Cabo, PV, Mazatlan, best and worse? Please Help!

[BadKittie]

One month from today(I cant wait! Its snowing here, and Im just picturing 80 degree weather and sunshine!!!) I am going on a cruise to the mexican riviera on the Pride.

 

What are some of the shore excursions youve done in any of these ports? Id like to know what were the good ones and ones to avoid, and why.

 

Any help would be great. we are all up to do anything, but just dont want to get suckered into a crappy excursion and waste our time and money.(the only thing I have seen really to avoid is the rythms of the night thing?)

 

Please help, because Im totally lost at booking some excursions, so many of them sound SO funa nd I just dont have the time to do them all! Thanks!

[martinsfo]

I was not thrilled with Cabo as a city. However, we did an ATV Adventure that was a real hoot. After that we took a taxi to the neighboring town of San Jose Del Cabo for lunch. That city was truly charming, everything Cabo St. Luc was not.

 

In Mazatlan, we did the Jungle Cruise, which was a wildlife adventure in the Mangrove swamps of Stone Island. Interesting trip, but truly a bit too long.

 

In PV we went on a tour of a Mock Tequilla factory in a town off the north end of the Hotel zone. Pretty interesting. We then hung out in the old city. A truly beautiful city.

[BuffaloRoam]

Our extended family of 12 had a blast on the Vision over Dec. Cabo is easy.

Walk into town from ship, at info desk hail cab or van to glass factory nearer to town where you are. It's authentic glass blowers who give demos.

The cab or van will return to get you if you like. Return to Cabo Wabos Restaurant FAMOUS for lunch. Water and ice cubes are safe too at this place. They have their own equipment. Really good authentic and funky.

Back to the infor desk in town, take a glass bottom boat for a 45 min. ride on the water. $10 p/p, kids half price, it's great!

 

Mazetlan Golden Zone

Cab ride to American Embassy, hotel across the street . The sand is totally acessable. Free! Rent buggie boards to ride the waves, $5 for an hour. They have them on the beach from vendors. great shell collecting too!

The hotel has a restaurant on the water, have lunch. great Day!

 

PV

FABULOUS Hotel Krystal well known, $20 day pass to use beach and BEAUTIFUL facilities. You can also get a lunch credit, so lunch is basically a wash. The waves are awesome! Careful.

The pool is out of a mag!

We spent the day.

Wish someone would have told us about these places before we got there.

Have a great time!

davedorio@aol.com

[gizmo]

I have a different opinion of Cabo Wabo. I would never bother to stop there again. I think the place is a rip off.

• Inside has very few places to sit.
  
• Outside in the courtyard was horrible. There were flies everywhere. It reminded me of a horror movie.:eek:
  
• The prices are sky high compared to other places. - It is a rip off.
  
• The Cabo Wabo Margarita is nothing to talk about. I have had better.

We left and went to another place close to the dock over looking the water. (I can't remember the name of the place). The margaritas were wonderful (best I ever had) and the price was half of Cabo Wabo.

[Cruisin Rick]

You'll be in Cabo when there should still be plenty of whales. I'd sugest a whale watching excursion.

 

Mazatlan can be fun with Randi's Happy Horses and depending on your ships itinerary, you might have time to hit the Gold Zone for shopping before sail-away.

 

PV we've just cruised around downtown but there are zip line adventures and a dolphin swim that might be enjoyable.

 

Getting away from the snow..... PRICELESS.

[cruisin'mama]

I was not thrilled with Cabo as a city. However, we did an ATV Adventure that was a real hoot. After that we took a taxi to the neighboring town of San Jose Del Cabo for lunch. That city was truly charming, everything Cabo St. Luc was not.

 

 

What ATV tour did you go on? Was it independent or thru your ship? I am looking for a 2-seater ATV that we can take my son with Down Syndrome on. We did an ATV tour in Alaska this summer and he LOVED it and we want to take him again while in Mexico. Also, it would have to be easy to drive for me! Thanks!:)

[martinsfo]

What ATV tour did you go on? Was it independent or thru your ship? I am looking for a 2-seater ATV that we can take my son with Down Syndrome on. We did an ATV tour in Alaska this summer and he LOVED it and we want to take him again while in Mexico. Also, it would have to be easy to drive for me! Thanks!:)

 

We did our ATV adventure through our ship. If you are in Cabo for the entire day, you can make arrangements through the web. Just Google ATV Adventure in Dessert Park. Have fun.

