Fun Things to Do with Your Family on a Mexican Riviera Cruise
Heading to the Mexican Riviera? There are so many fun things to do with your family in Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. Today, Lisa’s sister, Kristen Raymond, joins her on the podcast where they both share their experiences of several excursions in all of those fun Mexican locations. Join us for inspiration on what you can book for your family when you get to head to the Mexican Riviera on vacation.
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There are so many great excursion options when visiting Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta! We are sharing our experiences we’ve had on 4 combined cruising vacations. Not only are the following excursions so fun when you are cruising but you could also do them if you are vacationing in these cities.
We are sharing our experiences to help you make a more informed decision about what will be best for your family. We booked many of these adventures through our cruise line but we’ve also booked them independently. With restrictions right now, many cruise lines make you book through them but hopefully, that will be shifting soon.
Fun Excursions in Cabo San Lucas Mexico
Swim with Dolphins! Lisa and her family swam with dolphins at the Cabo Adventures center a few years ago. The experience is fun but felt expensive for the amount of time spent with the dolphins. Be prepared to spend additional money on photos. Cameras are not allowed in the pool. But really, their photos are better than what you’d take on your phone so just embrace it as part of the experience!
See the arch, snorkel, kayak, and paddleboard with Cabo Adventures. On our most recent cruise, we booked the Aqua Trio excursion through Carnival Cruise Line. Cabo Adventures is their vendor for this. We had a great time once we got on the boat. It took about an hour from meeting our group at the port to walk to the center, get all of our gear and then walk to the boat. The snorkeling was very murky but we didn’t mind since we got to use the kayaks and paddle boards. We even saw a few whales while heading back to the port. We were there in April and there is the end of whale watching season.
This is the only one of the cities where I would feel confident getting off of the cruise ship without an excursion booked. There are many vendors right at the port ready to take you on outings. We’ve done this on a previous stop in Cabo and had a great time. We went on a boat and cruised by the famous arch and then went on the cameraman to a great snorkeling spot.
Our Mazatlan Adventures
Every time we’ve been to Mazatlan we’ve hired a van + driver to take us around. We recommend stopping at the lighthouse and hiking to the top if your group is in good physical shape. We wouldn’t do this if we were visiting in the summer - it’s too hot! Be sure to stop and watch the cliff divers, explore the historical center including a famous cathedral, drive along the coast, and stop at a restaurant for lunch.
Here is one company that offers the same tour we have done.
We booked this ahead of time on our most recent cruise and we were glad we did because they were fully booed. In the past, we’ve walked off the ship and just found someone to take us around but I recommend booking it ahead of time if this is something that you know you want to do.
The van + driver tour can also arrange for you to stop at a resort for a couple of hours to enjoy the beach and pools. We did this on one tour a few years ago and really enjoyed that stop. In April, cruise passengers were not allowed to get day passes at resorts but hopefully, that will change soon.
Fun Things to Do in Puerto Vallarta
If you are wanting to swim with dolphins and it doesn’t happen in Cabo, you can also do it in Purto Vallarta with Vallarta Adventures. This excursion starts and ends with a 45-minute drive. The Cabo dolphin swim is about a 10-minute walk from the port. The Vallarta experience includes a delicious Mexican lunch whereas the Cabo swim does not. Plan to pay extra for their professional photos and we definitely think they are worth it!
Rhythms of the Night is a late afternoon and evening excursion that includes a boat ride to an island, an amazing dinner with unbeaten scenery, and a show. Children need to be at least 6 years old. This was a favorite excursion and we highly recommend it.
This outdoor zipline adventure was probably the most fun excursion we’ve ever done. If you can make this happen, do it! The minimum age is 8 years old. It’s a combination of so many different activities and it even includes a large and delicious Mexican lunch. You ride in a raft speedboat from the cruise pier for about 30 minutes. Then you board some large military-like open-air vehicles and ride for a few minutes where you get dropped off and ride mules up a mountain, From there, you start the zipline adventure. This, of course, includes zip lines but also includes some repelling, suspension bridges, and a crazy cool zipline coaster. The grand finale is the biggest and most steep water slide we’ve ever seen. This is not for the faint of heart. We also recommend that you are in good physical condition because there is a lot of physical exertion during this experience.
Sign up for a catamaran snorkeling tour. We’ve done this and loved it too!
There you have it! Our Mexican Riviera cruise excursion experiences. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of these excursions!