Do it yourself excursion to Stone Island (Isla de las Piedras) Mazatlan

[klfhngr]

On 2/6/2022 at 4:10 PM, 2wheelin said:

Just went to Letys last week on a recommendation for coconut shrimp. Shrimp was good but otherwise not impressed. Margarita was weak and blah. Asked to have chairs outside and they ignored us so we stayed at table inside. Bill came to 485 pesos (technical conversion= $23.50) so allowing for increase in conversion laid out $25. Waiter kept saying “No. Times 2 !!”.  My husband questioned that and another waiter came over. I saw this from on the beach and came in to see what was the matter. Waiter said “Times 2”. I objected saying 500 pesos is only $25 so he took us back to the manager. He was also rude but we finally figured out he wanted plus 2 and not times 2. Gave him the money and as we walked away he made rude comment about Americans.

Never going back.

Wow! Yea, we're done with Letty's, time for a new hangout! Wish it was better for you, that's why I kinda warned everyone, lol!

[mlgb]

I went early to Stone Island and walked the back streets behind the restaurants. There was too much sewage smell for me to comfortable eating any where on the beach. YMMV. 

[pinto18]

On 2/10/2022 at 7:53 PM, klfhngr said:

Wow! Yea, we're done with Letty's, time for a new hangout! Wish it was better for you, that's why I kinda warned everyone, lol!

Hubby will be happy because he's always afraid it will be too busy. They bend over backwards finding us lounges and umbrellas . One time their credit card machine wasn't working ( there had been a storm the previous day)  and we didnt' have quite enough cash..they just said no worries pay us next time. We did, a year later . 

Edited February 15, 2022 by pinto18

[shellie100]

On 2/6/2022 at 4:10 PM, 2wheelin said:

Just went to Letys last week on a recommendation for coconut shrimp. Shrimp was good but otherwise not impressed. Margarita was weak and blah. Asked to have chairs outside and they ignored us so we stayed at table inside. Bill came to 485 pesos (technical conversion= $23.50) so allowing for increase in conversion laid out $25. Waiter kept saying “No. Times 2 !!”.  My husband questioned that and another waiter came over. I saw this from on the beach and came in to see what was the matter. Waiter said “Times 2”. I objected saying 500 pesos is only $25 so he took us back to the manager. He was also rude but we finally figured out he wanted plus 2 and not times 2. Gave him the money and as we walked away he made rude comment about Americans.

Never going back.

To clarify, you gave them dollars (meaning they have to go to the bank with the dollars and pay a conversion fee to get pesos) and no tip? Then wonder why they think American are rude?  

[2wheelin]

1 hour ago, shellie100 said:

To clarify, you gave them dollars (meaning they have to go to the bank with the dollars and pay a conversion fee to get pesos) and no tip? Then wonder why they think American are rude?  

No, as I said, we allowed for the conversion and put out $1.50 above that. (And they will certainly get a better conversion rate at the bank than they allow tourists) There should have been change. We were actually hoping for pesos. Had not even gotten to the tip yet. We always pay our bill and then tip cash so the waiter gets it. Even in this country, we are ALWAYS brought the change unless we state otherwise. They got a 15% tip. They were charging more than menu price for the meal alone. They were just upset that some of those Americans can do math. 

[rtrtx2]

On 11/12/2021 at 9:08 PM, pinto18 said:

We were there in October ...did our usual walk to the water taxi to stone island...never felt unsafe

can you get here without the walking? Do you just take a taxi to the ferry to stone Island?

[pinto18]

2 hours ago, rtrtx2 said:

can you get here without the walking? Do you just take a taxi to the ferry to stone Island?

You can..it would be. like a 3 min taxi ride though

[Mike45LC]

My brother is mobility-impaired.  We have taken a pulmonia (local golf-cart taxi) from the cruise ship terminal to the ferry.  

 

On the return, we were fortunate that there was another pulmonia dropping off a couple, and we grabbed it for the ride downtown.  Otherwise, I was planning to walk out to the main street to grab a pulmonia for him.

 

[ElsieOR]

Do any of the restaurants have lockers?  It will be two of us traveling and it would be nice to get in the water together without worrying about belongings. 

[klfhngr]

On 8/27/2022 at 9:17 PM, ElsieOR said:

Do any of the restaurants have lockers?  It will be two of us traveling and it would be nice to get in the water together without worrying about belongings. 

Never seen any. It'll be ok to leave on chair/lounger. Closer to the restaurant I would say so that vendors don't get too close.

[rifter]

Is there any good snorkeling - anything to see underwater if we brought masks and snorkels?

[Mike45LC]

1 hour ago, rifter said:

Is there any good snorkeling - anything to see underwater if we brought masks and snorkels?

I never brought a mask to Stone Island, but I doubt that there is any decent snorkeling there.  In general, Mazatlan is not a great snorkeling area.  

[mamasmurfette]

Would this be an okay activity to do with lots of little kids (10 kids ages 17 to 7 months)? And just play at the beach? Our ship is in port from 8am-5pm.

