Mexican Riviera with Family recommendations

[Partyof5AZ]

Hello!

 

 

 

We just booked the 7 day cruise to the Mexican Riviera on the Panorama for Jul 2nd! We are very excited. It is our 2nd cruise as a family. We will have two adults, 5yo, 8yo, and 15 yo. I am looking for suggestions on things we can do at each port (Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo that are not super expensive and family friendly. Definitely interested in the beach and anything else active for the kids. 

 

 

 

Thank you!

[n4w]

Mazatlan: do-it-yourself beach day at Stone Island.  You can search this site, google, or youtube; very easy and inexpensive.

[famof4togo]

I agree with Mazatlan for Stone Island...cheap and just a good place to relax and play on the beach.

 

Cabo - This is my favorite beach of the 3 stops so we always just go over to Sand Bar or Mango Deck and eat/drink and play in the sand/water....the water has a bit of power so be careful but I have taken my son at age 5 and 8 and he was able to enjoy the water no problem...at the beach you can also rent banana boats, jet skis and ride horses.  Sand Bar also has cheap but good messages upstairs if you are interested but they book up early for the whole day so if so hurry over. 

 

We have done ziplining and atv riding in PV so not sure if that works with your age group for the children.

[AandBmom]

we booked ziplining in Puerta Vallarta at Los Veranos for next week. 

[Mike45LC]

Cabo:  The "glass bottom" boat tour from near the tender dock out to the Arch (with views of Lover's Beach, really stinky Sea Lion Rock, Land's End and the Arch).  About $10 per person, but with five of you, you can probably get $40 for the group.  Rest of the day at Medano Beach -- the boat can drop you off there if you want to risk the surf.  Grab a land taxi back to the tender dock.

 

Mazatlan:  Stone Island, and/or a golf cart "pulmonia" to downtown.  Check out the Cathedral and the huge Market.  I don't recommend walking downtown because of the kids, but there is a line painted on the road/sidewalks showing tourists the route to downtown from the Cruise Ship Terminal.  Safe and easy walk, but kids.

 

Puerto Vallarta:  When you get off the ship, there will be mini-vans waiting to take passengers to downtown, the Malecon, for, I don't recall, $5 or $10 per person.  Ask for a group discount, but I don't think you'll get one.  The van will drop you off at Hotel Rosita, and that is the north end of the walkway.  Wander around, buy stuff, explore, enjoy the sculptures.  When you want to go back to the ship, there are plenty of taxis to take you back.

 

Mexican taxis:  Always agree upon a price up front, and make sure the price is for the group or per person.   Much as I love Mexicans, it is important to be clear about this in advance.

 

[WAvoyager]

Here are some of the items we’ve been thinking of - 5 yo friendly, but should work with bigger kids too.  This April will be our first trip down this part of the coast, so I have no idea if they’re really good suggestions or not 🙃

 

PV : Taxi down to Hotel Rosita, walk down the Malecon, looking through shops and snacking, then to Isla Cuale and the flea market.  Then to one of the restaurants/beach resorts (Blue Shrimp?) for late lunch and beach time. Taxi back to ship.

 

Mazatlan:  a few things we are thinking of.  A full day at one of the local resorts - Day passes are pretty inexpensive, $30 for resort access and food/drink (Playa Mazatlan), with pools, beach, playgrounds, etc.  or heading over to Stone Island for a beach day.  Or catching a pulmonia over to Plaza Machado, looking in the shops, touring the Angela Peralta theater, having lunch, and then catching a pulmonia over to the aquarium.

 

Cabo looked a little more limited so we are doing the dolphin experience, lunch in the Marina, and then back to the ship.  It’s a water transfer port, so Grandma will probably stay onboard that day, so a short day off the ship will be good.

[KatieBug28]

Lots of great suggestions here already! 

 

Two I haven't seen mentioned but that you might enjoy, both in PV:

 

Mismaloya - you can take the public bus for something like 25 cents a person, or get a taxi or ride share, to this lovely beach about 20 minutes outside of town. It's got a great little protected bay, a restaurant that has cheap and delicious food and lots of loungers and umbrellas. It's super calm and just gorgeous! It's fun that you can just go a little ways away and have a whole beach pretty much to yourself! You do have to make a bus transfer downtown, but that gives you a chance to see the Malecon and shop a little bit in the flea market. The bus comes right to the port, super easy! Happy to DM if you need more exact info, I'd just have to go find it, so shoot me a message if you'd like!

 

One other option is the Pirate Ship in PV. This is absolutely not inexpensive, but I do think it is a really good value. Breakfast, lunch and an open bar are included, as well as the pirate show, a treasure hunt for the kids, beach activities like banana boats and snorkeling, etc. We did this a few years ago and while our family had a "personal pirate" to take care of us, they also assigned our youngest her own pirate, Pinky. He was AMAZING. Basically became her new best friend and made sure she was safe and having a great time the entire time. Definitely a splurge, but makes for a really fun day!

