Mazatlán, Mexico

What to see:

Mazatlán is located in western Mexico, in the state of Sinaloa. It is a popular tourist destination along the Pacific coast for Mexican nationals along with some visitors from the USA, Canada, and China. The ocean views are beautiful along with the historic center and famous lighthouse. The area is known for sport fishing and delectable seafood. While the city is located in a dangerous region of Mexico (see info below), Mazatlán is relatively safe and we never felt danger while walking around the city. The best sight to behold truly has to be the miles of coastline.

What to do:

The city has some different things to offer such as a small aquarium, a historic theatre, art museums, a lively historic center, plenty of shops, oceanfront restaurants, and the beautiful boardwalk. Because we traveled during Covid-19, many places that we planned to visit were actually closed. Check out our map for locations under Maps and Routes.

Who to bring:

This city isn’t known for lively nightlife or romantic settings so we think it’s best for a long beach weekend with friends or a short family trip.

How to get around:

There are open taxis available everywhere which are convenient, though sometimes very loud. Uber is how we got around and it was extremely affordable ($1-5 per ride). We did come across a bit of a scam, so just be careful. Some drivers will try to make you pay in cash upon arrival, which we were not comfortable with doing. Also, beware of long wait times. Traffic was not good while we were there because of ongoing construction. We were told the road construction should be complete within the next few months, so that shouldn’t be a problem for long. We did a TON of walking (up to 20 miles in one day). We usually prefer to walk when we can and the ocean breeze was refreshing on the hot days.

What we did:

We spent most of our time near the water including two days fishing, one walking the boardwalk, and another hiking to the lighthouse. We enjoyed swimming at the resort, eating at local restaurants, and just relaxing. Our highlights were walking the entire boardwalk (El Malecón), fishing with Aquasports MX, chatting with our server at Restaurant El Chilito, and hiking El Faro.