Easy Excursions on your next Mexican Riviera Cruise
By: Holly Kreider
December 18, 2025
Ports of call along the Mexican Riviera smack of cheesy tourism. But it is possible to escape the t-shirt shops for a little free or low-cost fun without booking pricy excursions. On a recent Royal Caribbean cruise, my sister, daughter, mom, and I managed to do just that.
In Baja, we skipped the whale watching tours and opted to spy whales from our ship just before it entered the Bay. The large windows in the forward lounge provided an expansive view and we spotted dozens. Start by looking for misty spouts in the distance. As our ship drew closer, we were saddened to see so many small vessels surrounding the whales at close proximity, including mothers and their babies. That really reinforced our choice to view them from a distance. We also skipped the snorkeling excursion as a snorkeling foray on my last Baja trip involved blaring music and just a smattering of fish. Instead, on shore we just walked past the souvenir shops and along the main drag of the harbor. We hit the pharmacy for some cheap skin cream and the liquor store for a complimentary tequila tasting. We left with a buzz and a bottle of pistachio tequila, so a win win.
In Puerto Vallarta, we navigated on foot past the souvenir shops to the long expanse of beach just around the bend. We walked the beach for hours. We discovered a lone baby turtle trying to make its way into the rough surf with hungry pelicans circling above. A helpful tourist scooped it up in a coconut shell and waded far beyond the surf to prevent it from becoming a scooby snack. The beach lacks tiki bars and fish shacks and all the other hankerings I wished for, but we did find a resourceful fellow with mangos-on-a-stick for sale. For fancier fare, and if your Puerto Vallarta port of call aligns with their open hours, check out Cafe des Artistes, a beloved local restaurant that dished up one of most memorable meals of my life decades ago.
In Mazatlan, we hired a pulmonia right at the pier – a driver in an open-aired little taxi (really more like a glorified golf cart) - to drive us along the Malecon. The Malecon, or sea wall, in Mazatlan is among the longest on earth. We made stops to see the cliff divers, to gorge on guava pie at a local pastelaria downtown, and to have lunch off the main drag at our cab driver’s uncle’s charming restaurant. Last but not least, we slipped in a brief massage from the vendors at the cruiseport upon our return.
So reach out to me for a cruise quote and don’t be afraid to make your own fun on shore.
Disclosure: Our cruise was paid for at a casino rate offered to frequent RCI travelers.