own shore excursions
 

Has anyone had good luck booking their own shore excursions on the Mexican Riviera cruises (PV, Mazatlan, Cabo)? We are cruising with Princess in March

thanks

Liz

In Cabo San Lucas you can do any of the following from the piers at which the tenders will drop you:
Take a back country tour on an open 4 wheel drive jeep
Swim with Dolphins in a large pool
Spend two hours or more on an America's Cup Racer
Shop at the flea market (1/4 mile on the left) or more sophisticated shops (1/2 mile on right)
Take a "panga" to lovers beach or around lands end to the pacific side
Take your choice of whale watching trips

All of these, except the "panga" tours may be booked in advance on the web. And, I think it unlikely that I have exhausted the list.

thanks...do you know any reliable tour operators?

I can't help with tour operators; I usually book directly when I am there.

thanks!

Liz - don't forget to check the Princess Roll Call forum on Cruise Critic. There may be a thread for your particular cruise. Also there is a "Ports of Call" board which has all the different countries and lots of info on these boards.

In PV I usually just walk around town and as Jeff says you'll find all kinds of tour operators even there willing to book tours for you. An alternative would be to check www.viator.com They contract with local tour operators - you pay in advance through viator and present a voucher. I've used them and find the company reliable. It will also give you an idea of some options open to you for tours.

thanks - I will check those out
Liz

I'd second the rec. for Viator.com. There are a couple of other similar companies--PortPromotions.com and ShoreTrips.com--but Viator seems to have the most options.

I won't bother to book anything in Cabos unless you want to go whale / wild life watching or to the lover's beach. Town is msall and everything is wlking distance. The beach is about 10 blocks the other way. Also, don't be alrmed by the armed gaurds. However, they don't like to havetheir pictures taken.

Book city tour on the other two places. Combine it with a Tequila factory tour. Free sampling ... :)

The churches are fabulous. City tour usually include stops for shopping, beach, resort and cliff diving.

Book when you get there is fine. Make sure you see the vehicle before you pay and make sure they speak English. Negotiate a firm price first. Cheaap is not the way to go and you get what you pay for.

Big Walmart and Sam's Club by the pier. Cheapest souvenir there. Save your money till you get there. Booze is even cheaper than duty free on ship. If you buy booze, give it to the ship for storage and they wll give it back to you on last day. Not point in trying to sneak it through.

There are pros and cons in booking thru the ship; pros are if something happens (inclement weather cancels the excursion, etc), you have recourse and it's easier to get your money back. You also won't waste time onshore trying to figure out what to do. Cons~you'll probably pay more money and possibly have fewer choices.

The last time we took this particular cruise, we booked ziplining in PV thru the ship; hired a driver in Mazatlan, who took on a tour us all over the city, recommended a restaurant, and let us go shopping until we had to be back at the pier; in Cabo, where we've been several times, we had lunch at a favorite restaurant, then sat on the beach at the Mango Deck. As Eschew said, if you want to go to Lover's Beach, you're better off getting a water taxi when you get there; just make sure you take sunscreen, snacks and bottled water, as there are no concessions out there.