Pez Gato or Ecocat

[Marlissa]

I've seen both Pez Gato and Ecocat recommended. Couple of questions,

• Since Ecocat is a larger cat, how far of a swim is it to the snorkel area.
  
• Which tour has the better food? Do both have open bars?
  
• Does Ecocat really take 100 ppl per excursion, that seems like a lot to be snorkeling at once.
  
• Do both tours go to basically the same snorkel location?
  
• We will be staying at PBSB for a week. We plan to take the shuttle over to PB Rose. Is Pez Gato or Ecocat docked closer to Rose than the other? Are either walking distance from the Rose (two able bodied, early 40's adults)?
  

[SDPadreFan]

I've seen both Pez Gato and Ecocat recommended. Couple of questions,

• Since Ecocat is a larger cat, how far of a swim is it to the snorkel area.
   
  My understanding is that EcoCat does have to anchor a bit further out because of it's size.
  
• Which tour has the better food? Do both have open bars?
   
  EcoCat will have better facilities because of it's size. I believe EcoCat has a full bar inside and as a result may have a larger selection of drinks. We did Pez Gato for a whale watching trip and they had beer, soda, water and chips/salsa/guacamole. I believe for the snorkel trips they add a sandwich as well.
  
• Does Ecocat really take 100 ppl per excursion, that seems like a lot to be snorkeling at once.
   
  EcoCat is a big boat, beside the upper deck, it also has a large inside deck as well. It is somewhat of a hybrid cat as opposed to a more traditional one.
  
• Do both tours go to basically the same snorkel location?
   
  Sandy (aka Househunter) can probably help out here because she has been on both boats.
  
• We will be staying at PBSB for a week. We plan to take the shuttle over to PB Rose. Is Pez Gato or Ecocat docked closer to Rose than the other? Are either walking distance from the Rose (two able bodied, early 40's adults)?
   
  You are going to love PBSB (Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach). We are owners there and go every year. The Pez Gato dock is fairly close to the cruise ship tender dock at the far end of the marina walk. I believe the EcoCat may be slightly closer to the town side of the marina, but the difference is not significant. You can take the shuttle over to PB Rose and then walk, but it is a bit of a hike. I'm 53 and I could do it. I'm guessing 30-45 minutes from the Rose. If it's hot (June-October), that walk can be trying though. Another option would be a cab. A cab from PBSB to the marina is probably just $10 each way. A third option would be a pedicab from PB Rose. They can generally be found on the road from Rose into town. Not sure of the current price.
  

 

Have a great trip. Both cats have a great reputation. Pez Gato is our current favorite and we hope to try EcoCat some day. We will probably always use Pez Gato for whale watching in February but someday we will try out EcoCat for a snorkeling trip or sunset cruise.

[SDPadreFan]

One final suggestion. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT do the timeshare presentation for the Mayan Palace (aka Mayan Prison). It is the worst high pressure sales presentation. We've been twice (for the cash), but I just really like pi__ing them off as I walk away with their cash. For most people, it can really ruin your day or the entire week for that matter. Sunset Beach has a really low pressure (in comparison) presentation and so I can recommend that one. Villa del Palmar was low pressure as well. When you see, PBSB, you will understand why they don't have to work very hard at selling the place. It sells itself.

[househunter]

I've seen both Pez Gato and Ecocat recommended. Couple of questions,

• Since Ecocat is a larger cat, how far of a swim is it to the snorkel area. It does anchor out quite a ways further than the Pez Gato because of its size. It is about a 10-15 minute swim to the rocks where the fish are.
  
• Which tour has the better food? Do both have open bars? They both have open bars but the Eco Cats is more extensive. The Pez Gato has basics like margaritas, mai tais etc. There is no inside area on the Eco Cat but there are real bathrooms where you open the door and walk in unlike the Pez Gato where you open a hatch and crawl down a ladder. The Eco Cat does a BBQ lunch with hamburgers and hot gogs, Pez Gato is sandwiches, chips and guacamole.
  
• Does Ecocat really take 100 ppl per excursion, that seems like a lot to be snorkeling at once. Yes, it is a huge boat! There will be many boats at Santa Maria at the same time, I have seen up to 8 or 9 at a time- that's alot of people in the water at the same time!
  
• Do both tours go to basically the same snorkel location? Yes.
  
• We will be staying at PBSB for a week. We plan to take the shuttle over to PB Rose. Is Pez Gato or Ecocat docked closer to Rose than the other? Are either walking distance from the Rose (two able bodied, early 40's adults)? The Eco Cat dock is a bit closer. It is located in the center of the marina in front of the Baja Cantina restaurant. The Pez Gato dock is at the far end of the marina in front of the dolphin center. Both are easily walkable from the Rose.
  

 

 

Hope this helps! We have been on Pez Gato at least 10 times and have another tour with them set up for next week. We did the Eco Cat for the first time in December and really enjoyed it too.