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 3/9/2022 at 4:21 PM, WAvoyager said:

Cabo looked a little more limited so we are doing the dolphin experience, lunch in the Marina, and then back to the ship.  It’s a water transfer port, so Grandma will probably stay onboard that day, so a short day off the ship will be good.

 

I can't urge you enough to NOT do a captive dolphin experience, especially in a foreign country. Do some research online. The animals are not treated well and kept confined in tiny spaces until it is time to go perform. Do watch The Cove, but do not let your son watch it.

[WAvoyager]

On 3/11/2022 at 5:41 AM, scottca075 said:

 

I can't urge you enough to NOT do a captive dolphin experience, especially in a foreign country. Do some research online. The animals are not treated well and kept confined in tiny spaces until it is time to go perform. Do watch The Cove, but do not let your son watch it.

Thanks for your input.  I’ve watched The Cove (and Blackfish) and fully understand (and appreciate) your concerns.  I weigh that information against the benefits of exposure to wildlife, and the lifelong impact that can have on people (especially at a young age).  The site which Princess is using is American Humane certified, and limits the exposure time for their dolphins.  In this case, my personal decision is to do the excursion at this time.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

5 hours ago, WAvoyager said:

Thanks for your input.  I’ve watched The Cove (and Blackfish) and fully understand (and appreciate) your concerns.  I weigh that information against the benefits of exposure to wildlife, and the lifelong impact that can have on people (especially at a young age).  The site which Princess is using is American Humane certified, and limits the exposure time for their dolphins.  In this case, my personal decision is to do the excursion at this time.

 

I understand you have made your decision, but with all due respect, this is not "exposure to wildlife". It is the opposite.

[jallison86]

On 3/10/2022 at 3:11 PM, KatieBug28 said:

One other option is the Pirate Ship in PV. This is absolutely not inexpensive, but I do think it is a really good value. Breakfast, lunch and an open bar are included, as well as the pirate show, a treasure hunt for the kids, beach activities like banana boats and snorkeling, etc. We did this a few years ago and while our family had a "personal pirate" to take care of us, they also assigned our youngest her own pirate, Pinky. He was AMAZING. Basically became her new best friend and made sure she was safe and having a great time the entire time. Definitely a splurge, but makes for a really fun day!

 

I was just looking at this option. I tried to get an online chat going on their website but wasn't able to get a response. We're arriving in PV on the Navigator of the Seas on March 22 at 8:00 AM. Seems like we'd have time to disembark and make it over to the Pirate Ship outing, but I'd like to be sure that's reasonable before buying tickets. I gather this worked for you when you were there...what time did you arrive and how long did it take to get to the pirate ship?

 

Thank you!

[WAvoyager]

13 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

I understand you have made your decision, but with all due respect, this is not "exposure to wildlife". It is the opposite.

Yes, thanks for that correction.  I should have said “animals”.

 

My wife was born in Singapore. Almost no exposure to animals - she’s deathly afraid of cats, since they’re very seldom kept as pets, so she was only really exposed to feral cats on the streets.  I was raised with “Flipper”, Sea Life Park, and zoos and aquariums in the West Coast, almost all of which are now considered “deplorable” or at least questionable by today’s ethos.

 

To this day (18 years of marriage) she still questions why I donate thousands each year to WWF, Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, National Geographic, and others.  I don’t question why she doesn’t, I can pretty much guess.

 

The world’s not perfect - we should each just try to make it better however we can.  I know there are lots of different approaches to making it better, and I also know that no one really knows the proper path towards that goal.  Hopefully we all just try our best.

Edited March 14, 2022 by WAvoyager

[WAvoyager]

27 minutes ago, jallison86 said:

 

I was just looking at this option. I tried to get an online chat going on their website but wasn't able to get a response. We're arriving in PV on the Navigator of the Seas on March 22 at 8:00 AM. Seems like we'd have time to disembark and make it over to the Pirate Ship outing, but I'd like to be sure that's reasonable before buying tickets. I gather this worked for you when you were there...what time did you arrive and how long did it take to get to the pirate ship?

 

Thank you!

Was wondering the same thing.  Our ship (Majestic) stops from 8-6, and the Pirate Ship is from 9:30 - 4:30, so it seems like it’d be cutting it close.   

[KatieBug28]

58 minutes ago, WAvoyager said:

Was wondering the same thing.  Our ship (Majestic) stops from 8-6, and the Pirate Ship is from 9:30 - 4:30, so it seems like it’d be cutting it close.   

Oh gosh, it was a few years ago and I don't remember the details! They were wonderful though, and I felt like they knew the schedule of the different ships even better than we did! They were also very good about keeping us on ship time instead of shore time. I don't remember the exact details, but I would have no hesitation in trusting them to get me back on time!

