Mexican Riveria
Jeff Hudepohl
We (6 couples) are taking a Princess Cruse on the Mexican Riveria in
May. I am looking for inside information on what great things (not
necessarily shore excursions, they have not gotten great reviews) to do
along the way at the following stops: Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco,
Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Aihuatanejo/Ixtapa. Some detailed
recommendations would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Beth
Linda Valter
Hi Beth!
The only Princess cruises you will find in the month of May are on the
Dawn (May 13) or the Sun (May 6.) These are gorgeous ships, so you luck
out in that department!
My friends and I were on the Dawn Princess this past May. If you want to
read the review, go to the following Cruise Review site at:
As for things to do, here is a rundown on what each port offers (or at
least what I have done and/or heard of.)
Acapulco -- A fun city -- but you can mistake it for the US with so many
fast food joints and Walmarts. One of the main attractions are the cliff
divers. We went to see them in the evening. You can either buy a ticket
and view it from the nearby hotel, or go stand outside at viewing points
and give the divers a tip as you leave.
In the evening, if you are into the disco scene, hit the town. The hot
spots are Baby O's, the Palladium and Extravaganza (to name a few!)
The beaches are OK. There are lots of water sports offered all along the
main beach. We went to the Hyatt's beach and had a great time. We found
parasailing to be cheaper in Acapulco than the other ports.
Shopping is OK.
Puerto Vallarta: I have to say this is my favorite port on this
itinerary. Although you can take city tours, we just like to go walk
around downtown. A fun place to stop to get a drink at is Kahlua's. It
is NOT a Carlos'N Charlies type of place because it doesn't get THAT
wild. However, we did have a great time.
If you don't want to ride into town for the beaches, there is one right
near where the ship docks. There is a hotel right on the beach, so you
have access to restrooms and a bar.
Regarding shopping, IMHO, the best buys are right on the dock by the
ship. Bargaining is encouraged.
Ixtapa/Zhihuantanejo (sp?): The ship will tender you into Zh. This is a
sleepy fishing village. Just go downtown and hang out. I did find some
interesting swords for sale there (no, I didn't buy one.)
We hired a taxi to take us around the area and to Ixtapa. It was a
scenic tour -- very nice. I would do tour this way instead of doing the
ship's tour.
Mazatlan: You can do the city tour and see the churches, the shopping
area (The Golden Zone or something like that), go to the beach (find one
without big waves -- some of the beaches are not fit for swimming since
the current is quite strong), etc.
If you want to do the party thing, go to Senor Frog's. For those telling
everyone about the Carlos'N Charlies stories, I can say I have done the
party thing at both places and Senor Frog's in Mazatlan wins hands down.
The real party doesn't start until around 2ish. I won't go into my
stories, but I can say that a good time was had.
Cabo San Lucas: Your stay in Cabo is a brief one, so you will not get to
do very much. You can go snorkling or just walk downtown. There is
shopping where the tenders drop you off -- I really liked shopping in
Cabo. You won't find large ticket items, but silver items, T-shirts, etc
are plentiful.
Please let me know if you have other questions about the itinerary or
the ships.
--Linda
linda....@mail.house.gov
Loribeth Kowalski
If you like the party/bar scene Ixtapa has a fantastic Carlos and Charlies.
It is on the beach and has a pool. Had a great time there about three
weeks ago. There was a fellow on the beach selling Ultra-Light flights for
40.00 for 20 minutes, which a few of us also enjoyed.
Jeff Hudepohl <hude...@pop.iglou.com> wrote in article
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