[mothwoman]

Just did the Eco Cat tour a few weeks ago and it was good. There was only about 30 people on the tour and I'm not sure how you would fit 100 but I guess you could if you tried. They have some nice loungers up on the top there is only a few so go right towards them if you want them.

 

The drinks were free and plenty, however they were served in plastic glasses with ice. If you are trying not to get sick in Mexico this could be a bad decision to drink them but we did as it was soooo hot and were fine. The lunch is Hamburgers with caser salad and potato salad sitting out in the sun. I just opted for the well done Hamburger.

 

It was a lot of fun and the catamaran is nice. Don't expect awesome snorkeling as I think I saw 4 fish but the 4 I saw were nice. The water was pretty and it was a cool beach, it was not a problem swimming around and not far in my opinion.

 

Hope you have fun.

[Marlissa]

One final suggestion. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT do the timeshare presentation for the Mayan Palace (aka Mayan Prison). It is the worst high pressure sales presentation. We've been twice (for the cash), but I just really like pi__ing them off as I walk away with their cash. For most people, it can really ruin your day or the entire week for that matter. Sunset Beach has a really low pressure (in comparison) presentation and so I can recommend that one. Villa del Palmar was low pressure as well. When you see, PBSB, you will understand why they don't have to work very hard at selling the place. It sells itself.

 

Thanks, we'll remember that. We actually did the PBSB timeshare tour while our cruiseship was in port in Dec '07. Didn't buy then, but loved the place. We were able to pick up a odd year JR suite for next to nothing on the resale market. Guess we'll rotate cruising and Cabo for our vacations, lol.

 

Assuming you are Navy, Thank You for your service. Our SIL is a Lab Tech (Corpsman). He left San Diego in July and is now in Portsmouth.

[Marlissa]

Thanks for all the thoughts. Both sound good.

 

We're planning on doing this particular excursion on a day when there aren't any cruise ships in port. Maybe we'll just walk up and see what happens.

[SDPadreFan]

Thanks, we'll remember that. We actually did the PBSB timeshare tour while our cruiseship was in port in Dec '07. Didn't buy then, but loved the place. We were able to pick up a odd year JR suite for next to nothing on the resale market. Guess we'll rotate cruising and Cabo for our vacations, lol.

 

Assuming you are Navy, Thank You for your service. Our SIL is a Lab Tech (Corpsman). He left San Diego in July and is now in Portsmouth.

 

Thank you. I spent 24 years in the Navy. Retired in 1998. I was an Aviation Electronics Tech and retired as a Chief Petty Officer. Spent almost all of my "at sea" time working on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier.

 

You know they have another name for "male" hospital corpsman. At least in the old Navy they did. Two words - first word identifies a particular male appendage and rhymes with the second word which is "checker". Won't go any further with that.

 

We started with an odd year JR suite in 2004 (our friend bought the even years, so we go every year). Then we upgraded to an Executive, and this last June, we actually moved up to an odd year Presidential. Now we're looking to buy an Annual Presidential on resale and we would split the cost with our friend. That would give us 2 weeks every year but only have to pay the maintenance fees every other year.

[Marlissa]

Thank you. I spent 24 years in the Navy. Retired in 1998. I was an Aviation Electronics Tech and retired as a Chief Petty Officer. Spent almost all of my "at sea" time working on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier.

 

You know they have another name for "male" hospital corpsman. At least in the old Navy they did. Two words - first word identifies a particular male appendage and rhymes with the second word which is "checker". Won't go any further with that. Too good, maybe when I get brave, I'll ask SIL if they still get called that. :D

 

We started with an odd year JR suite in 2004 (our friend bought the even years, so we go every year). Then we upgraded to an Executive, and this last June, we actually moved up to an odd year Presidential. Now we're looking to buy an Annual Presidential on resale and we would split the cost with our friend. That would give us 2 weeks every year but only have to pay the maintenance fees every other year.That's the way to do it. Humm, have to think about who I'm gonna hit up....

 

Maybe some time we'll cross paths at PBSB.

[househunter]

Just did the Eco Cat tour a few weeks ago and it was good. There was only about 30 people on the tour and I'm not sure how you would fit 100 but I guess you could if you tried. They have some nice loungers up on the top there is only a few so go right towards them if you want them.

 

The drinks were free and plenty, however they were served in plastic glasses with ice. If you are trying not to get sick in Mexico this could be a bad decision to drink them but we did as it was soooo hot and were fine. The lunch is Hamburgers with caser salad and potato salad sitting out in the sun. I just opted for the well done Hamburger.

 

It was a lot of fun and the catamaran is nice. Don't expect awesome snorkeling as I think I saw 4 fish but the 4 I saw were nice. The water was pretty and it was a cool beach, it was not a problem swimming around and not far in my opinion.

 

Hope you have fun.

 

 

They use purifed ice like all of the tour operators. No problems there!:)

[mothwoman]

They use purifed ice like all of the tour operators. No problems there!:)

 

Hum, wish I would have known that. I guess that would explain why were were just fine. I'll guess I'll know for next time, hope that is sooner than later.