7-Day Mexican Riviera
 

My wife and I (ages 32 & 33) are going with some family and friends on this cruise to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta. We have cruised before but no to these destinations. We have decided on one excursion off the ship in Puerto Vallarta but are no really interested in the other port excursions. Anyone been on this cruise or to these destinations before? We are in to outdoor adventure, beer, and just seeing the sights. We are not into shopping or museum type stuff.

We did Randy`s happy horses in Mazatlan and had a good time. It is not a ship excursion. Half the fun was just getting to stone island. Randy meets you at the ship, and you go by various means to stone island. There is a great open air restaurant on the beach after the ride. Have you checked out cruise critic.com? Go to destinations and click on Mexican riviera.

In PV check out the excursions with Vallarta Adventures.
http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/
We did the Outdoor Adventure Tour. A total blast with zip lines and rappelling, and they will do pick up at the cruise ship marina.

Is Cabo Wabo worth a stop? My wife just wants to see it, do a shot and leave.

Took the exact same trip this Janaury. Depending on season, you can go whale watching in Cabos. If not, walk to the beach or take a short boat ride. There are lots of venders at the dock that wants your business ... CHEAP!

I would recommend city tours for Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. Gotta go see the church and the beach etc. Mexican country side and a vist and sampling at a real tequila factory is cool too.

Our cruise is coming up in a few weeks, just wanted to see if there are anymore opinions/suggestions out there.

Are beaches within walking distance of the ports or is a tour or taxi needed?

How safe are these ports or how safe did you feel?

Which ports have the better beaches?

Anyone travel to San Jose del Cabo (Baja Brewing Company)? It is about 20 minutes from Cabo San Lucas.

Need ideas for Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan.

Just returned Saturday to these ports. Puerto Vallarta we took a tour from the ship which took us around the city, the cathedral, and up into the Sierra Madre Mountains which was very good.

Mazatlan we took a taxi down to the cathedral and then to the waterfront and walked where there were divers performing from the rocks. An excellent restaurant where we had lunch was "The Shrimp
Bucket". Best shrimp I ever had.

Cabo we walked around the water where there are many vendors. If I had it to do over I would take one of the boats for $10.00 out to the see the whales. The tours from the ship were sold out for this trip . Also you could get one of these boats to take you to the beach.
Cabo was our least favorite port.
My favorite thing there was seeing all the pelicans.

You asked about safety. I never felt unsafe in any of these places.

Many of the beaches are very rocky. In Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta you would have to take a boat or ground transpo to get you to the beaches. The beaches are not right where the ship docks. Living in Myrtle Beach where we have such good beaches to walk and enjoy the wter without the rocks I would not find these beaches as good due to the terrain.

Look at the tours your ship offers and even if you don't book one from them it will give you an idea of what you can do.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip. The Holland American ship, the Oosterdam, was as enjoyable for us as the ports.

Thank you!

We are taking Royal Caribbean.

What did you not like about Cabo?

We want to go to Cabo Wabo just to do a shot of tequila. Otherwise, don't know what else we are going to do there.

We have a zip line, hiking, climbing, misc. tour booked through the ship for Puerto V.

So any of the beaches where you can actually swim or lay on a sandy beach, require a tour or some mode of transportation?

How were the taxis at the port?

We took a taxi on Isla Margarita (Venezuela) and it was pretty sketchy. We actually had the driver turn us around and take us back to the boat because the speedometer did not work and he was flying down the road. He also spoke zero english and understood zero english.

Only took a taxi in Mazatlan down to the cathedral and back from the waterfront which should have been 6.00. Went by the golfcart transpo on the way down which he charged 10.00. There is alot of help in the cruiseport to help you get transpo. Cabo we were tendered in so you get off on the walkway and meet many vendors. I saw a sign there with Love Beach transpo by boat which seems to be a popular one,but as we did not go there I cannot say how good the beach would be.

As my son remarked Cabo looks alot like our area with many shops, restaurants, condos, etc. except for the beautiful rock formations as you come into the port. Maybe we are not impressed by beaches as we can walk 2 blocks to one everyday.

A couple on the boat we talked to took the zip line tour and liked it very much.

I did not see any beach right there in any of these port that you could actually sunbathe in. Sure you could find a beach away from the ports and get some type of transpo. They are just not the type of beaches I know as ours is flat and level without the rocks.
You will not find any trouble in finding a tequila place.
It's a good cruise regardless of what you finally do.

In Cabo San Lucas, we walked over to Cabo Dolphins. You can swim with the dolphins there!! I remember walking maybe 2 blocks from the ship, inside they have a nice cortyard where you can relax, and the pool is on the 2nd floor.

http://www.cabodolphins.com/

Next time try Carnival from San Diego to Acupulco. IMO better stops and also a great ship.

You really should not miss the old town of Mazatlan which has been restored and is very nice.

Thanks for the info. I'll keep posting when I come across ideas for the trip.

We always take Royal. Never had any problems with them and enjoy it. Have not heard many good things about other cruise lines. Also, I was done with cruises but my wife wanted to go on one more and this is the one that her parents booked (we always go as a group with her parents). No, they are not the typical in-laws.

Anyone done tours through this company or heard of anything about them?

http://www.mazatlantours.org/stone-island-tour.htm

They offer the same excursion the ships offer at a lesser price.

Best beaches/water for a beach day near ports: Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, and Puerto V?

From what I have been researching, Puerto V is the only one that has decent beaches and water. I have not found much for the other two ports.

Walking distance in Mazatlan.....

Looking at a map I got for Mazatlan, it looks like we can get off the ship and pretty much walk to and from the areas of the market, historic zone, pacifico brewery, lighthouse, cliff divers, some monuments and some beaches with ease.

Anyone just walk these areas before? Time, distance, safety?

On the map, it does not look like it would be that bad to walk all these areas. Of course it would take our entire time in port probably, but I'd rather see as much of the area as possible instead of spending the entire time on the beach.

Also looking for suggestions on the best/cheap local Mexican food in any of the ports? Not looking for a sit-down type lunch/dinner. Just looking for a quick place to try something local. I have read that the shrimp in Mazatlan are one of a kind. Any suggestions on those?

I tried to answer some of this before,but adding since you asked specifically about Mazatlan. Catch a taxi from the port and get yourself to the cathedral. Then it is easy to walk down to the waterfront where the divers, ect. are. Probably about 10-15 min. from the cathedral. "The Shrimp Bucket" on the waterfront has some of the best shrimp I have ever eaten. I live where there is good seafood on the coast of S.C. so I am accustomed to good seafood. You sit outside at the Shrimp Bucket-very informal place.
We did not eat lunch in any of the other ports. Along the walk in Cabo no problem finding a place to eat. It is a walk with many vendors, shops, and even a McDonalds.
I think you are better off in Puerto Vallarta taking a tour to get up into the mountains. It is very busy where the ship is docked with a Sams and Walmart across the street. If not a tour get a taxi to take you where you might be interested in going. The only beaches I saw were along where the big resorts located in the town and up into the mountains in PV

The beaches you are asking about I did not see as alot of the coast is rocky. Sure you could get a boat in Cabo to some beach.

Thanks for the info Maryanne1.

Anyone go to San Jose del Cabo when they were in Cabo San Lucas? There is a brewpub there I was interested in visiting, Baja Brewing. They say it's a 20 minute cab ride to get there.

Anyone take any type of kayak trip/excursion to the arch/lovers beach?