Tour By Van

I think Rudy knew about this link already. He referred me to it in an email last week so I could see the positive comments recent guests were posting. :D

Yeah..he probably does keep any eye on it. He sent me a link to another CC thread when I first inquired about a tour. I think it's good he is aware of a site like this. Positive comments will bring in the $$$ and (legitimate) negative comments will cause it to go elsewhere!

I'll add my two cents worth here as well. As everyone else has said, Rudy not only gave us a great tour - everything as advertised from pick up to drop off - but also is without doubt the most honest and trustworthy person I've run into in a long time. My husband left a small but very pricey bit of camera gear in the van. We didn't miss it until we had returned to the ship, weren't really sure where it had gone missing, and Rudy and the van were long gone.

I called him on his cell phone, he immediately went and checked the seat and found the item - while we were still on the phone with him - and arranged to come all the way back to the pier and meet us to get it back to us before the ship sailed. I know he was at least 30 or 45 minutes away from the pier at that point, since that's how long it took him to get back to us, and he didn't want to take the tip I gave him to cover his time and gas! How great is that! (I insisted, of course and finally he did take it, under protest) So, go with Rudy!! He's a terrific guide and an all around great guy, and give him our best, too.

I'm so glad to see that others are enjoying his services as well! Everyone seems to be saying the same things that I experienced with him. That's a good sign of a great tour company/guide!

Donna, how nice! I'm glad you got your camera gear back. It doesn't surprise me that he drove all that way back just to return it. He came across as that type of person.

Something that happened on our tour, that I didn't mention......mostly because I had forgotten about it until now.....is that my DD got a little car sick on a windy road. Rudy was very concerned about her and offered to stop for anything she might need......even if it was just fresh air. When we returned from our trip, there was an email waiting for us, asking how she was feeling.

It may seem trivial.....but I appreciated the thought. It shows that he's a caring person. Add that with all the other things that have been mentioned....and you've got yourself a pretty good option for your visit to Acapulco!

As someone earlier said - I wish there were a Rudy in every port! We've been pretty lucky over the years with private tours, but Rudy is truly outstanding and I certainly will call on him again any time we are back in Acapulco, and heartily recommend him to anyone visiting there.

2 weeks from today I'll have the pleasure of meeting him! :D:D

2 weeks from today I'll have the pleasure of meeting him! :D:D

Please tell him "Hi" from Dennis and Donna from Hawaii!! Enjoy your day - I'm sure it will be great.

Has anyone done the Shot Overjet and Rapid tour with him???

Thanks for all of the reviews of Rudy and Tour by van. We are looking forward to our turn in Feb.

We are a group of 4, and it sounds like we would like a tour with Rudy.

Does Rudy make all the arangements before you get there? Does he give suggestions as to what is avaliable?

Does Rudy make all the arangements before you get there? Does he give suggestions as to what is avaliable?

Yes and Yes. :)

he sent me a nice long email reply to my initial inquiry to see if they were available for the day I would be there. I'm sure if there was someplace else you wanted to go he would. Seems to be very customizable to what you want to do. Here is what he suggested:

1. - La Quebrada and the Divers, above all and at the very first place, what you can call a must!

2. - Non denominational Chapel of Peace and the Cross of Trouyet, best view to the bay area, surrounded by beautiful residences at the very pricey “Las Brisas” residential area.

3. - The “other” bay Puerto *****, smaller than the Bay of Acapulco but 8 times nicer as well, we only stop for pictures for a few minutes over there!

4. - The Los Flamingos Hotel, Once own by John Wayne and Johnny Weissmuller amongst other movie actors. We see the casa Tarzan where Weissmuller lived the last 20 years of his life.

5. - Hotel Casa Blanca, We only stop there for pictures. Great panoramic view of the Bay area and….. To the Cruise Ship!!!!!

6. - Diego Rivera´s mosaic mural, made by the most important painter of Mexico, married with the controversial painter Frida Kahlo, A short stop to take pictures, that will be all!

7. - El Mercado Municipal, is what I call a truly Eye Opener! So different to what you and your party have seen. But I warn you, it can be sort of Cultural Shocking for very many people! I recommend it very highly any way!

8. - El Zorrito restaurant (only suggested) or any other place you wish to go having lunch!

(the cost of Lunch in Zorrito is approximately $10.00 to $15.00 USD)

9. - El Zócalo & Cathedral, The Downtown area Main Square and Cathedral, oldest part of town and the most typical part of it, we may stop there for 20-30 minutes or not, always up to you!!

We had a magnificent tour with rudy at the end of september while staying in Acapulco. We came late into the port and rudy managed to be the first one at the divers and even showed us a better viewing place than the other guys do. Despite the fact that we had only 3 hours instead of 5 he managed to show us all the beautiful secret gems of acapulco and showed us also where the normal and poor guys live. The tour was very impressive and rudy managed to get us back to the ship earlier than other buses from princess shore excursions. The bus he has is really good, everyone of us got a special gift and we had plenty of drinks in the cars´ cooler.

In general: if You are in Acapulco ... go for rudy ! You won´t be sorry about it!

Gargoyle has posted Rudy's 'regular' tour, but he is happy to add or change anything that you want - for our group he also suggested a stop at the fort (which you are anchored directly across from) - we had done that on a previous trip, so didn't, but it is interesting and worth a visit if you haven't been already. The Mercado is a 'drive by' - which, frankly, is fine - we walked it once (another trip) and it wasn't a place I'd particularly want to return.

The Diego Rivera mural is well worth the stop, the cliff divers are an Acapulco must, and we really enjoyed the Hotel Flamingo and Tarzan's house even in the rain.

