Here’s a quick article that will give you some excellent advice when you’re looking for vacation rentals in mazatlan.
First, What Do You Want?
- Beachfront or in the City? Are you looking to make this a beach vacation or would you like to get out into the city and visit the cathedral area?
- Large house or smaller couple accommodation? How many people are you looking to sleep? They have really excellent deals on smaller one bedroom studios and apartment rentals all over Mazatlan.
- Is a full kitchen vital to you or will you be eating out most of the time? If you’re looking for a fully stocked kitchen then I would shy away from hotels and look for rent-by-owner properties. Excellent properties will have everything you need in the kitchen: coffee maker, utensils, all of it.
Location, Location…
They’ve got a lot of nice beaches in Mazatlan. The snowbirds from Canada and US can be found mostly in the Olas Altas area and the beach over there is pretty nice as well.
The Golden Zone is a small more active, but is rife with tourists traps. There isn’t a shortage of people on the street looking to sell you on a timeshare (don’t buy it!). But, the beaches and establishments are the best in the city. Be sure to drop by Joe’s Oyster Bar!
If you’ve spent a long time in Mazatlan you’ve probably heard of Stone Island – also known as Isla De Piedra. In my opinion this is by far the best area for beach because there is a lot less people around. Over here you’ll find a couple very small hotels and a excellent selection of restaurants. The 5 minute boat ride to get here is fun too.
Hotels vs Rental Codos/Homes
99% of the time you’ll be able to get a much better deal with a rent-by-owner condo or home. A decent hotel in Mazatlan will run anywhere from $100-$200 per night. With those kinds of prices you can get an exceptional home/condo with full kitchen to boot and it’s not hard at all. People WANT you to use their Mazatlan vacation rentals and they will even give better deals if you book it last minute.
Hotels just don’t give deals like that ever.