Come down the rabbit hole as I explain how we got here. We…read morewere approached on the street with guy selling trips. You know the guys with binder full of pictures and brochures. Seemed sketchy but ultimately was glad we bought tickets. They included transportation and a meal to the "island". We got picked up at our hotel by a "pulmonia" and dropped us off at boat landing. Other tourists were there too and the "party ferry" (my term) took us to "Stone Island" by boat. Not really an island but nice secluded beach. Before we got there we toured the ocean for a bit and looked some of the small "pirate islands" and some of the dolphins and other sea life. Fun cruise. They placed some music on the boat and also drinks for sale. Cruise was good time.After nice cruise we got to our destination. Once off the boat a small "tram" hauled by a tractor took us to our area. Nice secluded beach area with large palapas (shade) and many tables, where we ate our included meals. You were given a selection of like 5 different meals. Tacos, burgers, etc... DONT LOSE YOUR FOOD TICKET. I did and we were down one meal for our group. There is also a bar area you can buy drinks or use get your free included drinks. Besides the food and alcohol, you are on the beach so take advantage and go lay on the sand or swim in the ocean. You are only there for 2-3 hours so use it wisely. You can also rent banana boats or para sail. Was well worth the money and it was less than 20 per person. Good value.

Great experience with this tour provider! I had pre-booked an excursion arriving on a cruise ship…read more Once checked in and waiting for others to arrive for the city tour, I explained to the tour guide that I wasn't feeling well and might want to skip Stone Island. He said he could bring me back to the crust port if necessary. He gave a great city tour explaining the buildings and new versus old section of Mazatlan. All in all, a great tour and much more reasonable than booking through the cruise line. Highly recommend!!

We booked a tour of classic Mazatlan sites and our driver was excellent. However, just as a few…read morepeople have mentioned below, we were taken to the worst restaurant I've ever eaten at. I believe someone compared it to Taco Bell. I'd eat Taco Bell a thousand times before going back to Costa Marinera. Obviously, they are partnered with this restaurant because last year we were taken here as well and we walked out. Ask to go somewhere else for lunch. What people wrote about the vendors, is an underestimation. They hound you from the second you sit down.

I'm giving this review 3 stars, because the staff here work very hard and there is staff that have…read moregone out of there way to make our experience better. However, we were highly disappointed with the front desk management staff. Several things were brought up and after speaking to a manager, our issue was downplayed with no real solution. The Customer Service and Customer Satisfaction is just not there as a priority for management. I don't see any benefit in discussing the details here, but we are following-up with Riu directly. The rooms are as clean as they can be, meaning the staff does what they can with what they have to work with. The linens and beds need to be updated and the rooms need an upgrade. The food is also not the best in comparison to other all-inclusives, but I suppose it's o.k. for the price, as this is one of the more affordable all-inclusive hotels. The location was great, the beach front view was spectacular, the pool areas were fairly well maintained, but our main complaint was with the cleanliness of our room. We've stayed at other Riu locations and have been satisfied, but we were disappointed with our stay at this location.

This is a review on the Riu and NOT the staff. One more time, this is about this Riu, and not the…read morewonderful staff. This is my second time staying in a Riu (my first was in the Dominican Republic)and I've got to say that this one was pretty disappointing. Arrival: The airport is about 30 minutes from the resort & shuttles are only available to guest who book directly from them and not a third party, such as Expedia(like we did). We ended up paying about 500 pesos for the Taxi ride, and all of this was scheduled once we landed at the airport. We arrived to the airport and were met with a drink, we opted out and were given a beer instead. Check in is at 3, but we were on a red eye flight so we arrived around 10am. We were assigned a room but not given access to it because it wasnt ready(which we totally understood), instead we were given our wristbands and told that our suitcases would be safely set aside and looked after(we were not the only ones, there was a wall of suitcases set aside). At this point we were able to use the pools, grab food or drinks or just walk around. We decided to nap on the beach since we flew all night, and around 1:30 I went up to ask if by chance our room was ready, and I was told it wasnt. We were both really tired and asked if we could just be moved to a different room that was already cleaned & they did(again, staff is amazing). We stayed in the original hotel, not the addition that was later built on, so our room was pretty basic, but it was really clean and had an amazing view from the 9th floor. Our stay: We found out very quickly that this resort is more kid friendly than it is for adults. The evening shows began at 8pm. First 1 hour of Riuland which is for the kids, then 1 hour of the usual musical show for the adults/families. This meant that everything basically shut down at 10pm after the shows ended. Out of our entire week stay ONE night there was a live Norteño Grupo that began at 10 and ended at 11 but this was the only day, even though the app said it was a nightly thing, it never happened again. Like the other Riu Ive stayed in, there was a 24hour sports bar that you could go to, but that too is always full of kids taking up the pool tables or running around the bar. This left only ONE MORE OPTION in the entire resort, bar El Cerro that is located in the lobby. This bar is huge, and quiet. Usually just adults, no music or real vibe, and it closes at 12am. The bartenders in El Cerro bar are really entertaining so we continued to go in there whenever we were at the resort during the evening hours, but sadly we were told this bar is only open during half the year and closes during summer months, huh? Conclusion: I STRONGLY advise anyone who is coming to Mazatlan for a real MEXICAN experience to NOT stay at this Riu. The pool music is always dance/techno music, guest would bring their own speakers so they could play their own spanish music, and the live bands and vendors that are on the beach are kept at a distance by a roped fence. The bandas on the beach have to stop by 10 it seems, because thats usually when you couldnt hear them anymore. Our stay was really disappointing & it had ZERO to do with the staff.

