Colima City and Camala?

[cinnamon]

We are looking at taking the Celebrity excursion to Colima City and Camala village from Manzanillo while on Mercury in January.

 

Has anyone taken this tour? Do you get to see the volcanoes from a distance? Was it a good day out?

 

We do not normally take many tours from the ship but as this is a 7 hour trip I wondered if it would be the best way rather than going independantly.

 

Cinnamon

[Rongee]

This coming Wednesday we are going on this excursion with a private guide we found. He is a professional of Geo-physics at the Univeristy of Monterey. He lives and teaches at an extension in Colima. He is rather expensive, $320.00, but I have a feeling he is really worth it. I will let you know. You could always get two other couples to go with you that would cut down the expense. We have elected to go it alone, unless we find someone on the cruise we really like.

 

I will post it when we get back.

 

Ron

rgillihan@bellsouth.net

[cinnamon]

Thanks, Ron. Have great cruise.

 

Cinnamon

[SonomaMist]

We are looking at taking the Celebrity excursion to Colima City and Camala village from Manzanillo while on Mercury in January.

 

We took Carnival's Colonial Tour to Colima, Camala and the ruins at Campana. I was very pleased with it and opened my eyes about middle class Mexico (it's really not that much different from middle class America). Although the day was hazy early on, we did see the volcano and it cleared up later that afternoon. Here's some photos from the outing.

 

share.dell.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcuGjJk2ZtGb0

[MAN86]

I would also like any information on this tour - it sounded most interesting :)

[cinnamon]

We are leaving in the morning, sailing on 2nd January. If we take this tour, I will write a review here.

 

Cinnamon

[candigirl41]

Sonomamist, thanks for the pics. They were great.

 

candi

[Buckeye Geo]

I would also like any information on this tour - it sounded most interesting :)

 

Hi fellow Mercury 4-17-06 cruiser. Joyce and I booked this Shore Excursion with Celebrity. I read good reviews on this tour from recent cruisers. Looking forward to seeing you aboard.

[cinnamon]

We took this Celebrity tour on 10th January, while on the Mercury. We were very impressed with the archeological ruins. They were a real bonus, much easier than seeing Tulum in the Yucatan. They were only discovered 11 years ago and are still being excavated. We were very disappointed not to see the volcanoes. The day was very hazy indeed. Even from only 5 or 6 miles away we could not see them at all.

 

I had not taken a ship's excursion for a while and had forgotten just how annoying it is to take the time for 40 or 50 people to load and unload the coaches at every stop. Our guide had a very off-hand manner and did not take very kindly to answering questions. We were right at the back of the coach and could not always hear clearly his commentary.

 

The road system is good, nearly all dual carriageway. As a result, it would be quite possible to take an independent taxi tour in the time available, but I have no idea what the cost would be. My worry had been the distance involved. However, we could easily have fitted everything in, in a private tour, and been back to the ship well in-time, allowing for the time it takes for sorting out a large number of people.

 

I would recommend the tour to anyone who doesn't mind being herded in a group, as the towns and ruins were worth seeing. Quite why they made us visit a shop selling coconut sweets, when every shop in the town sells them, is only known to those who make money from this.

 

Any questions, please post and I will endeavour to answer.

 

Cinnamon

[pbcbbc]

I was on the same cruise and did the same tour, only independently. We hired a car for $150. We came across the ship's bus a couple of times, lol. We saw the same sites and actually took longer than the ship's tour, mostly because of shopping. We were never hurried and had a great time. The downside to that is we lost track of time a little and had to rush back to Manzinillo! We got back with plenty of time to spare. I would book the trip with an indepenent again in a heartbeat. Just make sure you check out his car, credentials and pay when you get back to the ship. You should be fine.

[Buckeye Geo]

Cinnamon: Thanks for your review. I think I will stick with the ships tour, but will make sure I get there ealy to get a seat up front. Thanks for that tip.

[cinnamon]

Buckeye, we thought we were there early but were given some of the last seats on the first bus. There was another one which followed us around all day. The tour was timed at 8.30am, dockside at 8.20. We arrived at about 8.17 to find the bus almost full! There were some quite large people who obviously got there very early to be sure of the front seat. If a taxi tour can be had for $75 pp, the ship's tour at $59 pp is not such a good deal. The question is whether you can find a driver you trust whose English is good.

 

Cinnamon

 

PS, the $59 includes a light lunch, tapas style and 2 drinks per person. These would be extra on a taxi tour.

[Buckeye Geo]

Thanks

[pbcbbc]

Buckeye, we thought we were there early but were given some of the last seats on the first bus. There was another one which followed us around all day. The tour was timed at 8.30am, dockside at 8.20. We arrived at about 8.17 to find the bus almost full! There were some quite large people who obviously got there very early to be sure of the front seat. If a taxi tour can be had for $75 pp, the ship's tour at $59 pp is not such a good deal. The question is whether you can find a driver you trust whose English is good.

 

Cinnamon

 

PS, the $59 includes a light lunch, tapas style and 2 drinks per person. These would be extra on a taxi tour.

 

Cinnamon, you are correct about finding someone who you can understand and trust! I was very careful to talk to the driver and see his car before deciding on it. I got lucky and had picked a very good one. Abel was his name. He was from a local tour company and kept good watch over us. Lunch was not included, but we were taken to a place where all we did was purchase drinks and lunch was free. Very tasty, with great guacamole. (I wonder if we went to the same restaurant you did, Cinnamon?) Doing it on our own turned out to be fantastic. (We had tried to book the ship tour, but it was sold out.) I tend to like to book things through the ship, but after this one I am going to reconsider that approach in the future.