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NONSTOP TO MAZATLAN: |
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With today's weak economy Americans are rediscovering Mexico as
the near-perfect bargain vacation. Says Jack O'Hara, a hospitality
industry spokesperson, "Mexico is the foreign country that's
close, just over the border yet totally different. Not only that,
every destination there has its own personality and it's all affordable." |
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 One of the present bargains is Mazatlan, the "Shrimp Capital of Mexico." The largest seaport between Los Angeles and the Panama Canal, it's now emerging as a coastal resort -- with advantages beyond being the closest major Mexican resort to the USA. It's got everything, says O'Hara: beaches, deserts, mountains, history, architecture, archaeology and arts and crafts. |
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The first advantage for this historic city with the longest beach in Mexico is value. Mazatlan suffered 20 years or so ago when U.S. college students impacted it for their spring break. It seemed after that as if the city never wanted to see Americans again. It's taken Mazatlan some time to learn the benefit of tourism but recently private developers have spent a lot to rebuild the Mazatlan's infrastructure and image. |
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Mazatlan is now divided into two areas: first Old Town with its museum exhibits, art galleries, markets and 19th Century buildings including, of course, the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception; and second the Zona Dorado (Golden Zone) whose beachfronts attract the tourists and where some magnificent statues dominate the sea. |
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The old classic hotel in town was the Hotel La Siesta built across from the Pacific Ocean in 1952. Its Shrimp Bucket restaurant was always a favorite with the crews of cruise ships along the Mexican Riviera. A more upscale older hotel, the original Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan, also is on the ocean but it has a superb Italian restaurant, Angelo's, on the premises. In the hotel itself you can have breakfast on the patio or in a delightful room where fruit cornucopias spill from its tiled walls as if you're in the Garden of Eden. The executive chef of the Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan, Gilberto Del Toro Cuella, trained in Germany, France and the United States. He encourages kindergarten children to visit and watch him work and he provides the little ones with their own chef's hats though they seem more interested in their sodas. |
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New resorts have sprung up further north because of the near perfect climate. Just below the Tropic of Cancer at the same latitude as Honolulu, temperatures hang between 68 and 75 degrees F year round (October to May is the dry season with no rain or humidity). The Mazatlan resorts charge appreciably less than other ones in Mexico maybe because they lack the night life typical of Cabo or Acapulco. For instance, says O'Hara, a Puerto Bonito Emerald Bay Mazatlan room priced at US $130 a night would cost $225 in Cabo. Not only that, the Emerald Bay will give you one night free if you buy four and, if you buy seven, two free with a US$20 daily credit for those extra days. Deals vary. Call 800-990-8250 or check www.pueblobonito.com. |
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| Other resorts have specials, too. Ask your
travel agent or search the web www.go2mazatlan.com.
The other advantage to Mazatlan is it's a real, historic port, not contrived like Cancun. The people are genuine, too, not worn out by decades of demanding tourists, and more than ready to take you sports fishing for swordfish, tuna or marlin or on tours through the 20-block historic district in the city. Tour packages can be less expensive than cab fares. Jose Sales,
president of a tour wholesaler based in Chula Vista in San Diego
County (619-585-3409) |
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