There are a lot of great things to do at the beach - playing in the waves, sand castles, beach volleyball, wave runners, even parasailing. But the ultimate beach experience, the activity that says "I was really and truly at the beach and made the most of it," is beyond a doubt surfing.

Mazatlan is a great place to experience surfing. Mazatlan has great waves which actually makes it popular with experienced surfers. But it has a variety of beaches with different types of waves, so even surfers who are just starting out can find a safe place to practice.

Surfing Classes in Mazatlan

For those in your family who are excited about the idea of surfing, there are lots of great options for how to learn. Mazatlan has a great surfing community with many skilled surfers, and there are several surfing schools where these experienced surfers help surfing hopefuls to get started and to improve their skills.

Mazatlan Surf Center

One great option in Mazatlan for learning to surf is the Mazatlan Surf Center. They are based out of their store in the Golden Zone, where they offer everything you could desire as far as equipment for surfing is concerned. Surfboards, clothing, wetsuits, sunglasses, they've got it all.

Founded by experienced surfer Alistair Calderon and with highly qualified staff like "Bonga" (3-time national champion surfer in Mexico), Mazatlan Surf Center has everything it takes to offer true high-quality surf lessons. They provide this service through their Billabong Surf Camps.

Billabong Surf Camps have the option of dedicated "Surf Packages" (where they arrange your entire vacation in Mazatlan and guide you to the best surfing every day), but most families will probably prefer their Surf Day Camps. When you make a reservation for a Day Camp with Mazatlan Surf Center, they will pick you up from your hotel, take you to the beach that has the best type of waves that day for your skill level, provide you with all the equipment you need, and give you two hours of personalized instruction.

East Pacific Surf Camp

Another option for learning to surf is the East Pacific Surf Camp. This surfing school uses different techniques and equipment with the intention of helping students to learn more advanced surfing techniques more rapidly. They provide day camps (where they pick you up from your hotel, take you to the best waves available, and drop you back off) and equipment rental (including their unique designs of surfboards). They also provide complete surfing vacations where they arrange everything for your trip to Mazatlan.

Options for Surfing for Families

At either of these surfing schools families have the option of going all together (either to surf or just to watch) or of only those going who are interested in surfing.

Surfing in Mazatlan for a Unique Family Vacation

Mazatlan offers a unique opportunity for your family to learn to surf, with great waves, beautiful beaches, agreeable weather, and high-quality surfing instruction. Make lasting memories with your surfing adventures in Mazatlan!

Tips and Contact Info:

Mazatlan Surf Center

Address for the Surf Shop:

• (located next to the Dairy Queen in the Golden Zone)
• Ave. Camaron-Sabalo 500-4
  Zona Dorada. CP 82110
  Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico

Phone:

• (01152-669) 913 18 21 (when dialing from the USA or Canada)
• 913 18 21 (when dialing from within Mazatlan)

Email:

• customerservice@mazatlansurfcenter.com

Website:

• http://www.mazatlansurfcenter.com

East Pacific Surf Camp

Phone:

• USA number (ip phone): 1-508 598 5799
  (best time to call is in the evenings because they are out on the ocean during the day)
• Mazatlan cell phone: 011 52 1 669 154 5155 (when dialing from the USA or Canada)
• Mazatlan cell phone: 044 669 154 5155 (when dialing from within Mazatlan)

Email:

• coronapub@yahoo.com

Website:
(Note: the website is a little bit difficult to navigate because it's not very organized, but it has great info and lots of great photos and videos. It also has lots of Spring Break type photos, but they do provide good quality instruction for all ages of students.)

• Main website: http://www.eastpacsurf.com
• Info on surfing lessons: http://www.eastpacsurf.com/contact29.htm
• More extended info on surfing lessons: http://www.eastpacsurf.com/studentsatbruja.html
  (this page has a history of surfing and explains the special techniques and equipment that their school uses)

Are you interested in experiencing the unique pleasure of riding horseback on the beach? Imagine it! The beautiful views as you move over the sand and the surf, the ocean breezes gently playing with your hair...

Living the Dream of Riding Horseback on the Beach

This dream is very possible on your family vacation in Mazatlan. You can enjoy the great beaches of Mazatlan in a unique way that will leave you with very special memories.