Edited September 25, 2022 by mamasmurfette
To add time ship is in port

[Theosprey247]

On 9/9/2022 at 2:50 PM, rifter said:

Is there any good snorkeling - anything to see underwater if we brought masks and snorkels?

Goat Island (attached to stone island) has ok snorkeling.  Personally I won’t lug snorkeling gear there but YMMV. 

[caligirlfashionista]

How much money does it cost to rent an atv?

[Mike45LC]

Smurf:  if there are enough adults to get the kids into the boat, I'd say if is good.  If it is only you and the 17 year old, good luck!

 

[cruisegirl06]

Is it possible to do horseback riding without a prebooked tour - or can anyone recommend a horseback riding tour that also allows for those that don’t want to ride to just hang out on the beach and relax?

 

last visit we did a tour that included a quick (maybe 10 min?) ride, but my 8 year old would love to do a longer ride this year (30 min - 1 hour)

Edited October 11, 2022 by cruisegirl06

[cruisetoscrap]

1 hour ago, cruisegirl06 said:

Is it possible to do horseback riding without a prebooked tour - or can anyone recommend a horseback riding tour that also allows for those that don’t want to ride to just hang out on the beach and relax?

 

last visit we did a tour that included a quick (maybe 10 min?) ride, but my 8 year old would love to do a longer ride this year (30 min - 1 hour)

 

When we went over 16 years ago we used Randy's Happy Horses.   Now it's Maria's Happy Horses.   We will be on the tour next week but she's been above and beyond when responding to emails.   The price is even the same for people just doing transportation as it was 18 years ago, $15. 

[Mike45LC]

I've seen good recommendations for Happy Horses.  But there are some horses/ponies being held on the beach for rent.  Kind of dis-spirited when I last saw them, but no advance arrangements needed.

 

[cruisegirl06]

4 hours ago, cruisetoscrap said:

 

When we went over 16 years ago we used Randy's Happy Horses.   Now it's Maria's Happy Horses.   We will be on the tour next week but she's been above and beyond when responding to emails.   The price is even the same for people just doing transportation as it was 18 years ago, $15. 

Perfect - I’ll look into this!

[Incognito1]

We opted for a restaurant closer to the drop off point (maybe Molokay?).  Because we were one of the first groups there, our umbrella/lounge chairs were free.  Right on the water.  Good marketing because other people from the ship, seeing Gringos, stopped there - only they paid $10 per umbrella/2 chairs.  The waiter, who introduced himself as Antonio Banderas :-), was attentive and unobtrusive.  2 drinks, guac and chips, chicken tacos, beef burrito, +tip came to less than $50.  The food was good.  Paid in US $.

 

The beach is sandy rather than grainy (Cabo - ouch!), and we enjoyed it immensely.  Yes, great for kids and there were a lot, both tourists and locals.  Boogie Boards can be rented for $5/day, and further down the beach are more touristy things like the Banana Boat.  The ship's tour bussed people around the peninsula and it took them more than half an hour to get there, and was pricy - glad we did it on our own.

 

Next visit, I might use Stone Island Tour - Mazatlan Excursions (mazatlantours.org) because of the horseback riding on the beach (but mostly through the trees) and the open bar.

Edited December 5, 2022 by Incognito1

[oyme]

On 11/4/2021 at 2:19 PM, Mike45LC said:

If you don't have pesos (30 pesos per person) for the "ferry" tickets, they charge US$2 per person.  That is a US$0.50 penalty, not a big deal.  

Where I live they charge a fee to convert USD at our banks (I believe it's a $10 processing fee)! Definitely cheaper to just pay the 50 cent penalty, give or take. I mean either way they will be able to tell I'm not a tourist.

 

Regardless, thanks to OP for this rec. 🙂 I'd definitely give it a go but just would skip the pesos part. 🙂 So thank you!

[oyme]

On 11/9/2021 at 9:17 AM, LinnieRed said:

I did not feel unsafe here even a little bit. Whenever I travel in a Mexico (and I do a lot) I am the opposite of flashy and am very respectful of the culture. 

As a rule, my family prefers to not be flashy! Definitely safer that way wherever you may be traveling to. Flashy jewelry or designer brands plastered all over yourself is not the best idea. Anyone who must do those things is assuming all involved risk, haha.

[Incognito1]

On 7/20/2022 at 5:00 PM, rtrtx2 said:

can you get here without the walking? Do you just take a taxi to the ferry to stone Island?

Yes, without a taxi.  It's maybe 1/2 a mile.  NO SHADE, so wear a hat.  We took a taxi back (the 3 minute ride) and the driver "had no change" so it was pretty pricy, but we were tired and figured he was a small businessman trying to make a living. 

Edited March 12, 2023 by Incognito1

[Mike45LC]

My brother is mobility impaired so when we were with him, we took a pulmonia from the cruise passenger terminal to the Stone Island ferry.  I think we greatly overpaid, maybe $10 US, but there were four of us.

 

I had been concerned about finding a taxi on the way back, but there was no problem. A taxi was dropping off someone just as we arrived back from Stone Island.