In our opinion, the best way to get to know the wonders of Mazatlan is by dividing it by main areas. South of Mazatlán is Stone Island. A peninsula that can be accessed by car or boat, offering to visitors lots of seafood restaurants and plenty of activities to have a wonderful time, such as swimming, horseback riding, camping, kayaking, mountain bike riding and, of course, relaxing on a hammock under a palapa with a Pacifico beer in your hand.
Going north, we have the historical and downtown area, where the history of this fabulous destination began…but you will read about that in other articles. The Historic Disctrict is where most of the cultural activity is taking place; you can just walk all over the area, buy a delicious homemade ice cream by the Cathedral and get in to admire the neoclassic design of it. Then go to the central market for a snack or to get some souvenirs to your loved ones that don’t have the fortune to be here. Go to the different museums, to the fabulous Plaza Machado for lunch, dinner or party, visit the Angela Peralta Opera House to see a play…or also, to get a Tejuino, local drink that you won’t find outside of Sinaloa State. Don’t forget to visit “Aljibe San Pedro” what used to be Water Bank centuries ago, because it was so precious that people need to save it in a safe place. Also, visit the home where one of the most famous singer and actor of Mexico was born: Pedro Infante
West of downtown is Olas Altas where the Boardwalk (“Malecon”) begins. This was the waterfront district for Mazatlan for more than 100 years. Here you will find several famous hotels and restaurants that share a lot of the history of early Mazatlan. The Belmar Hotel (built in 1898) was a second home to many famous people including John Wayne. Much of the original flavor is still to be found. The Malecon continues from the Olas Altas to The Golden Zone. In this area you will find many affordable hotels, condominium towers facing the ocean, the largest aquarium in latinamerica, the City Forest (botanical garden) and The Shrimp Lagoon, the last 3 of them excellent choices to be in contact with nature.
Next is the Golden Zone, where most of the shopping and nocturnal life takes place, most of the jewelry and handcrafts stores and first class hotels are established there, as well as most of the international restaurants, money exchanges and ATM’s are always close for your convenience. Here you can go to a beach club to enjoy a beer when watching the sunset; go for oven made pizza to an Italian restaurant, play tennis or golf with your friends, going to mass in English at the church, or just enjoy the lobster the way you want it in one of the restaurants in the area. The Golden Zone is renowned for having the best beach in Mazatlan, flat as a parking lot and only waist deep at 150 ft out. This area is sheltered by two islands, keeping the tides tranquil thereby providing the best ocean swimming in the area.
After passing the Marina area, the new “boom” zone has been discovered: Cerritos, with a long straight line of beach and a very wide and green boulevard is now the center of construction and development with beautiful hotels in between. Also, on the other side you have “Estero del yugo” an outstanding wildlife reserve, to go for a bird watching or a nice walking among their trailers.
The Northern side of town is called “New Mazatlan”, which includes Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay resort, noted the best resort in Mexico by many tourist magazines. Beyond Emerald Bay is the “El Delfin” (The Dolphin) area. Here you will find several miles of beach with a dirt road access, electricity, no water or sewer and sparsely populated. If you want isolation, this will be a good place to be for the next decade. The tourist residential development seems to head mainly that way.
This is just a very brief introduction to the beauties of this destination, we are pretty sure that we forgot a lot of things; so, in order to know more, you must come down and explore yourself!
Ricardo Angulo