[Mike45LC]

You might want to verify whether you can buy the tickets directly from the tour provider on ship-in-port days.  I know that some cruise ships have deals with the tour providers that give the ships exclusivity so that the passengers cannot cut out the Excursion Desk as a middleman.  

 

If the ship's excursion desk has this tour, I'd seriously consider booking the tour through the ship.  The ship gives disembarkation priority to the people who have booked tours through the excursion desk.  You, on the other hand, don't get priority (WA, even if you are Elite, that is only priority for Cabo, not for PV).  And the pirate ship won't wait for you (unlike the people booked through the excursion desk).   Unless the savings are significant, I would not risk missing the pirate boat's sailing time.

[WAvoyager]

With only 1.5 hour margins between the cruise arrival/departure times, and the Pirate Ship times, I usually wouldn’t consider it.   Hadn’t thought about checking through the excursion desk (it’s not one of the listed excursions), but that sounds like a good approach.

 

We’ve pretty much planned out our PV visit already, so probably won’t check this time, but maybe next trip!  Besides…. Our little girl is definitely not a big pirate fan…. Now if it were a Princess Ship, we would have to go!🙂

[SelectSys]

4 hours ago, WAvoyager said:

 I was raised with “Flipper”, Sea Life Park, and zoos and aquariums in the West Coast, almost all of which are now considered “deplorable” or at least questionable by today’s ethos

I think it depends.  I have been a long time member of the San Diego zoo and I believe that zoos and aquariums help more than hurt.

[WAvoyager]

1 hour ago, SelectSys said:

I think it depends.  I have been a long time member of the San Diego zoo and I believe that zoos and aquariums help more than hurt.

I was going to add an exclusion for the San Diego zoo, but it was too late for me to edit.   As a pioneer in careless and natural environment exhibits, they were a notable exception to the norm as I was growing up.

 

My niece and I have had many debates on the roles of zoos - she will not visit them, and I’m glad she cares enough about animals that it brings her discomfort to see them in captivity. But not everyone is like she is, and many of the animals might never be seen at all - by anyone - without the breeding programs and awareness they bring to the general public.

[WAvoyager]

1 hour ago, WAvoyager said:

As a pioneer in careless and natural environment exhibits, they were a notable exception to the norm as I was growing up.

 

 

Uh, obviously I was a bit “careless” when I was typing “cage less”. 😂

[SelectSys]

21 hours ago, WAvoyager said:

But not everyone is like she is, and many of the animals might never be seen at all - by anyone - without the breeding programs and awareness they bring to the general public.

This is true.  Our local Sea World also claims to support animal rescue, rehabilitation and release back into the wild.

https://seaworld.org/animals/all-about/rescue-and-rehab/

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 3/15/2022 at 2:36 PM, SelectSys said:

This is true.  Our local Sea World also claims to support animal rescue, rehabilitation and release back into the wild.

 

SeaWorld doesn't "claim" to support animal rescue and rehabilitation they do. As someone who lives on the beach and surfs and swims at beaches all over San Diego County, a call to SeaWorld is the first call made anytime a sea mammal is in distress.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK-LDR5OTLg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0G39I-wM5k

https://www.lajollalight.com/news/story/2021-01-25/two-abandoned-seal-pups-are-rescued-at-childrens-pool-in-la-jolla-one-did-not-survive

 

There are dozens of stories like these.

[quickrate]

On 3/13/2022 at 6:22 PM, WAvoyager said:

Thanks for your input.  I’ve watched The Cove (and Blackfish) and fully understand (and appreciate) your concerns.  I weigh that information against the benefits of exposure to wildlife, and the lifelong impact that can have on people (especially at a young age).  The site which Princess is using is American Humane certified, and limits the exposure time for their dolphins.  In this case, my personal decision is to do the excursion at this time.

There is nothing American Humane certified about keeping dolphins in captivity. Google the intelligence level of dolphins and you might understand better. also, did you know dolphins have family groups, just like humans, and mourn the loss of family members? So, these captured dolphins have been removed from their family for your entertainment pleasure.

Pat

[WAvoyager]

3 hours ago, quickrate said:

There is nothing American Humane certified about keeping dolphins in captivity. Google the intelligence level of dolphins and you might understand better. also, did you know dolphins have family groups, just like humans, and mourn the loss of family members? So, these captured dolphins have been removed from their family for your entertainment pleasure.

Pat

https://www.americanhumane.org/press-release/american-humane-certifies-cabo-dolphins-for-animal-well-being/

[AandBmom]

I can't say enough good things about Los Veranos Ziplining by speedboat.  Booked directly with the company.  But you might need to check the ages allowed.  Only half our family ziplined. The rest hung out, ate, swam, waterslide, kayak, small playground, etc.