Thread: Mazatlan, Mexico Information

Welcome to the board Tom! You should love it here! We have decided to book the 4 hr City Tour.

Smitty thanks for the bar references! We have lots of time in PV. We are doing a 2 day pre-cruise at Crowne Plaza in Redondo Beach.

Frank, when do you think you will have more info on the new Stone Island/City Tour? Will that be going by March?

This was posted on the CC site so I hope it is ok to post here. Their rules for posting about private vendors is that you cannot start a thread to post a review. You can howsever respond to a specific question about a tour company.

We just did the City and Resort tour on December 10th. An overview is below. I know he also does a Sierra Madre tour. I've done this tour but not with Frank. If you haven't been to Mazatlan or if you have been but not seen much of the city I would suggest the City tour. I had been previously several times and didn't know what I was missing until I did his tour.

If you get the opportunity you must tour with Frank. He is the best tour guide I've ever had on 12 cruises. Very nice man, points out many interesting points about Mazatlan, and has extremely good customer service skills, (large and small companies could learn alot from him). The tour starts at 830 and goes until appx 3pm. There were 9 in our group in a minivan. Frank starts our by giving a quick overview of the areas he will be taking you and also lets you know that his tour is flexible as he wants all to be happy.

First we went to a lookout point (forgot the name) you can see the cruise ships from there and a great view of the ocean and city, just lovely. There are a few stands there you can buy things from. Then we went to old Mazatlan and saw the cathedral and the farmers market. The market was so much fun. The stands surrounding the market are your typical crafty, t-shirt things. Walk in a bit and you will see where all the locals buy their food, etc. Very interesting. As you drive out of this area you guy buy the shrimp market which was interesting as well. From there we went to see the cliff divers. Very fun and there was some shopping there as well. From there we went back into an area of old Mazatlan (again forgot the name of the district) It is both a residential and commercial district that has been restored. We did some walking and Frank took us to a small town square which was beautiful. You walk by the Opera House. Then we walked to some friends of his home and art studio. You have the opportunity to buy handcrafted items and pottery. From there we spent just about 15 minutes in the Golden Zone (not my favorite part as I've been to the Golden Zone many times) From there we drove through a gated residential community called El Cid. It was absolutely beautiful. The homes were in the 250,000 to 2mil range and had some beautifu architecture. From there we were taken to Tony's on the Beach for lunch. We had something that looked like a volcano (it is actually pictured on the menu) It is chicken and/or beef with cheese, onions, peppers, etc all in a juice, came with beans and tortillas - excellent. Others had shrimp and lobster and said they were good. The service was great and friendly. We got to walk on the beach for a bit. It's a beautiful stretch of beach and you can look south and see the Hotel Zone - just lovely. Then we were taken on a drive through the marina and by the newest Hotel Zone. There are many new hotels being built there. When this area is all completed it will be something to see. Then Frank asked if there were any other things anyone wanted to see before heading to the boat. We had seen so many lovely things that we decided to head back. He drove us back through what is considered a middle class area and then down the Malecon to see some of the sculptures as we headed to the ship.

I had been to Mazatlan 5 times prior and liked Mazatlan but because of Frank's wonderful tour I have such an appreciation of Mazatlan. If you've just been on ships tours and seen primarily the Golden Zone you may not know how truly beautiful the city is. We saw some spectacular views and heard so many interesting facts. Frank also says to feel free to email him if you have any questions about hotels, restaurants or things to do if you come back to stay in Mazatlan or even if any of your friends or family need information, Where else do you get that kind of service.
All and all an A+ tour.

Thanks, Jeff.

You know, that other site is really missing out having the attitude they do. Both Frank in Mazatlan and Conrad in St. Thomas post here because they are unwelcome over there. If they were really interested in promoting the cruising experience they would welcome input from guys like this. Maybe their interest is in promoting specific cruise lines. We are going to book Frank's City tour in Mazatlan. We have been to St. Thomas several times and it sure would have been great to have known about Conrad then. There are probably others at other ports but if cruisers aren't allowed to post a review of them, how are we ever going to know? Not only that you can't even PM a poster!

Thank you CLF for promoting the cruising experience!

Jeff, that's what sets us apart from the ordinary cruise forum.

We actually want folks to learn something that will help them to enjoy their cruise and port stops.

Hola amigos
I thank you packercruising for pasting the review and char for allowing this. I really am not trying to do any advertising. I see this as a great way to tell people about what a great time they had. Not just about me, but anyone. I really do not want to create any controversy, so I will continue answering questions here. You allow me to talk about myself, but as always, I prefer answering questions about Mazatlan. So if anyone wants to know something else about this beautiful port, please go ahead!
I hope that all of you had a FELIZ NAVIDAD (Merry Christmas) and that you have a PROSPERO AÑO NUEVO (prosperus New Year).
I hope that everyones dreams come true in this 2009. Take care!


Mazatlan Frank

Hi Frank,

You could clear up something. Your tours are for a minimum of 6 persons. If there are only 2 of s we can still sign up can't we?

That is a good point amigo! Yes, you sign up and then we add more to the tour as they enquire. The first party signed up is the one that chooses the tour that I do. If you do have aditional questions please email me so we dont use this thread for advertising. Even though I am allowed to answer (gracias amigos!) but I do not feel confortable. Gracias and I await your email. Have a great day!


Mazatlan Frank

Just for your information.

We had something incredible happen yesterday Dec 31, 2008. We had four ships docked in Mazatlan! Yes, 4 ships. I did not believe it because we normally handle only 3 at the same time but it seems that this time they tried the port out. They are also building another dock in the middle of the channel between Stone Island and the Port. We had the Sapphire Princess, Vision of the Seas, Oosterdam and the Ryndam.

I thought I would make you all know. To all of you FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!!




Mazatlan Frank