Honeymoon Cruises: Roaming the Mexican Riviera

The Mexican Riviera runs down the west coast of Mexico, and is probably the best-known tourist destination in the country. Every year thousands of tourists arrive from all over the world by cruise ship or by air. Elegant resorts and beachfront hotels line the coast. Hundreds of miles of peaceful, undeveloped coastline lie between the major cities and resorts.

 

 

The Mexican Riviera offers destinations as diverse as energetic Acapulco, with its thriving nightlife, to quiet Manzanillo, surrounded by jungle and natural beauty. Deciding where to spend your honeymoon can be quite difficult.

 

Of course, if you opt for one of the many Mexican Riviera honeymoon cruises, you don't have to settle for just one location. Honeymoon cruises allows you to see many of the different locations the Riviera offers, without having to worry about multiple hotel bookings, meals or car rentals. Your cruise ship provides you with quality dining, a comfortable cabin, and the romance of ocean travel.

Each of the cruise ports of call along the Mexican Riviera offers its visitors ample opportunity to explore the land-side of Mexico. Most cruise lines will cruise along the coast at night allowing their passengers to take pleasure in the beauty of the passing coastline while enjoying dinner and the rest of the cruise ship's amenities. In the morning, passengers have the opportunity to transfer to the cruise port to take part in prearranged land excursions or unplanned exploration. Some cruise ships may night over in ports of call so passengers can enjoy the local nightlife. These are some of the common cruise ports along the Mexican Riviera.

 

Mazatlan: Mazatlan is located at the northern tip of the Riviera. It's a busy cruise port city with seventeen miles of pristine beach. The busy city is well known for its luxurious resorts and sport fishing.

 

Busy and cosmopolitan though Mazatlan is, you can escape into the past in Old Mazatlan, where the architecture of by-gone days endures. Don't miss a chance to shop in the market there, or to visit the cathedral.

 

Puerto Vallarta: Puerto Vallarta is a combination of glitzy nightlife and Old World charm. This cruise port city abounds in cobblestone streets and historical architecture, lending a sense of romance to every open-air café. You can relax on the beach, dance the night away or roam the art galleries: It's up to you.

 

If you're interested in ecotourism, take a side trip from Puerto Vallarta through the mountains to San Blas. From there, take a boat trip through La Tovara, a network of natural canals in a tropical forest from which you can view birds, fish and alligators.

 

Manzanillo: The Costa Alagre stretches from Puerto Vallarta to Manzanillo Bay: Over 260 miles of relatively undeveloped coastline. Manzanillo itself is a quiet treasure. Although it offers resorts and hotels, Manzanillo isn't as frequently visited as other tourist locations, allowing it to preserve a quiet, laid-back environment.

 

Ecotourism thrives in Manzanillo. You can take snorkeling tours, visit a sea turtle sanctuary, or travel upland to visit a cloud forest. Other tours take you to the active volcano Volcan de Colima, or to the ancient ruins of Tampumacchay.

 

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo: The Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo region is a study in contrasts. On the one hand you have Ixtapa, with its rows of high-rise beachfront hotels and nightclubs. Ixtapa is a haven for watersports of every variety, from sport fishing to wind surfing. If you're looking for something less adventurous, paddle along the beach on a water tricycle.

 

On the other hand, there is Zihuatanejo, a sleepy little fishing village to the south of Ixtapa, with cobblestone streets and only one nightclub. From Zihuatanejo you can travel by boat to Los Gatos beach, which offers swimming and snorkeling away from the crowds.

 

The Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo region is also close to Petatlan, home to Cristo of Petatlan church. The church is famous for its connection to miracles.

 

Acapulco: Acapulco lies between the Sierra Madres and the Pacific Ocean. In fact, the mountains march right down to the shore in some areas. Perhaps the most sophisticated of the Mexican Riviera cruise ports, Acapulco offers fine dining, luxury resorts and more nightclubs than two newlyweds can possibly visit in one trip (fun though it might be to try!). Watching the city lights twinkle on the water at night is both serene and romantic.

 

Less romantic, but certainly thrilling, are the Acapulco cliff divers. At one o'clock every afternoon, the divers launch themselves off the treacherous La Quebrada's cliffs and down into the water below. The divers must time their dive to match the incoming waves, which provide them with some protection as they hit the water.

 

Huatulco: Technically, Huatulco is not part of the Riviera, but the town's amazing ecotourism deserves mention. With 22 miles of beach, nine bays and tropical forests all around, Huatulco was the first town in Mexico to offer ecotourism resorts.

 

Huatulco is a nature-lover's dream. There you can snorkel, scuba dive or sail. The jungle hills are accessible to hikers and to explorers on guided horseback or ATV tours. A short trip out of town will bring you to Mazunte, home of the Mexican National Turtle Center, where thousands of baby turtles are released into the wild every year.