fashioned way - by hand - they are 130 years old. Good tequila too.

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Stone Island is the place to go IMHO, and it doesn't cost you anything if you don't do the organized excursion!;):)

The sand and beaches are very in nice in Mazatlan. The Riu Hotel is a nice location as well if you can get a day pass there.

Has anyone tried Hotel Playa?