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Beach Parasailing Mazatlan

Tips For An Affordable Mazatlan Vacation

Those of you that follow our travels know that we had the unfortunate mishap of Jerrie taking a fall and breaking her leg on our last trip to Mazatlán. While it has been a bit of an ordeal with the healing taking longer than either of us expected, we are happy to report she is doing well with healing slow but steady. Which brings us to our next trip! Ironically, our next scheduled trip is back to Mazatlán this Fall. We’ve recently canceled trips to Las Vegas and Isla Mujeres and are cautiously optimistic we will not have to cancel Mazatlán. We are carefully monitoring the COVID-19 situation and will decide as we get closer to our travel dates.

Here are some thoughts on why we find Mazatlán on the top of our list of Mexico destinations that are still affordable.

Getting There

Like most trips that involve airfare, this is the most expensive part of the trip. For some reason, flying to Mazatlán is typically a bit more expensive with fewer scheduling options than flying to Cabo San Lucas. Even so, when you consider the other costs of ground transportation, food, entertainment, etc. Mazatlán is an affordable destination.

We are big fans of the Alaska Air credit card and the annual companion fare that comes with the card. The card has an affordable annual fee of $75.00, and each card comes with one companion fare of $110 (plus taxes and fees) per year. Total airfare for the two of us for our upcoming trip is $960.00. While that is a chunk of change, without the companion fare, it would come to $1,380.00 – a savings of $420.00.

We both have personal Alaska Air credit cards, and Jer has one for the business, giving us three companion fares per year. The Alaska card works for us however it’s worth taking the time to do your research to find the best card with travel perks and choosing the one that makes the most sense for you. Another card with travel perks worth researching is the CHASE Sapphire Reserved.

Other ways to save money on airfare are to book at least 21 days in advance (we often book months in advance), being open to traveling on different days of the week, and monitoring airline social media sites for sales. If you book far in advance and a sale pops us with better fares, you can typically call the airline, and they will credit back the difference.

Lodging

Given that we own five timeshare contracts between Pueblo Bonito and Worldmark, we are able to enjoy beautiful resorts for the cost of our maintenance fees. Even without using one of our timeshares, hotels and resorts are very affordable in Mazatlán. We know timeshares are not for everyone, but they work for us. We travel regularly, have flexible schedules, and can afford the annual maintenance fees. And, they afford us the option of staying in 4-5 star resorts for less than many hotel rooms. For example, we pay $500.00 in annual maintenance fees for our Mazatlán junior suite. A quick scan on RedWeek.com shows the same size suite at the same resort, during the same timeframe going for $2,100.

We like to extend our stay by a few days on either end by staying in a hotel in the historical district of Mazatlán, which is even more affordable than the Golden Zone or tourist district. Our hotel of choice is the Best Western Freeman Olas Atlas located right on the malacon overlooking the ocean. We pay about $70.00 per night for a beachfront room with a private balcony and a complimentary full breakfast (the chilaquiles are the best!). The hotel has a rooftop pool with an incredible view of all of Mazatlán. It also has a restaurant one floor below the rooftop where we like to go for happy hour and enjoy the nice breeze and a glass of wine (~$4.00). The historical area is super walkable with beautiful buildings, cobblestone streets, great restaurants, art studios, and Machado Square, the main town square. Machado Square comes alive on weekends with various restaurants, live music, local vendors, and people enjoying the festive atmosphere. Just writing about the historical district makes us excited to go back.

Food

Ahh, Randy’s favorite part of any trip. Restaurants in Mazatlán are very affordable. Sure, you can find a few super high-end and expensive restaurants that cater to tourists, however even the higher-end restaurants are affordable compared to what you would pay in the States.

We never do all-inclusive. It simply does not pencil out for us as we like to get off the resort and explore the area and the many great restaurants in Mazatlán. Everything from Tacos by Henry, a “pop-up” style place located in an abandoned parking lot (the total bill is usually around $18.00) to Topolos’s, one of the higher-end restaurants with a beautiful courtyard, fantastic food, live music on the weekends, and our friend Carlos – the best waiter in all of Mazatlán (~$45.00 for dinner for two with two glasses of wine). 

