Mazatlán, Mexico
The port city of Mazatlán represents all that’s great about a Mexican beach town at a fraction of the price of more developed resort areas like Cancún. The self-proclaimed “shrimp capital of the world,” Mazatlán is a working-class city of 500,000 with stretches of golden beachfront, tasty seafood restaurants and enough upscale resorts to satisfy the most sophisticated traveler.
Mazatlán has long been a popular weekend and holiday escape for Mexican vacationers, but has remained under the tourist radar for Americans. That’s starting to change. More U.S. airlines are flying to the tiny Mazatlán International Airport, and large all-inclusive resorts are popping up like weeds in the Zona Dorada (“Golden Zone”) district north of town. The historic town center, with a lovely cathedral and pedestrian walkways, has been beautifully preserved, offering shady plazas and quaint sidewalk cafes.
For more than 100 years, Mazatlán has been one of the world’s top destinations for Carnival, the wild weeklong party leading up to Lent. Don’t miss the town’s unique celebration the Monday before Fat Tuesday, called día del marido oprimido (“Day of the Oppressed Husband”), where men are finally let free to do everything and anything they want. Strangely, this mostly includes blowing up fireworks and throwing confetti-filled eggs at people.
Even with its recent tourist expansion, Mazatlán is still one of the best beach values in Mexico, especially if you schedule your trip around major holidays (we’re talking Mexican holidays, especially around Easter) and school vacations.
-- By Dave Roos
The hotel scene in Mazatlán is divided into three basic areas: downtown, Playa Norte (North Beach) and the Zona Dorada. The general rule is that prices are cheapest in town and go up as you move north.
Many of the hotels in town have been there since the 1950s, and many have the dingy rooms to prove it. An exception is Hotel La Siesta, a Mazatlán institution that has lovingly upgraded its amenities and services through the decades to maintain a fiercely loyal clientele. Its prized location right on Olas Altas beach means you’re steps away from the best downtown restaurants, nightclubs and shops.
Up on Playa Norte, the wide swath of sand that connects downtown to the Zona Dorada, you’ll find the always dependable Howard Johnson Don Pelayo, offering sparkling clean rooms with beachfront balconies and satellite TV. Further up the beach is the Hotel Playa Mazatlan, a hugely popular spot for Mexican families on holiday and package tour groups. It can get noisy and crowded in the high season, but the hotel’s Fiesta Nights are the best in town.
The Zona Dorada is a no-holds-barred tourist district where the bulk of Mazatlán’s higher-end hotels have claimed primo spots along the beautiful Las Gaviotas beach. The Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan offers all-suite accommodations in peaceful, manicured gardens. The towering blue-and-white Royal Villas Resort, also all suites, boasts kitchens in every room and a large pool that sits right on Las Gaviotas beach. The El Rancho Hotel & Beach Resort, slightly north of the Zona Dorada, is a great family option since each room feels more like a fully stocked beach apartment.
Occupying a category all its own is the El Cid Mega Resort, which is really three hotels -- El Cid Marina Beach, El Cid Castilla Beach and El Cid Moro Beach -- spread across a 900-acre resort complex. El Cid has its own championship caliber 27-hole golf course, eleven restaurants, eight swimming pools, eight bars, private time-share villas, its own marina, a huge water sports center and a country club. El Cid gets a lot of flack for being so gosh darn BIG, but its service is surprisingly personal and its amenities are unmatched.
For a more secluded location, try Hotel Faro Mazatlán, located north of the Zona Dorada on a quiet rocky cove with a soft-sand
beach that’s ideal for swimming.
-- By Dave Roos
Well, we certainly hope you like shrimp. Mazatlán is famous for its shrimp, which it nets, processes and ships by the thousands of tons to restaurants and grocery stores around the world. The local shrimp bounty is reflected on Mazatlán’s menus, where the delicious critters are sauced and seasoned in just about every way imaginable, although an icy shrimp cocktail or grilled shrimp kabobs with warm tortillas are still hard to beat.
El Shrimp Bucket in downtown Mazatlán is a hopping place to sample several pounds of jumbo crustaceans. The popular restaurant – part of the Señor Frog’s and Carlos ‘n’ Charlie’s chain – turns into a loud dance club at night. For a more romantic setting in which to gobble your shrimp, catch the sunset at the beachside Papagayo Restaurant at The Inn at Mazatlán.
For excellent casual Mexican food, grab a sidewalk table at Copa de Leche, a downtown favorite on Olas Altas beach. Their seafood specials come highly recommended, including an overloaded seafood soup with shrimp, squid and fish, and shrimp in a sweet tamarind or smoky chipotle sauce.
