Baja Mexico excursion recommendations

[Cake4]

Looking for recommendations for excursions on our 5 day Mexico cruise or should we just enjoy the shopping at each port.

 

[xavier2001]

We did an amazing private sailing tour in Cabo, was one of the highlights of our trip.

 

[HakunaMatataNoWorries]

We did DCL private tours ,
Puerto Vallarta by Private Vehicle - 8 Hour Van and the same in Cabo, both great, can't see Cabo listed.

 

[DrHickenlocher]

We just finished our 5-night Baja cruise last week. My kids (and we parents) loved Salsa and Salsa in Cabo. The staff was friendly and fun, everyone had a blast, and my wife and I got blitzed on endless margaritas (quite happily). And after visiting Ensenada... well... I'm happy I walked around there once but if I ever go back I'll probably stay on the ship.

 

[Aby]

We loved the Mexican Camel and Outback Adventure in Cabo, as well as the Banderas Bay Snorkelinn Treasure Hunt in Puerto Vallarta!

 

[Fyrefly]

Salsa and Salsa was fantastic in Cabo! We also loved the Extreme Canopy Adventure in Puerto Vallarta if you're into ziplining. Huge variety of lines and other activities as they take you through - just be sure to wear a swimsuit under your clothes for the end! Some in our tour group were caught off guard.

 

[Vgraves2003]

We just finished our 5-night Baja cruise last week. My kids (and we parents) loved Salsa and Salsa in Cabo. The staff was friendly and fun, everyone had a blast, and my wife and I got blitzed on endless margaritas (quite happily). And after visiting Ensenada... well... I'm happy I walked around there once but if I ever go back I'll probably stay on the ship.

My family has never been to Mexico and will be stopping in Ensenada and Cabo. I am not really excited about any of the excursions offered in Ensenada....so you would advise to just look at the shops in port and that's enough?

 

[DrHickenlocher]

I attached a photo of the Ensenada Cruiseport terminal. They built this square island out into the bay for the cruise ships to park. In the cruise ship terminal building like 50 feet away from the ship, there will be a small indoor marketplace with little trinket stalls selling all kinds of souvenirs. You could theoretically just check those out, walk around, take pictures of the ship from land, take pictures of the GINORMOUS Mexican flag on the shoreline, and then turn around and get back onto the ship. I think we'll do that the next time we go, if we ever go back.

If you are not doing an organized excursion that picks you up, there are two options for getting into Ensenada proper. We walked half a mile from the ship to the Museo de Historia to start our self-exploration. Alternately, there are multiple shuttle bus companies that just wait around outside the dock that will charge you something like $5/person round-trip to drive you downtown (with a return voucher). I didn't do that myself, so can't say for certain. My family walked around the museum, along the shoreline to the Malecon, and a bit of downtown before walking back to the ship. The whole thing took us about two hours of exploring. The shops downtown are better quality than the trinket shops at the cruise ship terminal building, but just okay. Nothing really impressive. I'm really not trying to be a snob, but Cabo San Lucas was modern and clean. Ensenada was just kind of... dirty...

 

[Vgraves2003]

I attached a photo of the Ensenada Cruiseport terminal. They built this square island out into the bay for the cruise ships to park. In the cruise ship terminal building like 50 feet away from the ship, there will be a small indoor marketplace with little trinket stalls selling all kinds of souvenirs. You could theoretically just check those out, walk around, take pictures of the ship from land, take pictures of the GINORMOUS Mexican flag on the shoreline, and then turn around and get back onto the ship. I think we'll do that the next time we go, if we ever go back.