One of our favorite and affordable places to eat is a small strip of local restaurants and shops by Cerritos Beach. The restaurants offer nice, affordable meals with a bustling atmosphere of locals and tourists. Thursday steak nights at Roy’s (~$9.00 for a nice steak, baked potato, and salad) and breakfast at Looney Bean, where the coffee beans are roasted onsite, are regular spots for us. Another favorite located closer to the Golden Zone is Chili’s Peppers. Even though we are tired after a long travel day, we always make our way to Chili’s Peppers our first night for their Molcajete. Chili’s Peppers is located right on the beach with amazing sunset views and entertaining people-watching. Jer swears their margaritas are the best in Mazatlán. Our bill usually comes to about $30.00. We could go on and on about the many fabulous and affordable places to eat in Mazatlán. The point is, we highly recommend getting off the resort and enjoying the local food of Mazatlán.

Entertainment

We’ve done just about all the excursion activities in Mazatlán except for 4-wheeling and camel rides on the beach. But really, what better entertainment is there than spending the day on the beach enjoying the warm ocean (free entertainment!)? The waves in Mazatlán are usually the perfect size to boogie board or to just bounce around in. When we were there last May, the water was beautiful! Clear and warm. Many vendors on the beach offer all kinds of activities – from parasailing to sea kayaks to banana boat rides and fishing excursions. All of which are affordable. Just be sure to negotiate a lower price than what they initially offer. A good rule of thumb is to pay about 2/3 of what the initial offer is. If hanging out at the pool and being waited on is your thing, all the resorts have beautiful pool areas with waiters anxious to serve you and make your day as enjoyable as they possibly can. Of course, you will pay premium prices for food and drinks around the pool, but if that is your idea of a vacation, we say go for it! You will pay far less for this luxury in Mazatlán than in Cabo or Cancun.

After playing in the ocean all day, one of our favorite and affordable evening activities is to take a pulmonia ride along the malacon at sunset or after dinner. Pulmonia’s are kind of like golf carts or open-air taxis, unique to Mazatlán.  A pulmonia ride can be anything from romantic to more of a party experience. Just tell the driver what you are looking for, and they will accommodate you. On average, expect to pay ~$140 pesos or about $7.50 for a pulmonia ride along the malacon.

Getting around town

While we always rent a car in Cabo, there is no need to do so in Mazatlán. Mazatlán has a wide variety of affordable transportation options, even Uber.  For our last two trips, we rented a two-person scooter, giving us the freedom to explore and go when and where we choose to. While this is an affordable option, we paid about $30.00 a day, it is NOT for the faint of heart.  The quality and safety of the scooters vary, and Mazatlán drivers are not always the most attentive. This last trip, we were advised not to use the scooter at night due to the prevalence of drunk drivers. We also ended up with what Jer refers to as the scooter of death on our last trip. We swear the scooter was held together by duct tape. We had many close calls we’d rather not think about. While it made for a good story once we were safely home, this was probably our last scooter rental, in Mazatlán anyway.

Mazatlán has a relatively decent and very affordable public bus system. While the buses vary in how nice they are, they run regularly and are a bargain at 11 pesos or ~$0.55. The Sablo Centro buses are air conditioned and connect to the most popular beaches, tourist sites, places of interest, and restaurant zones. Since we are hauling our luggage, we use Uber to move from our hotel to our resort. It’s about a 15-minute ride and costs around $7.00. Just be aware that the availability of an Uber is hit or miss, and most drivers do not speak English.

If you are traveling with a group, another affordable option is the red trucks, or Aurigas. The Aurigas are pickup trucks with benches along the truck bed, holding 8-10 people. Like the pulmonias, they often have large speakers playing loud Spanish music. The price is negotiable and typically a bit more than pulmonia’s, but they are an affordable option if you have a group going to the same place.

If a warm, sunny beach vacation at a reasonable price is on your list, we hope you consider Mazatlan.