PV, Cozumel,Mazatlan, Cabo?
 

My husband and I are going to Mexico for the first time in July. We are having a hard time deciding on where to go. They all sound great. My husband wants to fish and I want to lay on the beach, shop etc. We don't want the crazy party scene. We would like to relax and so some sight seeing. Any opinions or ideas would be appreciated. Thank You, Sharon

hi,
for fishing, Cabo is probably the place. For a great beach, Cancun or the Mayan Riviera is wonderful.

I agree, the fishing in Los Cabos is spectacular, but it is far and away the most expensive vacation area in MX.
July is very warm on the coast(s).
M
Dallas and San Miguel de Allende, MX

Puerto Vallarta is lovely, with a good mix of tourist and authentic local. Beaches, hotels, restaurants, shopping, a nice town to look around and fishing day tours easily arranged. Fishing maybe not in the class of Cabo but overall lots more to see on land.

Cozumel is a beautiful place with warm, friendly people. There are lots of local fishing guides available. The beaches are great and the snorkeling/snuba diving are incredible. The mainland is a quick ferry ride away if you want to visit some spectacular ruins in Tulum, Coba or Chicen Itza. July is hot and humid. You might want to look at the "things to do" section of travelnotes.cc to get more ideas on what is available in Cozumel. Have a great trip!

I am not sure where you are traveling from, but why limit yourself to Mexico.

Don?t get me wrong as I am an American born in San Miguel de Allende 37 years ago. My grandfather kept many well known Yachats in Cabo throughout the 60?s and 70?s. I recall flying down for fishing trips when the runway was dirt and the only plane flying in was his. My good friend holds last years ?Bisbee,? record for Marlin. His prize was over a million bucks.

In fact I will be leaving in October for New Zealand to bring a 165 foot, British built, sailboat to run charters out of the Cabo marina next spring, and I actually dread going there. .

If you and yours have never been out of the country, México and Canada excluded do yourself a favor and head to some culture where you don?t have to deal with a corrupt government and the dollar value is the same.

If you shop wisely, you can purchase tickets to London for $200.00 and experience culture that dates back centauries. You will also be in an inexpensive stopping off place for inexpensive short excursions to places like Paris, Amsterdam, Niece, et all. Grab a fodors or fromers or whatever on $xx(x) Bucks a day guide.

If you had said you wanted to traverse deep jungle to explore Aztec ruins, id say go for it, but the coastal tourist traps? My vote is to spend the same amount and go see another continent. The plane trip will be longer, but the experience will be a much more gratifying one.

If you want to see the clash of huge (and I do mean huge) monetary division? a ring of 5th ave or Rodeo Drive shops surrounding a marina full of busy restaurants with Yachts that do things you have never imagined was possible, then come!

But don?t walk to the back side of the buildings because you will immediately be shocked with the division and lack of pavement. Actually if you just walk the back sides of the buildings you will be hard pressed to differentiate between post war Poland. Two blocks more? well this is where the real good food is (should you dare), but another two blocks you will be in shanty town. If you have never left the states, you have no concept of poverty. Here you may easily see it for the first time. Your friends have joked about living in a shoebox? Here you will actually witness people living in cardboard shanties without some of the services we consider basic including running water, sewage abatement, a stove, clothing? All just four blocks from Cartier and Harley Davidson!

So buy a time share!

Maybe we should get back on topic here... fegles4's question certainly didn't ask for a treatise on socio-economic conditions resulting from tourism or lack thereof.

You won't be able to find the best of all worlds in one place; as one person has already said, Cabo has great fishing and Cancun/Mayan Riviera has great beaches.

That being said, swimming off the beaches at Cabo is not that great, and fishing is OK on Carribbean side.

For my money, PV gives you a little bit of everything. It isn't the best in any one category (beaches are OK, shopping is above average, and fishing is alright), but overall it will satisfy all of your goals.

Wherever you choose, you'll have a great time. Mexico never disappoints.

Oh brother, I find SealRock's post extremely judgemental and pretty completely off topic. When someone wants to visit a Mexican resort town for fishing, shopping, relaxation, where do you get off sending them to Europe? And how can you suggest a $200 airfare to London is available when you don't know where fegles4 is flying from? Not to mention the dollar value is no more "the same" in London than it is in Mexico. Huh???

Have you thought about doing a cruise to sample a little of several towns? That way you don't have to settle for one location and it's a good way to get a sampling for your first experience. Cruises can usually be as relaxing or busy as you like not to mention they have great prices. There are a whole menu of day activites to choose from in the different ports, I would think at least one port of call would offer fishing. You can also experience a variety of beaches and shopping.

My favorite area is Manzanillo, the fishing is great in November, I don't know about July. The place is still a quaint Mexican town with nice beaches. After that I enjoy the PV area, lots to do and good shopping. The beaches North (in Nuevo) are a little nicer than PV, In Nuevo water is safer, cleaner and very swimable, it's a short cab or bus ride into town (PV). The other flip side is it sure is nice to be in PV and have the convenience of walking to retaurants. The other posters are right about Cabo having great fishing (although you might want to check to see how it is in July). Cabo to me is just an extension of California, it is very nice, but doesn't have the true character of Mexico. Not that this is bad, it just depends what you want. The only place I was not that big on was Mazatlan. The city itself was somewhat trashy and I wasn't impressed by any of the hotels. The beach was very nice and the water very swimable- not too dangerous but I didn't care for anything else around the place.

I did spend an hour in Cozumel once 14 years ago on a cruiseship stop, not enough time to comment about it. We opted for a daytrip and flew into Chichinitzi (sp?) so we missed the Cozumel experience. I think if you want to shop you are going to want to take the ferry over to PDC but that shouldn't be a big deal unless you want to do it everyday (would get old). We are going over to this area next March and are looking foward to the experience. We choose Cozumel for snorkeling and potential scuba, otherwise I would have stayed at Playa Del Carmen for the beaches and variety it has to offer.

Good luck and enjoy your trip. Let us know which place you choose.

Mariann

Hookers, strippers, pimps, pushers, thuggers, muggers, lowlifes on the run from the IRS, child support payments, the law. All this can be found in Cabo.

Police shake downs on the tourist for mucho dinero, sewage that cannot be handled right escaping thru the city grates to dry up and beome dust vermin, hotels dumping raw Sewage into Cabo Bay, outrageous taxi fares. What more can you ask for??? By the way before entering Cabo do a google on Timeshare fraud Mexico and read carefully, better yet read the state Dept. Travel Warnings regarding Mexican timeshare. Never sign on the dotted line without a legal consultation.

Best Bet go to Cuba to escape the hype{ that is if you are Can. or European and have to freedom to travel. For those whose governments put sanctions on their constitional rights well there is Playa de Carmen. Real Nice.

Please don't listen to the negative comments people sent, We have been going to Mexico for the last 17 years been to Cancun, P. Vallarta,(our favorite) and Ixtapa, all are wonderful for different reasons. I don't know where you are flying from but anyone of these places I would recommend. If you decide on any of these places I can recommend places for you to eat. Don't hesitate to email me [email protected]