Mazatlán Travel Guide

When I was in Mazatlan just about everyday somebody would approach me and try to get me to go parasailing. At first I was a little hesitant, but I'm a pretty adventurous girl so I went for it. They strapped me in to the harness and then I took off. It was exhilarating and relaxing at the same time. I could see the entire city and the islands. It was amazing and it seemed like I was up there for quite a while. It costs about $20-$30 or so, but it's definately worth it.

A lot of people might not find these restaurants all that great, but I loved them. They are two restaurants joined together side by side. The one on the left is Chili's Pepper and on the right Tony's. They are both very casual restaurants located right on the beach. The reason why I enjoyed them so much is because most days I just came right in wearing my swimsuit top and shorts and sat at a table with an ocean view. They greet you with fresh salsa and chips and their margaritas are fabulous. I only ate a couple meals there, and the food was decent, but its just the overall atmosphere that I loved. Also, to waiters were very friendly. I met 2 waiters that I actually hung out with after their shifts and they brought me around the city. Anyways, I would definately reccomend going there if your in Mazatlan.

Favorite Dish: I'd have to say the margaritas were the best thing I had. Even when I was hung over from the night before and didn't even want to look at another drink I couldn't resist the margaritas!

The best way to get around Mazatlan is the little golf cart looking things. They're everywhere and they are very cheap. The taxis are probally nicer because ther have a/c and the wind doesn't get you, but expect to pay at least twice as much .

In Mazatlan I bought all of my gifts and souveniers from the vendors and I didn't have to leave my beach towel. There are vendors constantly walking by. While I was there I bought.... a henna tatoo-$3, a rice grain keychain with my name on it-$3, 4 swizzle sticks with palm trees on them-$2 each, a silver ring-$6, a funny lookin' hat made out of palm frawns-$4, and a few other things, but you get the idea stuff is cheap and you get to haggle with the vendors all without getting off your sunburnt booty.

I guess this tip would pretty much apply for anywhere, but I did notice that there were a lot of preverted guys in Mazatlan. Whenever I would walk down the street guys would make cat calls and a few even tried to get me into their cars. Also at the bars there were some preverts trying to dance really dirty with me. I just pushed them away and most of them got the picture, but there were a few that just couldn't take a hint. I guess what I'm trying to say is beware of you'r surroundings and if you plan to get drunk have someone trustworthy with you to get you home safe.

I went on the "booze cruise" to stone island and it definately wasn't that great. The cruise itself was pretty boring. The only kinda cool thing is that we got to see sting rays jump out of the water and there were some seals sitting on a rock, other than that the guide just talked about rock formations and what not. That kind of stuff doesn't excite me too much personally. Then when we got to the island we got to eat. The choices were fish, chicken, and quesadillas. I got the chicken. They had a little pen of chickens in the back and it seriously looked like they just plucked out the feathers, cut off a chunk of meat and threw it on the grill for a few minutes. A friend that was with me ordered the fish. Same deal, caught it and threw it on the grill along with the eyes, bones and scales. The only good thing was the quesadillas because it was just tortillas and cheese. I guess I didn't like the food because I'm just not used to it, but I guess if I'm traveling into someone else's country I can't really complain about the way they do things. After lunch we went horseback riding. That actually would have been fun if my horse wasn't so crazy. My horse was galloping ahead of everyone els and then it would suddenly stop to eat every so often. After that we rode the banana boat that was really fun. The driver was determined to make us fly off of the banana and he succeeded. Then we got back on the boat and went back to Mazatlan.

Unique Suggestions: I guess all in all I wouldn't neccesarily say this is a trap, but now that you kind of know what to expect, if you like doing these things it would probally be fun. If not, then yeah, it probally would be a trap. Oh yeah, this is a little of the subject and I don't even know if this would be considered a trap, but a lot of people tried to sell me marijuana in Mazatlan and I guess there are a lot of police that are undercover trying to catch people and what not so, even if you do like to buy pot, I wouldn't do it here because you just might end up in a Mexican jail.

Favorite thing: My favorite thing about Mazatlan is the people. From the moment I arrived until our departure I had nothing but great service and a friendly atmosphere. When I would walk down the beach people that I had only met once or twice would be calling my name. "Nikki, where have you been" or " Hey Nikki come have a drink." Everyone made me feel right at home. I even went out on the town with some of the locals for a night and that was the best time of my whole trip.