Stone Island Question-Help!

[drisinger]

1. Would you say Stone Island looks like the sad :( part of Mexico? I understand Mexico, just really do not want to see shaby and colorless~ Can someone share the positives of Stone Island with me? The visual I am getting from this is not good. Even the horses look sad and not loved,

2. Is it fun, is it happy and is there music and a feel/vib to the place?

3. Are there waves to speak of? What about the water? We are surfers and wonder if something over (even) 3 feet is a remote possibility, or is it more a bathtub?

4. Is snorkling there nice and clear or is the water murky?

5. What do you think about buying a tour for 36 bucks that included all you can eat and drink, 2 activities and transport, or should we just go by ourselves and wing it? I do not know which restaurant though? The tour is with Johann & Sandra.

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thank You!

[CRUISING71]

1. Would you say Stone Island looks like the sad :( part of Mexico? I understand Mexico, just really do not want to see shaby and colorless~ Can someone share the positives of Stone Island with me? The visual I am getting from this is not good. Even the horses look sad and not loved,

2. Is it fun, is it happy and is there music and a feel/vib to the place?

3. Are there waves to speak of? What about the water? We are surfers and wonder if something over (even) 3 feet is a remote possibility, or is it more a bathtub?

4. Is snorkling there nice and clear or is the water murky?

5. What do you think about buying a tour for 36 bucks that included all you can eat and drink, 2 activities and transport, or should we just go by ourselves and wing it? I do not know which restaurant though? The tour is with Johann & Sandra.

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thank You!

 

Beach in Mazatlan is not pretty if you are comparing to Carribbean or even Cabos. The sand is a darker color and the water is not pretty color. If you surf, Stone Island is not for you. I would not recommend snorkeling either.

 

As for the tour you mention, there are some good review and bad review. I am booking that tour myself but with King David. This is the first time for us with this tour, so don't know the outcome. We have been to Mazatlan before, and even at the beach my son was not able to surf. We were there in April and August, don't know swell could get high during other season.

[snorkeljill]

I would say it is laid back and rustic, but not sad. When we were there last week, there were a lot of Mexican families enjoying the beach. There are persistent vendors trying to sell you things, but I'm not sure you can avoid that any where in Mazatlan.

It is not a "bathtub" beach, but rather a nice beach break that was perfect for body surfing, very similar to the waves I am used to at home in San Diego. The waves were well formed and carried you a long way. As far as I could tell, there is really no snorkeling anywhere is Mazatlan, and Stone Island is no exception. It is purely a sandy beach. The water was nice and clean, however.

As others have described, it is pretty easy to get to Stone Island yourself. Just turn left after you get out of the cruise terminal and walk for about ten minutes until you find the water taxi, which will cost about a dollar to take you the minute or so to Stone Island. You can easily arrange for activities when you are there, and just wander up and down the beach until you see a restaurant you want to hang out at. They are all extremely casual with tables in the sand. There are also lots of food vendors walking the beach selling seafood (fresh oysters, clams), dessert, snacks etc.

[dolphinwyo]

We had a great time at Stone Island, and did the tour thru King David in 2009. It was rustic, not sad. Friendly people, vendors were steady, but did leave us alone if we asked. Kids had a great time on the beach, finding seashells and starfish. Good food. Bar wasn't fancy -2 liter bottles of soda and basic alcohol choices, but plentiful and included. Water wasn't clear like Half Moon or anything, but waded in it, built sand castles, etc. Didn't look like you could snorkle in water. Sand was dark but clean. I felt we got our money's worth (similar price as you listed) with the lunch, drinks, bay tour, transportation, etc., and not worrying about anything. Met the guide at port, drove us to boat to take us over, and then returned us at the end no problems. We had a great day. The guide told us that the people that live there own there land, which is not common. Stopped at a family with kids that were selling peanuts, but they weren't begging for money like I have experienced in other Mexico towns. They were just selling their product. It isn't your fancy resort style Mexico, but more realistic. We really enjoyed it!

[drisinger]

Thanks for the wonderful feedback! I think I will send my husband and boys there and take my mom with me on a Mazatlan Frank's Day Tour and see the sights! I am sure it will be fun for them all at Stone Island. I do get a lot of beach here (Huntington Beach, Ca.) so... I think I'd rather Sightsee, Shop and just eat shrimp and lobster!

You have been great help here.

Thank you Very Much!

DeAnna;)

[CRUISING71]

Thanks for the wonderful feedback! I think I will send my husband and boys there and take my mom with me on a Mazatlan Frank's Day Tour and see the sights! I am sure it will be fun for them all at Stone Island. I do get a lot of beach here (Huntington Beach, Ca.) so... I think I'd rather Sightsee, Shop and just eat shrimp and lobster!

You have been great help here.