I booked this zip-line excursion on a whim while getting off ship, and it ended up being one of the…read morebest decisions of my trip. For only $100, you get WAY more than expected, not just zip-lining, but a locally made lunch, a tequila tasting, and a full farm distillery tour, all set on a beautiful scenic ranch just outside the city. The ranch itself is stunning, open views, mountains in the distance, and a peaceful atmosphere that feels like a world away from the city. The zip-lines were safe, fast, and a ton of fun. The guides were friendly, professional, and made the whole group feel comfortable. Lunch was surprisingly delicious and authentically local, you can tell everything is made fresh. The tequila tasting was another highlight. We got to try several varieties, learn how they're made, and even walk through the distillery to see the whole process up close. Overall, this is an amazing deal for what you get. It felt like a full day of adventure, culture, and great food/drinks rolled into one. If you're looking for something memorable and unique, I HIGHLY recommend this excursion. Worth every penny and then some! Also to note they offer horseback, ATV and kayaking. Excursions.

I booked the River Kayaking excursion with Veraneando Adventures for me and my dad who is a fairly…read morefit senior. From the description I figured it would be pretty doable and my dad was excited about this. It was a pretty hot and sunny day in mazatlan - the ride to the Presidio River was about an hour from the cruise port and we did this excursion with one couple from our ship. The couple (who were a bit heavy) was having problems staying afloat on their kayaks and ended up staying back so it was just me and my dad with one of the guides. The river was fairly gentle though there were some mild rapids - the kayaks were easy to operate but my dad still went over when he lost control of his kayak after hitting some rapids. The issue was our guide didn't really speak English and while I tried to follow our guides path on the river (since I've been white water rafting before), my dad didn't realize that following him exactly was a must - otherwise you can hit some rapids wrong or end up on an area with low water levels and get stranded on rocks (both happened to my dad). After going over and paddling for 2 hours, my dad was wet, exhausted and sunburnt - he wasn't happy:/I did enjoy the trip - the rapids were fun and seeing all the birds was nice - but it was too much for my dad. The nice couple who couldn't do the excursion were apparently left there with the guide and they had to pick them up afterwards where they took the 4 of us to lunch at the restaurant operated by the tour company. The spread was tasty and plentiful - more food than 6 people could eat - and included beer, margarita or soft drinks. Afterwards it was another long drive back to the port. It was definitely a long day - nice but prob needed more guidance from our guides.

Sea garden sold me a timeshare for 10,000 saying I can transfer it over to my kids and my grandkids…read moreand now that I go check because I wanted to use it they're telling me that I am no longer a timeshare holder with them. Please don't buy from them.

Stay away!!! This is a rip off time share. I was suckered in buying a $14,000 time share. I was…read moretold in writing, (thank God) that they would rent out my four week a year stay, if we didn't use it. That's a check for $1,200 per week. After returning to our Carnival cruise ship, the contract clearly states, "We do not rent anything to anybody". We were told we couldn't rent for one year. That's because we had payments every month for one year and would find out they would not rent it. We would have to find someone ourselves to rent it. They told us our purchase would double in price, once all the rooms are gone and they would sell it for us. The contract states, "We do not sell anything to anybody". We were told we can use all 1,200 acres including the amusement park. After signing the contract, another vulture came to they table. He wanted $38,000 for a ticket to use the property and once all 3,000 tickets are sold we could never buy into it again. CONTRACT STATES, YOU HAVE FIVE WORKING DAYS, STARTING THE DAY AFTER SIGNING TO CANCEL THIS COTRACT. I did four days later. I DID get my $7,125.00 back one month later. It's $225 each week you stay. $2,900 after 10 years you must pay, use it or not. There is up to a six month, in advance notice to book a room. You only own it for 100 years. My wife is Mexican. does that apply? This is a TRAVEL AGENCIE like all time share companies. They have rooms all over the world. Making sound like they own these properties. Thank God, I read the contract. May God bless Yelp. Hopefully no one else will fall victims.

This is a fantastic activity for everyone! It was exciting, adventurous and delicious. So much…read moreamazing food and history all over. My friend and I intend on doing another food tour next year when we visit. Looking forward to it!

An amazing adventure to explore the flavors of Mazatlan outside the tourist obvious locations…read more An observation of the typical food on my mind and a hotel or off a food truck Mika took us to her favorite locations that we never would've found without her. I now have photos of locations and information that I can repeat the performance. I do wish there had been more variety in the foods provided to taste but otherwise it was a fabulous tour... Mika is a lovely person and shared so much for the rest of us I can't imagine being more comfortable on such a tour. Love love love..... Do this tour...worth it in all aspects. What else can I say. It was good...