[travelindaisy]

I was not thrilled with Cabo as a city. However' date=' we did an ATV Adventure that was a real hoot. After that we took a taxi to the neighboring town of San Jose Del Cabo for lunch. That city was truly charming, everything Cabo St. Luc was not[/i'].

 

 

What ATV tour did you go on? Was it independent or thru your ship? I am looking for a 2-seater ATV that we can take my son with Down Syndrome on. We did an ATV tour in Alaska this summer and he LOVED it and we want to take him again while in Mexico. Also, it would have to be easy to drive for me! Thanks!:)

 

There was a really good ATV tour in maztlan, on the beach at Stone Island. We booked directly with the company in advance and they picked us up at the ship it was awsome!!! To book with them go to kingdavid.com.mx

[BadKittie]

Ive posted a similar thread on some other sites and other places, lots of views, but no replies...you guys here are all awesome! Thanks for all your ideas!

 

Still got a little less than a month to go, so if anyone else has any thoughts on good/bad stuff youve done in these ports keep them coming!

 

Thanks again for all the great thoughts so far!

[travelindaisy]

Honestly in my opinion Mazatlan is the best!I´ve been going there for years and done everything. Especially for the beaches! But the people to are so much nicer there and its cheaper than cabo and vallarta. there are alot of tours to choose from to suit anyones needs.I suggest checking out this website www.kingdavid.com.mx Or do a trip on your own. My FAVORITE thing to do is take a sailboat (hobie cat) from the beach in the golden zone over to deer island. Stop at a corner store buy your beer and snacks, rent the snorkel equipment($5ea) from the same guys that take you across and they pick you up at whatever time you want. Its cheap and alot of fun! $30usd for the roundtrip! up to 4 people can fit on the boat for that price. The beach is nicer over on the island much more relaxing, no vendors to bother you and the water is clear for snorkling! you can find the boats out in front of Hotel Los Arcos next door in the empty lot. The taxi from the ship dock is about $10usd.

[proviajes]

Well sounds like alot of fun, a great idea for our family. But can you tell me can yound children go on the boat to? I have a 4 year old and 8 year old, do they have life jackets for kids? and what about cameras ? will they get wet can we bring them with us?

[PDAZ]

Not really big on Cabo -- I've been there on a couple of cruises and for a land vacation -- it's mainly a party town after hours. Someone earlier suggested whale watching -- I concur! There was a huge catamaran called the Kaleidoscope, I think, that made short whale watching/coastal tours. The last time I was there, I was able to buy a ticket at the dock and really enjoyed the trip -- very relaxing!

 

In Mazatlan, I've taken an excursion into the countryside to visit some of the colonial towns. It was really nice to get away from the touristy areas and see how the people live. We visited some very old churches/mini-cathedrals that were beautiful. Keep in mind that you need to dress appropriately if you go into the churches -- shorts and halter tops don't cut it. The last time I was in Mazatlan, we took an excursion to a private beach that was really nice, but the beach wasn't all that private -- we had an awful lot of vendors hawking merchandise -- hard to relax!

 

I really like PV the most. My first time there, we took the excursion to Las Caletas (I think that's the name) -- it's John Huston's hideway. Really enjoyed this! We had a lovely day at a secluded cove, took a guided nature hike up into the mountains and had a really nice lunch at a beach side table. There was no pressure -- you could sit on the beach, swim, kayak -- whatever you wanted to do. And we had dolphins following our boat in and out of the port! The last time we were in PV, we took the Marietas snorkeling trip, although we didn't actually go snorkeling -- we just hung out on the boat and watched the wildlife. The folks who snorkeled raved about this trip. We enjoyed it too -- especially on the way back when the captain spotted a young whale breeching, and let us stop and watch for a while -- an incredible treat!

 

All of my trips were made in Decembers, and we saw lots of wildlife!

[momt22]

We are wanting to find a beach to relax at in PV. Maybe watch a beautiful sunset. I would like some opinions on people who have been there which might be within walking distance? My husband has bad knees and is not able to spend the whole day walking and exploring. Any ideas what might be best?