Mazatlan is really an ideal location for riding horseback on the beach because it's not highly commercialized. That means that Mazatlan still has beaches that are undeveloped and don't have hotels and resorts and condominium towers, providing you a more authentic riding experience where you can really experience the beauty of nature.

A Perfect Activity for Families

A family enjoying riding horseback on the beach

Horseback riding is a great activity for families because everybody can participate and have a great time. Going riding as a family is a group activity that will draw you together and give you fantastic memories that will last a lifetime. But it's open to everyone, young and old - babies and young children can ride on the lap of mom or dad, slightly older children (or even adults) who don't have much confidence on a horse can take a closely supervised ride on a gentle horse, teenagers and adults can ride more freely, and those who have more experience can even take a strong horse for a gallop!

Options for Horseback Riding in Mazatlan

There are two areas in Mazatlan that have perfect beaches for riding horseback.

Horseback Riding on Playa Bruja

One is along "Playa Bruja" ("Witch Beach") on the north side of Mazatlan. It's past the Golden Zone, past the marina, in a quiet and tranquil area called New Mazatlan. (It's in the general area of Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay, in case that helps to orient you.)

Ginger's Bilingual Horses

On Playa Bruja you can go horseback riding with Ginger's Bilingual Horses, a family business that has consistently offered a great beach riding experience for over 26 years. Ginger (from Washington, USA) and Andres (her Mexican husband) together with other family members specialize in taking small groups riding so that you can enjoy the experience as much as possible. The ride includes not only the beach, but also passing through a coconut plantation where you can see tropical birds, iguanas, and other tropical plants and wildlife.

Horseback Riding on Stone Island

The other ideal area for horseback riding on the beach is Stone Island. Stone Island is close to the downtown area of Mazatlan, but across the water.

There are two options for horseback riding on Stone Island.

Randi's Happy Horses

One is with Randi's Happy Horses. Randi and her guides will accommodate every type of rider, and their ride includes passing through the small town of Stone Island allowing you to see the old way of life there, and returning along miles of beautiful beach.

Mike's Gentle Horses

Another option is with Mike's Gentle Horses. Mike (or Miguel) offers a 2-hour ride where you can get to know the history and people of Stone Island, passing through a coconut plantation, mango and lemon groves, and by cultivated fields, in addition to the beach.

Both Mike and Randi provide round-trip transportation, either from your hotel or from the cruise ship terminal, and there are lots of beach activities and great restaurants available on Stone Island as well.

Enjoy a horseback ride on the beach with your family while in Mazatlan! It will be one of the great memories of your family vacation!

Tips & Useful Info

• All three of the businesses mentioned here are responsible, taking good care of their horses and providing good customer service.
• It is recommended that you make reservations ahead of time.
• Check the websites or call for recommendations on what kind of clothes to wear.

Contact Info and Links

Ginger's Bilingual Horses

• Mazatlan telephone: 669-988-1254 or 669-922-2026
  (if calling from the USA or Canada, dial 011-52 before the number listed)
• Webpage: http://www.mazinfo.com/gingershorses/
• Email: gingershorses@mazinfo.com
• Testimonials: Guest comments on Ginger's webpage
• Reviews: Comments on TripAdvisor

Randi's Happy Horses

• Mazatlan telephone: 669-129-5064
  (if calling from the USA or Canada, dial 011-52 before the number)
• Mazatlan cell phone: 044-669-139-6064
  (if calling from the USA or Canada, dial 011-52-1-669-139-6064)
• Website: http://www.randishappyhorses.com/
• Email: randi@randishappyhorses.com
• Testimonials: Comments and Photo Album on Randi's website
• Reviews: Comments on TripAdvisor

Mike's Gentle Horses

• Operates as part of King David Tours
• Mazatlan telephone: 669-914-1444
  (if calling from the USA or Canada, dial 011-52 before the number)
• Webpage: http://www.mazinfo.com/mikeshorses/
• Email: reservations@kingdavid.com.mx

Families enjoy the Sea Lion Show

The Mazatlan Aquarium (Acuario Mazatlan) is a great place for your family to visit while vacationing in Mazatlan. While it's not big or fancy, it offers several aquarium tanks with a large variety of marine life, including the Ocean Tank which is the largest in Latin America. In addition, it also has several entertaining shows like a tropical bird show, seal show, shark diving show, and several other attractions.

