Mazatlan Vacations

ACTIVITIES IN MAZATLAN

El Quelite Tequila Tour

Visit El Quelite, a quaint village on the outskirts of the Quelite River where you’ll visit a cock-fighting ranch, local church, rustic bakery and enjoy a succulent lunch. On your way home, you’ll stop at a nearby Tequila factory, and experience how tequila has been made for over 100 years!

Stone Island Catamaran Tour

Bay cruise on a catamaran along Mazatlan’s coast. Dock on Stone Island beach for hours of fun and local food. Lunch and beverages included.

City Tour

Experience the charm and beauty of old Mazatlan. Witness the cliff divers and visit the cathedral and central market. Enjoy Look Out Hill, home of the world’s highest natural lighthouse. Tour the spectacular 19the century streets and visit the opera house in the historical center.

Mexican Fiesta

Sumptuous Mexican buffet, open bar, live music and lots of color with folkloric dancers, singers, rope twirlers and more!

Dining in Mazatlan

Mazatlan is a city nestled on the Pacific coast of Mexico and boasts a historical heritage going back centuries. The diverse ethnic mix of Spanish settlers, indigenous peoples, and German immigrants has had a heady effect on the local cuisine. This variety of ethnicities and the fact that the city has evolved into a prime tourist destination means finding a delicious meal for any taste is a simple matter. Being a busy seaside city, Mazatlan features a stunning array of seafood dishes and other treats that will tantalize and excite any traveler to this town.

The city was founded in 1531 by Spanish army members alongside indigenous settlers. As with much of Mexico, the local cuisine is heavily influenced by Spanish traditions. While much of the country relies on pork, chicken for food dishes, Mazatlan’s Pacific seafood bounty makes it a prime destination for sampling the finest offerings from the sea.

Specifically, the main seafood sources are either game fish such as tuna or sailfish, or shellfish like shrimp and lobster. In fact, Mazatlan is known as one of the world’s shrimp capitals. An excellent local dish is aguachiles, a shrimp cocktail marinated in lime and chili. Or, for some original creations, Pedro Y Lola Restaurant is renowned for its shrimp creations. Its signature dish, the eponymously-named pedro y lola, is an appetizer consisting of two jumbo sized fresh shrimp in an orange and butter sauce. Other sea delicacies such as Mahi-Mahi, Campechanas (cold seafood soup) or octopus will grace many establishments menu.

What Mazatlan is especially known for is its fleet of street food carts. It’s a delicious way to sample the local cuisine, and these tasty offerings are enjoyed by many of the city’s population. Some of these carts offer very simple fare such as rice, beans and tortillas while others operate as complex family businesses right out of their kitchen windows. Some are even set up as semi-permanent establishments, offering outdoor seating during the day and closing up shop in the evening. In keeping with the local cuisine tradition, shrimp is very popular in food carts, and can be enjoyed in a variety of recipes. As well, chicken, burritos, churros, corn, and ceviche tostadas are readily available. Visiting a food cart is an excellent way to experience the local cuisine while indulging in the city’s vibrant culture.

As an international city, Mazatlan is host to a fine selection of restaurants. Cafe Pacifico, located in the city center, is heavily frequented by locals and is known throughout the city for its excellent authentic dishes. For an enjoyable family experience, El Shrimp Bucket, as the name suggests, has a formidable shrimp menu, and will please even the toughest shrimp fan. And for the true, Mazatlan experience, Guadalajara Grill offers a fun taste of Mexican folklore and music.

Mazatlan offers an incredible selection of local cuisine, and it’s a must-visit destination for any shrimp lover. The seafood is sublime, and an excursion to this sun-kissed historic locale will be a trip worth remembering.

Mazatlan Nightlife

Mazatlan’s nightlife is as vibrant and varied as the coastal city itself, thanks to its burgeoning cultural, club, bar and Mexican fiesta scenes. One of Mexico’s most popular beach destinations, Mazatlan boasts an eclectic mix of dining, live entertainment and cultural venues, offering something for every taste and every evening you could hope to have while enjoying a fabulous all-inclusive vacation in the visitor-friendly Pearl of the Pacific.

In addition to exquisite dining experiences in select settings with live music and warm ambiance, Mazatlan resorts such as El Cid Resorts and Playa Mazatlan Beach Hotel also offer a wide array of spectacular dinner shows, from Theme Night Spectaculars to Mexican Fiestas, giving you the unique opportunity to discover first-hand the rich traditions, culture and history of Mexico in a fun and exciting manner.

The one-of-a-kind dinner show that has been hosted for more than four decades at El Venado Theater Hall, which is one of the hidden gems of Hotel Playa Mazatlan, will generously take you through the charming and rich diversity of Mexico’s enchanting performances, spectacular performances and lively folk dancing. Doors open at 7 pm with an open-bar, live music and dancing, followed by a sophisticated buffet featuring some of Mexico’s most representative cuisine; the themed shows start after dinner.

Tourists who want to venture out to feel the pulse of Mazatlan’s nightclubs should know that much of Mazatlan’s nightlife starts pretty late, typically around 9 pm – 10 pm and it is centered in Fiesta Land, an eye-catching white castle located on Punta Sabalo, at the northern end of the Malecón (boardwalk) of Mazatlan. This impressive Moorish construction that can be viewed from most beaches in Mazatlan houses six hot clubs, including Mikinos, a chic piano bar, Canta Bar, a very popular karaoke bar and Bali Hai, a sports video bar and restaurant.

Dancing enthusiasts can choose to dance the night away right under the starry sky in Bora Bora Dance Bar & Beach Club, a hot dance spot with an open-air dance floor, elevated dance cages and lax policy on bar-top dancing, or even in the white sand, and then cooling off in the gigantic pool or lounging on oversized, sophisticated mattresses at Sumbawa Beach Club. Whether you prefer Latin music, hi-tech disco or hip-pop, three large dance floors await you at Valentino Disco Club within Fiesta Land complex. The easiest and most convenient way to get to Fiesta Land from your resort is to take a taxi, such as an open-air Pulmonia taxi, resembling a golf cart, that you can find all along the Zona Dorata (Golden Zone) Avenue.

If after dark you prefer refined cultural experiences, then be sure to delect your senses at the historic and beautifully restored venue Teatro Angela Peralta, built in 1860 and featuring an intimate, superb auditorium with three stacked, narrow balconies. All kinds of select events are presented here, from theater and opera to music concerts and movies; the schedule at Peralta is fullest in November and December, during the celebrated Festival Cultural Mazatlán. Whatever your preferences are, you will not be bored in Mazatlan after dark.

These Mazatlan resorts offer wedding-specific packages:

• El Cid
• Pueblo Bonito
• Riu