 

BuffaloRoam: You said that you spent some time at the Hotel Krystal. Is is within walking distance and if so how far? Did it have a nice beach area to walk and possible find some shells? We live in Oregon and I love to walk the beaches here and collect sea shells. I don't know if that is possible but looking for something relaxing.

 

PDAZ: How was the John Huston excursion? Did you spend a lot of time on the beach cove? The pictures they show on the Carnival website for their excursions don't look very good. It looks as though there is algae growing in the water. Just wanted your opinion on what you thought of this area? We you required to do the guided nature hike or was that just an option? Like I said prior, my husband has bad knees and I don't think he could take the hiking part. Any additional information you can provide for me would be great. We are leaving on Saturday to Long Beach so we don't have much time to figure it all out. Thanks again for any information.

[PDAZ]

Loved the John Huston excursion! I'd definitely go on it again. The hike was purely by choice. Once you get there, you're free to do as much or as little as you want. They had kayaks available and I think snorkeling equipment also. The water was lovely. When we first arrived, they wouldn't let us in the water because there was a school of jelly fish in the area (not sure if "school" is the correct term for jelly fish but so be it!). They cleared out after an hour or so. I don't remember there being algae -- maybe near the dock? I think we were there for four or five hours and the boat trip took half an hour or so each way. It was a relaxing day! I love Mexico, but the beach vendors can get on my nerves. The nice thing about this beach is that it is so secluded that there aren't any vendors. They did have a stall set up in case you wanted to buy trinkets, but no one harassed you on the beach.

 

I don't remember there being an beaches within walking distance of the pier. There are some spots to sit, but I wouldn't call them beaches. You can take a cab to the main beach area downtown, which is nice -- I don't remember the cost but I think it was reasonable. It didn't seem that far away, but my daughter and I made the mistake of walking back to the ship, and it took us 45 minutes!:eek: Oh well, we worked off dinner!

[BadKittie]

Momt22-

 

Have fun on your cruise! I am so excited about going on the pride 2/11! When you get back Id love to hear all about it!

 

Have an excellent time!

[Lois R]

You'll be in Cabo when there should still be plenty of whales. I'd sugest a whale watching excursion.

 

Mazatlan can be fun with Randi's Happy Horses and depending on your ships itinerary, you might have time to hit the Gold Zone for shopping before sail-away.

 

PV we've just cruised around downtown but there are zip line adventures and a dolphin swim that might be enjoyable.

 

Getting away from the snow..... PRICELESS.

 

Hi Rick, I have been to Cabo twice before, once I just walked

around and the 2nd time I took a land/sea excursion. Enjoyed

both times but I want to do a Whale excursion this time.

I am sailing in March...can you recommend a particular

excursion?

There seems to be many too many choices.....:eek:

I sail solo and usually book with the cruiseline. They

have one on a big clipper ship/pirate ship that sounds

fun...would you know anything about it?

 

Thanks:)

[Lois R]

duplicate post again......:(

[Marylam]

Hi Badkitty,

My husband and I went on this Itinerary 4 years ago on the Star Princess.

He likes adventure so in PV we rented a jeep on our own and headed out for the great unknown. we drove south along the malecon and stopped a couple of places in town, after that we drove through some jungle and ended up lost for a while, we saw many federalies with machine guns (I got scared). We asked directions to Chico's Paradise where we stopped for lunch. Later we decided to go for a swim at Mismalosa beach - big mistake! The beach vendors ended up ruining an otherwise great day by their persistant badgering, I really couldn't wait to get back to the ship.

 

When we did get back we ended up booking shore excursions for the remaining two ports just to avoid the aggresive vendors. In Maz we did the city hilights tour which included the Paplanta Flyers folklore group, shopping in the golden zone and lunch at a beach resort. A really fun day - no stress.

 

Cabo we did a snorkel cruise and later some shopping in town on our own. We didn't have much time here so we felt a litle hurried while shopping. The water was much clearer than we were expecting - great visibility.

 

We are going again this march! we can't wait…stillhaven't booked excursins yet. Will we ever learn?

 

Happy sailing,,

 

Mary

[NavySis]

Thank you for all your information. I am going to Mexican Riviera in Oct and I have never been to Mexico so I am looking for some imput from others. I think I am going to do any excursions through Princess as I have never been there. I think I will see the flyers in Mazatlan as people have said that they are good.

 

 

Thanks Again,

NavySis