New Ocean Tank makes a great aquarium experience

A giant sea turtle in the Ocean Tank

The Mazatlan Aquarium (Acuario Mazatlan) has several large tanks which display a large variety of different types of marine life. But the most impressive is the new Ocean Tank. Completed fairly recently (in October 2008), it allows a view into the depths of the ocean, housing many different types of ocean life all living together as they do in the ocean.

Because of the large size of the tank (1,600,000 liters of water), it has room even for large sizes of marine life, like sharks, sea rays, and giant sea turtles.

Click here to read more about the Ocean Tank at the Mazatlan Aquarium.

Other shows and exhibits are the icing on the cake!

Diving Exhibition - in the Shark Tank!

The diver in the tank with the sharks

Enjoy the excitement of watching a diver enter directly into the tank with the live sharks. He also interacts with the turtles and other large sea creatures. And to top it off, he teaches how scuba diving equipment works (You just might get the itch to take some scuba diving classes as well while you're in Mazatlan!).

Tropical Bird Theater

A bird and trainer in the Tropical Bird Theater

This is true entertainment for you and your family! The show consists of a group of tropical birds (Macaws and Cockatoos, along with their trainers) singing and dancing to prove just how intelligent they really are.

Seal Show

The Sea Lions are also delighted to put on a good show for you! In the water and in the air (with plenty of splashing in case you wanted to get wet yourself), Bony, Toby, Cili, Ely, Lili, and Tito know how to move!

What's really special is that each of these sea lions were rescued. They arrived at the aquarium with different injuries, and the Aquarium staff nursed them back to good health and trained them to do the show.

And More!

There's also a botanical garden to explore, crocodiles that you can watch, and a frog habitat.

All in all, the Aquarium is sure to be a fun event for your family during your vacation in Mazatlan. If nothing else, do it as a break from the beach and sun.

Useful Info, Tips, and Links:

Address:

Av. de los Deportes #111
Fracc. Telleria
Mazatlan, Sinaloa 82017

link to Google Map (click on the icon of the orange man and drag him to the address of the aquarium and you can see what the street looks like)

Tel:
+52 (669) 981-7815

How to get there:

Located just a little way behind the Malecon, about halfway between the Golden Zone and the Historical Downtown, the Aquarium is easy to get to. Take any bus that goes along the Malecon, or a pulmonia or taxi.

Hours:
9:30 am - 5:30 pm (open all week)

Cost:
Adults - $75 pesos
Children - $50 pesos

Tips

• The presentations are in Spanish, so don't be surprised! But it's still enjoyable even if you don't speak any Spanish. (See the comments from other visitors on TripAdvisor in the link below)
• In the seal show you will get soaked if you sit up front!
• After the seal show you can get a kiss from Bony, the macho sea lion who stars in the show! It just costs an extra $20 pesos.
• It only takes a couple hours to see everything. Call to find out exactly what time the shows are.

Links

• The official website of the Mazatlan Aquarium (in spanish)
• Read comments from visitors to the Aquarium (on TripAdvisor)
• Info about the "Friends of the Aquarium," a wildlife rehabilitation program that operates through the aquarium.

Want a recipe for disaster? Pack up your bags and fly away for a family vacation without thinking about activities for your kids. Can you imagine? Whining! Frustration! Trying to find activities at the last minute, only to find that what you want to do is only available on certain days, but not on the day you have available! It's enough to give you nightmares!

Thankfully, for a family vacation in Mazatlan that never needs to happen! Mazatlan is a wonderfully family-oriented tourist destination, and there's a great variety of activities that the whole family can enjoy.

The Mazatlan Aquarium

First of all, let me suggest the Mazatlan Aquarium. It's always been a nice place for the family to visit, but in October of 2008 they opened a new "Ocean Tank" which made it stupendous! (Here's an article we wrote about the new Ocean Tank at the Mazatlan Aquarium - with pictures!.) The new tank is the biggest in LatinAmerica, and allows you to see a large variety of species of ocean wildlife interacting in their "natural" environment. It's really very impressive - it's much more than just fish, there are sharks and sting rays and giant sea turtles and much more. You really don't want to miss it!

The Mazatlan Aquarium is really an all-day activity, because it not only has several tanks, each for a different eco-system from a different part of the world, it also has a shark tank, a sea-lion show, a mini-zoo, a parrot show, botanical gardens (with crocodiles!), and a program about the conservation of sea turtles! That ought to entertain the family for a while, don't you think! For some pictures (and descriptions in Spanish) you can see the official website: Mazatlan Aquarium. We've also written up a more complete description of all the fun your family can have at the Aquarium.