If you are not doing an organized excursion that picks you up, there are two options for getting into Ensenada proper. We walked half a mile from the ship to the Museo de Historia to start our self-exploration. Alternately, there are multiple shuttle bus companies that just wait around outside the dock that will charge you something like $5/person round-trip to drive you downtown (with a return voucher). I didn't do that myself, so can't say for certain. My family walked around the museum, along the shoreline to the Malecon, and a bit of downtown before walking back to the ship. The whole thing took us about two hours of exploring. The shops downtown are better quality than the trinket shops at the cruise ship terminal building, but just okay. Nothing really impressive. I'm really not trying to be a snob, but Cabo San Lucas was modern and clean. Ensenada was just kind of... dirty...

This is great information to know. Thank you!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I attached a photo of the Ensenada Cruiseport terminal. They built this square island out into the bay for the cruise ships to park. In the cruise ship terminal building like 50 feet away from the ship, there will be a small indoor marketplace with little trinket stalls selling all kinds of souvenirs. You could theoretically just check those out, walk around, take pictures of the ship from land, take pictures of the GINORMOUS Mexican flag on the shoreline, and then turn around and get back onto the ship. I think we'll do that the next time we go, if we ever go back.

This is exactly what we did on our Pacific Coast Cruise several years ago. There are usually a lot of Sea Lions around where the ship docks as well that can provide some entertainment while onboard.[/QUOTE]

 

[cutedisneygirly]

We just finished our 5-night Baja cruise last week. My kids (and we parents) loved Salsa and Salsa in Cabo. The staff was friendly and fun, everyone had a blast, and my wife and I got blitzed on endless margaritas (quite happily). And after visiting Ensenada... well... I'm happy I walked around there once but if I ever go back I'll probably stay on the ship.

Endless margaritas??? Were these included in the price?

 

[DrHickenlocher]

Endless margaritas??? Were these included in the price?

Yes, included. To be fair, it's almost $100 per adult for Salsa and Salsa and the kids are still like $60. So we definitely paid for the margaritas. But the price wouldn't have changed if we just sipped tea instead. So might as well load up, right? We very rarely drink, but it's a vacation! And it's not like I'm driving home!

 

[bethy]

My family has never been to Mexico and will be stopping in Ensenada and Cabo. I am not really excited about any of the excursions offered in Ensenada....so you would advise to just look at the shops in port and that's enough?

I would advise not even getting off the ship.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

I would advise not even getting off the ship.

Did you have a bad experience there?

 

[crossfitmama]

We loved the Sailing and Whale Watching tour we did in Cabo , soooo incredible . We booked it with https://cabosanlucascruiseexcursions.com/ The whales are there during a season so you need to see if its during your cruise. I think Dec- April or May?

 

[JRV]

I would advise not even getting off the ship.

This is bad advice. Cabo is beautiful with an awesome beach very close by, you can take a taxi or a water taxi to the beach and hang out all day. There is plenty of shopping within walking distance from the port.

Ensenada has a Main Street that has shops and places to eat. Also if you are into wine the Valle de Guadalupe is not to far and has some of the best wineries in the west coast. Also there are excursions to La Bufadora that is a natural blow hole. There are numerous shops that sell everything you can imagine.

 

[k3chantal]

Looking for recommendations for excursions on our 5 day Mexico cruise or should we just enjoy the shopping at each port.

In Puerto Vallarta we had our very best excursion ever. It started with horseback riding to a waterfall, taking turns jumping into the water beneath the waterfall, going back to a private beach and snorkeling. The adventure ended with a private lunch on that beach and enjoying some time relaxing.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Just came back from a 3 night Baja cruise on the Wonder. Our port was Ensenada. We chose the Adult Only Shopping Tour for $24/pp. It was a pleasant surprise! We toured a historical place that served Margharitas and beer and we had a complimentary drink there. Then we went to a Winery and tasted 4 glasses of different wines. THEN we went shopping Best bang for the buck IMO.

 

[anjuan]

Bumping this up to see if anyone else has other excursion ideas for Ensenada or Cabo.

 

[mmmears]

I'm also following along. If anyone has been to a fun "resort for a day" kind of place in Cabo, one with a safe swimming beach, I would love to hear about it.