Thank you Very Much!

DeAnna;)

 

DeAnna,

 

I am from HB too...the beach in Mazatlan is like our beach here in HB with the sand and water color. There is wave, but not big enough where you can surf like we do in HB.

 

They have a trolley tour for $ 25 per person. Don't know when you are going, we were there in April and the weather was perfect, it was not that hot.

 

If you are going in July, August or September, I don't think the trolley would be good, since it is open and it will be very hot.

[akcruz]

Thanks for the wonderful feedback! I think I will send my husband and boys there and take my mom with me on a Mazatlan Frank's Day Tour and see the sights! I am sure it will be fun for them all at Stone Island. I do get a lot of beach here (Huntington Beach, Ca.) so... I think I'd rather Sightsee, Shop and just eat shrimp and lobster!

You have been great help here.

Thank you Very Much!

DeAnna;)

 

I did post some pics on the other thread where you had asked these questions. In there you can see what the area and the water looks like.

[Cuizer2]

Here are some pictures from my visit to Stone Island in June 2009 (it rained the day I was there) ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cuizer2]

 

 

 

 

 

[Cuizer2]

 

 

 

 

 

[Cuizer2]

 

 

 

 

 

[Cuizer2]

 

 

 

 

 

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Cuizer2, thanks for posting so many pics! Which restaurant is that in the pictures? Were you able to stay there as long as you wanted if you ordered food and drinks?

[Cuizer2]

Cuizer2, thanks for posting so many pics! Which restaurant is that in the pictures? Were you able to stay there as long as you wanted if you ordered food and drinks?

 

It was the central meeting place for the tour. You could stay there has long as you wanted (until it was time to return to the ship) even if you didn't order a thing. I forget if there was a lunch included with the tour, but I believe there was.

[TwoGrills]

Stone Island for us was perfect! My girls are 6 and 8 and the water was warm and the waves were just right for them to play in. We ate at Victors and had constant ice cold beers and a wonderful lunch, I had the kabob shrimp and hubbie had grilled chicken, would do again in a heartbeat. We went to the island on our own and the directions were great that are on this board elsewhere. It was $2 per person to get ther and back and we did take the rustic taxi once on the island due to the heat and humidity. ($2 - $3 total)

We each had 4 beers ,2 awesome lunches and our girls shared fries and chips for about $34 total. It was one of our best excursions because it was so laid back...

[Quilting_Cruiser]

It was the central meeting place for the tour. You could stay there has long as you wanted (until it was time to return to the ship) even if you didn't order a thing. I forget if there was a lunch included with the tour, but I believe there was.

 

Thanks!

[carlywilson]

We were there a few weeks ago. We did the free drinks and lunch on Stone Island thru the cruise ship. The day we went, the surf was probably 3 ft the day we were there, you are not going to get a half pipe there :)

 

The food was good, thatched roof open area with lots of tables and chairs. Drinks were good, the lunch was tortillas, salad, chicken, fried fish and beans, chips and salsa, loved the fish.

 

Lots of vendors, but they have to stay outside the fence, if you want to get to the water you will walk thru the vendors, but they are respectful and very nice. (the vendors actually had some pretty nice dresses and jewelry at good prices)

 

When we were there, there were jellyfish on the beach and in the waves. They will post white flags on the beach if they are there.

 

As for sadness, I didn't think so. It's pretty hot there and humid. Lots of coconut trees, groves of them. Old homes, dirt roads, but it is an island, it's not modern like L.A., but it was a fun time, (besides the jellyfish :), I dont think the jellyfish are there all the time, it's hit or miss if you run into them, we were just in the middle of their migrating season I guess.

[wonlife64]

We had a great time at Stone Island, and did the tour thru King David in 2009. It was rustic, not sad. Friendly people, vendors were steady, but did leave us alone if we asked. Kids had a great time on the beach, finding seashells and starfish. Good food. Bar wasn't fancy -2 liter bottles of soda and basic alcohol choices, but plentiful and included. Water wasn't clear like Half Moon or anything, but waded in it, built sand castles, etc. Didn't look like you could snorkle in water. Sand was dark but clean. I felt we got our money's worth (similar price as you listed) with the lunch, drinks, bay tour, transportation, etc., and not worrying about anything. Met the guide at port, drove us to boat to take us over, and then returned us at the end no problems. We had a great day. The guide told us that the people that live there own there land, which is not common. Stopped at a family with kids that were selling peanuts, but they weren't begging for money like I have experienced in other Mexico towns. They were just selling their product. It isn't your fancy resort style Mexico, but more realistic. We really enjoyed it!

 

We did a similar tour (Johan/Sandra) this past week. I agree with the comments of this poster. My wife and I enjoyed our day. Nothing fancy but worth the money in our opinion.