If you research a bit and find other things that you are interested in seeing, I'm certain Rudy will be happy to give you any information you need and let you know if it is feasible to work into your tour and time allotment. One of the best things about this tour is that because it is by van, you aren't restricted to the main roads and Rudy drives you through all kinds of secondary streets and roads so you also get a good sense of the actual community and not just the 'made for the tourists' parts of town. The non-denominational chapel is lovely, and the views from there are spectacular, BTW.

I will be using Rudy's Tour By Van in February and touring the recommended places but wanted to ask those of you who have gone with Rudy recently if there is a shopping area to pickup up souveniers while on the tour or someplace close to the port that I could stop before getting on the ship.

What is the price range for these yours? Do not need exact amounts just ballpark figure compared to ship prices maybe.

What is the price range for these yours? Do not need exact amounts just ballpark figure compared to ship prices maybe.

Here is what Rudy told us for the stops I listed above. He does include drinks in the van as well. Lunch stop is extra:

$75/pp for 2

$50/pp for 4-6

$35/pp for 7-10

Thanks for the info. That sounds resonable. Was that 3 hours or about?

I will be using Rudy's Tour By Van in February and touring the recommended places but wanted to ask those of you who have gone with Rudy recently if there is a shopping area to pickup up souveniers while on the tour or someplace close to the port that I could stop before getting on the ship.

There are stalls set up in a building right at pier side. Can't miss it. Seems like there also might have been a gift shop in the fort, but I could be wrong about that. There's definitely a gift shop at the hotel where the cliff divers are. Rudy will also gladly assist with whatever your shopping needs are - he found one of our group a pharmacy and helped work through the purchase process for some prescription (here) type drugs she was looking for. He'll make sure you find whatever your interests are - just let him know what you are looking for.

Thanks for the info. That sounds resonable. Was that 3 hours or about?

It is supposed to be about 6 hours. This is what gumballz reported as well who just had a tour with Rudy.

There are stalls set up in a building right at pier side. Can't miss it. Seems like there also might have been a gift shop in the fort, but I could be wrong about that. There's definitely a gift shop at the hotel where the cliff divers are. Rudy will also gladly assist with whatever your shopping needs are - he found one of our group a pharmacy and helped work through the purchase process for some prescription (here) type drugs she was looking for. He'll make sure you find whatever your interests are - just let him know what you are looking for.

Thanks for your quick response:)

My friends and I have just returned from a tour of Acapulco with Rudy. I can recommend him at the highest level. He was there on time; he speaks good English so you can understand him; his van is comfortable; he took us to places that were interesting; and he was very knowledgeable. Please use his service with full confidence at having a great tour.

My friends and I have just returned from a tour of Acapulco with Rudy. I can recommend him at the highest level. He was there on time; he speaks good English so you can understand him; his van is comfortable; he took us to places that were interesting; and he was very knowledgeable. Please use his service with full confidence at having a great tour.

Thank you for the review and welcome to Cruise Critic!

Click on the link in my signature to visit the AZ Cruiser's Thread! We talk about everything, but we all love to cruise.:)

Our tour was right around 6 hours, yes. And, like others have said, Rudy will take you where you want to go. Discuss your options with him via email before you get there......and then he'll go over them again at the beginning of the tour.

There is a little shopping area at the pier that you have to go through to get out into Acapulco. Not many stores, but what is in there is touristy stuff. T-shirts, key chains, pottery, sombreros, etc. There was also some food......little things packaged up, nothing special. I believe there was beer for sale (to consume there), but I'm not 100% sure about that. I think there was also a jewelry store and another store that sold wood carvings. Again, I'm not absolutely sure on that.

Outside of this little indoor shopping area, and past the parking lot towards the water, there were vendors set up with stuff. We only drove by them, but they were most definitely there.

If you let Rudy know that you'd like to stop for some shopping, I'm sure he would be happy to take you someplace safe. Just let him know what you're interested in.

For those of you interested in the Mercado......we went and it was definitely something we enjoyed. We like 'different' though....so keep in mind that it may not be for everyone. There are some smells in there that you might not enjoy, it's crowded with goods (not really people, though), there are a lot of things to see, the prices are crazy low, the people are friendly. Rudy was with us at all times and we never felt like we were in risk of danger at all. Rudy almost seemed to enjoy watching us as much as we enjoyed looking at everything around us. lol If you're interested in less 'tourist' and more 'authentic'....then see if Rudy can add a trip to the Mercado to your tour.

Like I've said - you really can't go wrong with Rudy. He's a top notch guide who really knows what he's doing. His brain has information about everything and he knows his way around the city. He seemed to know people everywhere we went and something that impressed us was how polite he was. A gentleman in every sense. :)

For those of you interested in the Mercado......we went and it was definitely something we enjoyed. We like 'different' though....so keep in mind that it may not be for everyone.

We must like different too! :) We enjoyed the Mercado in Mazatlan (DW who is the cook thought it was awesome) and a stop there will be part of our trip on Monday!

We must like different too! :) We enjoyed the Mercado in Mazatlan (DW who is the cook thought it was awesome) and a stop there will be part of our trip on Monday!

Be sure to go through the area with the fresh flowers. It smells wonderful! :)

Have fun & say hello to Rudy for me!

We will be booking with Rudy in December, but he, himself, will not be available. From reading these posts, I am hopeful that we will get a tour guides that is as competent as Rudy. As I understand it, we pay for the tour upon the tour's completion. Does Rudy take credit cards? I love the idea of the Mercado, we will be requesting that. Any other suggestions on that line? Thanks for the anticipated responses.