Angelo’s in the Pueblo Bonito hotel is the place for fine Northern Italian cuisine with a view. And start the day off right with a healthy juice or fresh fruit smoothie from Pura Vida I, where you can also snack on whole wheat pancakes, veggie burgers and salads. The Deli 28 Centro is a terrific downtown spot for delicious sandwiches and pizzas.
-- By Dave Roos
The beaches in Mazatlán, like others along this stretch of the Pacific, are exceedingly beautiful, but not ideal for swimming.
The best swimming beaches are Las Gaviotas in the Zona Dorada and Sábalo beach, even further up north. Surfing is another
story. You can surf right off of the downtown beach Olas Altas (“tall waves”) or ride “The Cannon,” a legendary break at a
beach called Los Pinos. The huge Aqua Sport Centre at the gigantic El Cid Mega Resort is the best place in town to rent snorkeling,
kayaking and other water recreation gear.
If you like to look at fish, but don’t like it when they accidentally brush up against you with their little fish lips, then you’ll love the Acuario Mazatlán.
There are three rocky islands right off the coast of Mazatlán that can be reached by tour boats leaving from the marina and various hotels. Isla de Chivos is home to the area’s most popular gay beach, and Isla de Venados is a great snorkeling spot surrounded by crystal blue waters and abundant sea life. But the biggest island, Isla de la Piedra (“Stone Island”) isn’t even really an island. This glorified peninsula offers a relaxing afternoon of lounging on palm-fringed beaches, eating excellent fresh fish in cozy palapas and feeling like a lucky local.
Shrimp aren’t much fun to catch, but lucky for you Mazatlán’s fertile waters are famous for more than abundant crustaceans. Hire a full cruiser or a smaller skiff to take you out on the high seas to hunt down blue and striped marlin, sailfish, dorado (mahi mahi), yellowfin tuna and shark. Or you can stay closer to shore to land tasty morsels like sea bass, red snapper, grouper and roosterfish.
Golf in Mazatlán is excellent and cheap, especially compared to the $200-plus greens fees in places like Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos. You can play 18 of the 27 holes at the El Cid Mega Resort for less than $100, and this is no pitch-and-putt course. The legendary Robert Trent Jones, Jr. designed the main 18 and Lee Trevino drew up the alternative back nine. The 18-hole Estrella del Mar Golf Club is Mazatlán’s newest course, another beauty by Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
As for sightseeing, you can climb to the top of Mazatlán’s famous lighthouse, El Faro, the second tallest in the world next to that one in Gibraltar. And you can enjoy a late afternoon stroll around Plaza Machado in the historic town center, where sidewalk cafes, restaurants and bars line clean pedestrian-only streets.
-- By Dave Roos
Mazatlán has a reputation as a party town with Mexican weekenders and the Spring Break crowd. Ground zero for a wild night is the Fiestaland complex on the southern end of the Zona Dorada. This sprawling party palace features seven different clubs, restaurants and bars, the most popular of which is the large dance club Valentino’s. But don’t miss the pretty young things grooving on the bar in the Bora-Bora club, or a chance to completely embarrass yourself and everyone who knows you at Canta Bar, the karaoke spot.
In town, the most popular nightclubs are Mundo Bananas, playing highly danceable hip-hop, salsa and rock music, as well as El Coliseo, Señor Frog’s (of course) and El Toro Bravo with its famous mechanical bull.
The Hotel Playa Mazatlán has the best fiesta night, which includes the all-you-can-eat buffet, open bar, dancing and authentically
cheesy entertainment for $32. The hotel also puts on a free beachfront fireworks show every Sunday night at 8 p.m.
-- By Dave Roos
Downtown Mazatlán has a colorful and bustling central market, which is a must for anyone craving an authentic Mexican shopping experience, complete with haggling over prices and the occasional stall selling nothing but glistening white cow stomach.
If you’re looking for high-quality Mexican regional crafts and jewelry, everything’s conveniently located in the Zona Dorada near the nicest hotels. The Mazaltán Arts and Crafts Center has the best selection of ceramics, textiles and furniture in town and the Gallery Michael is nothing to sneeze at. Pardo Jewellers and Rubio Jewellers both carry wonderful gold and silver jewelry. At Sea Shell City, the only thing not made of shells is you.
-- By Dave Roos
Mazatlán is located in northern Mexico, and temperatures here are less tropical than in other Pacific resort towns located further south. However, the weather is very pleasant year-round. The rainy season is June through October, and the summers are also very hot and humid. Bring a jacket for the evenings.
Best time to go: November through May (high 79º, low 58º)
Average annual temperature: 77º
Hottest months: June, July, August
Coolest months: January, February, March
--By Judy Jenner
