Full transit - Which Ports Can We DIY & Which Should Have Tours?

We are booked on the HAL Zaandam 23 day cruise leaving from Ft. Lauderdale in April. With so many ports I'm trying to find a balance between places we can enjoy by exploring the port area on our own or the ones that have nothing to offer close by and really require doing a tour (either booked independently or through HAL.)

Here is our itinerary with some ideas of what we are considering at each port. None of these excursions have been booked yet and I would love to get some feedback from others who have visited these ports in the past.

Tuesday, April 17 - Curacao

Irie West Side Beach Tour or explore port on foot?

Saturday, April 21 - Puerto Caldera (Puntarenas)

Thumb's Up or GioTours

Sunday, April 22 - Corinto, Nicaragua

Leon City Tour with Julio Tours

Monday, April 23 - Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Antigua on Your Own (HAL). If it is offered.

Wednesday, April 25 - Huatulco, Mexico

?????

Friday, April 27 - Manzanillo, Mexico

?????

Saturday, April 28 - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Walking food tour

Sunday, April 29 - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

DH will scuba dive; Me - ?????

Tuesday, May 1 - San Diego

USS Midway Museum

Thursday, May 3 - San Francisco

Purchase all day MUNI pass and explore Fisherman's Wharf & Chinatown

Sunday, May 6 - Vancouver

Capilano Suspension Bridge?

Monday, May 7 - Seattle

Late afternoon flight home

We did a full transit earlier this year on the NCL Jewel, and called at a number of the ports on your itinerary. I have a very detailed review here, including what we did in each port:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2456255

(I regret that you can no longer see the photos [except the ones I've added more recently] because Photobucket decided to hold its users hostage to absurdly high $$ fees.)

A quick recap for the ports we had in common (with more detail on my thread linked above):

Puntarenas: fantastic day with Gio Tours, I highly recommend them

Corinto: debated about this (considered Julio) and wound up taking the ship's tour to Leon to see the Cathedral

Puerto Quetzal: did Antigua on Your Own through our ship; I hope HAL offers it for you, it's a terrific option

Huatulco: DIY day; really nice beach very close to the dock, bars/restaurants lining it; a welcome day of relaxation after the port-intensive post-Canal days

Puerto Vallarta -- we went whale watching

Cabo -- phenomenal morning of whale watching (we were there in season, but unfortunately you won't be)

Have a great trip!! And read The Path Between the Seas before you go! :D

We did a full transit earlier this year on the NCL Jewel, and called at a number of the ports on your itinerary. I have a very detailed review here, including what we did in each port:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2456255

 

(I regret that you can no longer see the photos [except the ones I've added more recently] because Photobucket decided to hold its users hostage to absurdly high $$ fees.)

 

A quick recap for the ports we had in common (with more detail on my thread linked above):

 

Puntarenas: fantastic day with Gio Tours, I highly recommend them

 

Corinto: debated about this (considered Julio) and wound up taking the ship's tour to Leon to see the Cathedral

 

Puerto Quetzal: did Antigua on Your Own through our ship; I hope HAL offers it for you, it's a terrific option

 

Huatulco: DIY day; really nice beach very close to the dock, bars/restaurants lining it; a welcome day of relaxation after the port-intensive post-Canal days

 

Puerto Vallarta -- we went whale watching

 

Cabo -- phenomenal morning of whale watching (we were there in season, but unfortunately you won't be)

 

Have a great trip!! And read The Path Between the Seas before you go! :D

Thank you for the reply...and thanks for the great review! I'm sorry the photos got hijacked, but the information you provided was wonderful!