Mazatlan is the Pacific coast resort that Mexicans actually use. While Cancun and Los Cabos draw international tourists, Mazatlan fills up with families from Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City. The old town (Centro Historico) has been restored over the past decade and the Malecon boardwalk stretches for 20 kilometers along the coast — one of the longest in the world.
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Old Town
The Centro Historico around Plazuela Machado has gone from shabby to genuinely charming. Restored 19th-century buildings house restaurants, galleries and cafes. The Angela Peralta theater has live performances. Walking the old town streets in the evening, with the colonial buildings lit up and music coming from the plaza, is the best thing to do in Mazatlan.
Beaches
The Zona Dorada (Golden Zone) is the tourist hotel strip — high-rise hotels, souvenir shops, the usual resort commercial strip. The beaches here are fine but crowded. Better beaches are north — Playa Cerritos and Playa Brujas are less developed. Stone Island (Isla de la Piedra) across the harbor has a long empty beach with palapa restaurants.
Seafood
Mazatlan is a shrimp town. The fleet goes out daily and the catch ends up in aguachile, ceviche, coconut shrimp and grilled whole shrimp within hours. The Plazuela Machado restaurants serve excellent seafood at moderate prices. For budget eats, the mariscos carts near the markets sell shrimp cocktails and ceviche tostadas.
Getting There
Mazatlan sits on the Pacific coast of Sinaloa state. Estrella Blanca and Tufesa buses run from Guadalajara (5 hours), the US border at Nogales (14 hours) and Mexico City Terminal Norte (12 hours). The airport has domestic flights and some US routes. A ferry crosses to La Paz in Baja California — the overnight crossing takes about 14 hours.