Mazagua, Mazatlan's Water Park

Another great activity for kids is to visit the Mazagua Water Park. It offers everything you expect to keep your family wet and entertained - slides of different types, a river to move around, a wave pool, a play area, and much more. It's closed during January and February (the only time when Mazatlan gets cold enough that playing in the water isn't fun), but available for your family's enjoyment all the rest of the year. For some photos, you can see their website: Mazagua Water Park

Huana Coa Canopy Adventure

If you have older kids, the zip line adventure can be a real blast. With facilities outside of Mazatlan at the start of the Sierra Madre mountains, the adventure includes multiple zip lines over the trees. It's a great adventure with beautiful views. More info and some fantastic photos at the website: http://www.huanacoa.com/

And much more...

There are many more activities available in Mazatlan that are wonderful for families, depending on the age and inclinations of your kids. Of course there are tons of water sports (jet skis, boogie boards, banana boat rides, and much more). There's also surfing, horseback riding, whale watching, and I know I'm forgetting a lot! Oh, and just playing on the beach - making sand castles, for example! Explore some of the sites about Mazatlan and you're sure to find even more wonderful ideas!

Good luck on your family vacation in Mazatlan! As long as you do come prepared, you're bound to have a great time!

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This information is provided by Villas El Rancho Beach Resort, located on Cerritos Beach in the New Mazatlan area, just past the marina. With a very family-friendly atmosphere, and villas where families can stay together comfortably, El Rancho is a wonderful place for family vacations. You can also see our ideas about what makes for a REAL family vacation.

But what really makes for a family vacation? I mean, not just a vacation where everybody in the family goes, but where your family really enjoys quality time together, has fun together, and draws closer because of the vacation.

"Family-Friendly" Resorts - Are They Really?

The reason I started thinking about this is because of what the typical "family-friendly" beach resort offers. In Mazatlan, lots of resorts claim to be family-friendly. And they're beautiful. And they have great photos of families on the beach with big smiles on their faces.

But what do these supposedly family-friendly resorts really offer?

Well, some of them have a really big, fancy pool for kids to play in. And they have some sort of "kids club." So they provide activities for your kids. Basically, they offer child care.  So, on your Mazatlan family vacation, your kids can stay busy and you don't have to worry about them. Somebody at the resort will watch them for you and make sure they have some fun.

Do you think that really makes for a "family" vacation?

A Real Family Vacation

I think it's such a shame! When you come to Mazatlan for a "family" vacation, you shouldn't separate your family! Isn't your family already separated too much back home? Aren't there already too many things pulling each member of the family in their own direction? Work, school, extra-curricular activities, each person hanging out with their own friends - after all that, when does your family ever have a chance to spend time together?

Well, I think that for a minimum it should be on vacation.

When you come on your family vacation to Mazatlan, you actually get to leave behind all the regular activities and obligations. You actually have time - the whole day - to spend however you like. Why not spend it together?

I think a "family resort" that actually separates your family is anything but family-friendly. A family resort should make it easier to have fun together.

Family Fun Together in Mazatlan

Mazatlan is such a great place for families! You can have so much fun together! First of all, you can play on the beach together. Whether it's playing in the waves, building a sand castle, taking turns burying each other in the sand, or looking for seashells, you can do it all together, and you'll have a great time!

And Mazatlan has so many other great things to do together! You can explore the historic downtown, or visit the aquarium, or go riding horseback. There's so many great options,... but do it together!

Family Time at El Rancho

That's what I love about El Rancho, and why I think it's a real Mazatlan family resort. The pool doesn't have any fancy slides or anything, and El Rancho doesn't offer a kids club to entertain your kids. But it does offer a place where your family can have fun together - where you can stay together comfortably (not cramped). Where you can enjoy the beach and the pool, because they're right outside your door.  And where you can feel safe and not worry about your kids, because it's small and there are no crowds for them to get lost in.

Make an effort to really spend time together on your next family vacation in Mazatlan. You won't regret it. In fact, you'll have great memories of it for many years to come!

And if you'd like to know more about the benefits of family vacations at El Rancho, here's some more info: Family Vacations at El Rancho.