What to do in Ensenada?

[Zbayette]

Does anyone have any suggestions of what to do in Ensenada in January?  I assume, as in every port there will be people and cabs by the pier offering to take passengers different places?  Any suggestions of good inexpensive places to go.  My husband and I will be traveling with our son and daughter in law.

[neecee23]

We had been to Ensenada a few times before and did not want to do any shopping this time. We decided to do the wine tour on a ship excursion. The drive to the valley was great on a comfortable bus. The wine tasting and tour was really enjoyable and relaxing. We visited LA Cetto winery and tasted wine and some olive oil, the olive oil and wine was very reasonably priced, can't say it was stellar but not bad. The tour provided a free bottle of wine to each guest also. Next stop was another winery where we tasted wine, jellies, pizza and some liqueurs. It seemed a nice way to spend the day. Do not listen to the tour guide who will tell you that customs doesn't care how much wine you bring back, they do, but only charge $1.00 a bottle for wine and $2.00 for liquor. So just bring one bottle each if you don't want to hassle with customs.

[jas283a]

The big thing everyone talks about there is La Bufadora or the Blowhole.  It's about a 20 minute ride there by bus, taxi, whatever.  To see it itself is free, there's a market on the walk there and back, with lots of shops and restaurants.  It's kind of fun, but touristry.  The cost to get there and back isn't too bad, either.  Depending on your sense of adventure, there's a newish zipline with ATV rides and something else.  It was pretty fun.  The price wasn't awful, but we were also there off-season, so keep that in mind.  

[SarahJeanneSays]

We usually take the bus out front of the cruise ship terminal to downtown ($4 per person round trip) and then book our excursion from there.  We did Zip lines and an hour stop at La Bufadora last month for $56 per person.  Carnival wasn't offering the zip lines.  My parents paid $27 through the ship to go to La Bufadora (45 minute drive) but they offered it for $17 down town.

[Zbayette]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

[billslowsky]

On 1/1/2020 at 12:13 AM, neecee23 said:

We had been to Ensenada a few times before and did not want to do any shopping this time. We decided to do the wine tour on a ship excursion. The drive to the valley was great on a comfortable bus. The wine tasting and tour was really enjoyable and relaxing. We visited LA Cetto winery and tasted wine and some olive oil, the olive oil and wine was very reasonably priced, can't say it was stellar but not bad. The tour provided a free bottle of wine to each guest also. Next stop was another winery where we tasted wine, jellies, pizza and some liqueurs. It seemed a nice way to spend the day. Do not listen to the tour guide who will tell you that customs doesn't care how much wine you bring back, they do, but only charge $1.00 a bottle for wine and $2.00 for liquor. So just bring one bottle each if you don't want to hassle with customs.

 

We did this tour a few years ago.  Liked LA Cetto, absolutely HATED the small place they took us to, it was nothing more than a tourist trap.  The wine was lousy, we were stuck sitting through an "authentic" native dance performance (tips "please"), just awful.

[Victorious8]

Any suggestions for two younger women who want to just have some drinks and use WiFi for a few hours? 

[billslowsky]

On 2/26/2020 at 6:37 PM, Victorious8 said:

Any suggestions for two younger women who want to just have some drinks and use WiFi for a few hours? 

 

I was there last week.  For wifi, first check on your cell phone plan, some include limited service at no cost.  I have Verizon, there is a limit on high speed but I didn't come close to maxing out using email, texting, etc.  I could use it on the ship in specific areas, while others got no service.

 

The downtown area is pretty dumpy, check on some sites for bars in the tourist areas.  Papas & Beers gets a lot of business, an establishment with the prestige of a Senor Frog.  Try not to stray from the main tourist area, it gets seedy.