Ensenada Tours and Shore Excursion Recommendations (Copy)
This is my two pesos of advice on Ensenada Tours and Shore Excursions
As an ex-pat massage therapist living and working here for 9 years, listening to cruisers chat about tours and cruising myself (Carnival Imagination 4 day Dec 2018!!), I have seen all sides of the Tours business in Ensenada. I frequently take adventures on my own and with my friends that visit by land. And I even took a cruise to Ensenada - yeah I know, who cruises to their own home town:)
Shore excursions are readily available on the boat, but generally large buses. When I cruised the 4-day cruise in Dec 2018, I was ready to get away from the crowd. A private excursion is a good option, especially if you want to get several things in, or want the flexibility to stop for tacos/tequila/ change your mind depending on how your other half/kids feel.
Whether you drive into town or are on the ship, you could make an inexpensive day of just wandering around for a few hours. The Malecon is nice for a walk, the 3 heads park “Tres Cabezas'“, then a quiet coffee, or taco and beer on the first street (La Primera), and meander through Riviera Cultural Center, CEArte museums. For tours, Jump below; I recommend a half-day tour and a massage before getting back on board.
La Primera (First Street): Just a block from the Harbor, this 5 block stretch is an area of Ensenada where the shops and vendors have been built up over the years for day tourism from the Carnival ships. At night it is a different scene. It’s a bit fun, a bit of a free for all of the stuff for sale and guys offering tacos and beer and other items you might want to sell. Plenty of pharmacies, taverns, shopping, coffee shops. It’s a safe, nice stroll close to the ship, and entertaining. Skipworthy if you are more annoyed than entertained by curiosities for sale, cheap beers, and crowds. And after squeaky clean Catalina, you may notice we don’t sweep the streets, or destroy old buildings as quickly. You will encounter sidewalk vendors offering tacos, tequila, tours, excursions, and happy ending massage.
Casa Ramirez: They have high-quality stuff from all over Mexico - a huge country with a diverse culture. Visit and check out the handmade goods, and ask questions of the knowledgeable staff. Street items are fun, usually much lower quality and imported often.
Best Coffee and Salads: Hogaza Hogaza: German-style bakery with fresh-squeezed orange juice, Keifer, amazing salads, and great coffee. Run by a Canadian scientist, Rodger. He’s a buddy;)
Tequila Room for tasting is a cornerstone of La Primera street. Angel speaks perfect English and gives great education on the amazing tequila culture of Mexico. Tastings are free and, after you are tipsy, he will offer you a bottle of high quality sipping tequila to buy. Perhaps a go is a good souvenir you can pack away as a memory. Don’t open it to avoid Carnival complications.
Tacos (both fish, shrimp, and steak) are great pretty much anywhere. La Guerrenense is a pretty renowned local tostada/ceviche spot. For fried fish taco, I love the crunch at California Taco Bar. After massage or excursions, I drop off many folks here.
Cultural Highlights: At the end of First Street, and across the street from the cruise port, you will find La Riviera, a cultural center and best gardens and architecture, supposedly built by Al Capone as a casino originally. The bar inside invented the margarita purportedly. But there are several claims on that invention. Across the street, you will see CEARTE, our free modern art museum. Small museum with rotating exhibits, I like it. The State Tourist office is in front of CEARTE with info, but not much help for day of planning.
Ensenada Tours and Shore Excursions:
These excursions and tours linked here should give you more personal service than larger tour providers I have seen (cruise websites) and get you back on the boat on time. The cruise ship would like you to book with them, so they warn you about safety and getting on the boat to play on your fears. Walking off the ship you can book find some tours with about 20% discount to ship prices, and you may have to deal with cross-culture communication and stressful negotiations. You will probably get a more service rather than a bus. Some are taxi tours are good, some are so so.
ATV Ensenada:
Where can you ride ATV’s on-street and ocean anymore? Not in California for sure. I grew up with three-wheelers before they were outlawed. Riding is great, and should be done safely.
ATV’s that are rented in the street are kind of a free for all. You can make up your own route. Although that sounds great, riding in traffic on streets is not so great. I recommend excursions where you get a guide and ride in area that is off street and designated. There are a few near the zip lines and in the Wine Valley.
If you decide for the street ride, be responsible in traffic and of natural areas.
Zipline Tour:
Las Canadas is fun outdoor park. Zipline excursion is the best I have done here in Ensenada, and safer than Guatemala. Let’s face it, soo many rules in US that the adrenaline as been taken out of some adventure. These bridges and zips are killer fun. My friend Arturo gives a good tour and transportation there. I can refer you to him.
There are several Zip Line options, Las Canadas is the biggest and easiest to access. They have a combination of zipline and suspension bridges. Desert’s Nest has some great zip lines near Valle de Guadalupe. Further north near Las Gaviotas is an option, but I actually have never heard of anyone going there.
Zipline Suspension Bridges are awesome!
Ensenada Massage: How about a day spa excursion with private pick up/drop off, great facilities, pricing at $99 a couple in the afternoon compared to about $250 a couple on the ship spa. Fit a massage in before or after your other tours. Yes, I own the place and ensure quality and amazing service. Our #1 TripAdvisor and Yelp, and Google Ratings speak for themselves. My team rocks;) We started offering groups of 5 massage for family and girlfriend parties, and kids get a discount now too.
Wine Tour Excursion in Valle de Guadalupe:
It’s awesome and much younger than Napa and Sonoma the energy of the outdoors, great food, investment, interesting architecture, and eco friendly is remarkable. Over that last decade, the area has grown to world destinations for food and wine. Sweet views, delicious food, and wine to lighten your mood….. Can you do it in an excursion day? Heck yeah, schedule a morning pick-up private tour, lunch, guide. You can find a trained wine specialist like Valley Girl Wine Tours, or take a more budget route with the packaged tour.
I prefer the small tour approach using a private excursion tour for flexibility.
Scuba/snorkel/kayak: I have scubaed here and had great experiences in kelp forests. Keep in mind waters are pretty cold, and visibility is limited since we get good waves from the pacific. Diego at Baja Blue Diver and Dale have well-run operations. If your cruise passes through Catalina, consider diving/scuba there with Ron Moore, a legend in the dive community. Kayaking with is my preferred way to see the La Bufadora and the amazing cove there.
Horseback Riding Excursion:
Our guests have had great experiences with Chrystal’s Desert Trails ocean view rides on the beach. Some of the other horse care and cleanliness practices on other tours may be different from US standards, (this is partly why I recommend Chrystal). For rides in Valle de Guadalupe, $45 a person, I can connect you with Rosabella.
We actually offer a massage and horse ride package too so you can easily get them both in and logistics are easy between horse ride and our massage studio.
Horseback Riding On The Beach
Blowhole and Bufadora Excursion
La Bufadora is a natural blowhole geyser on the end of the geographic bay that protects Ensenada city. Cool scenery on the way out there and the waves spouting up is fun by the ocean. To get from parking to blowhole, you will pass through an exciting barrage of souvenir vendors selling entertaining junk in a Mexican carnival-like style. I like to call it the gauntlet. If you can get through without a free sample of pina colada or candied nuts, or weird, inappropriate coffee mug or shirt, you win!
Transportation: Uber or private driver and tour guide, white car street taxis are a pain here.
Dune Buggy Excursion: My friend Dusty from the Carnival Imagination Facebook group says it’s overrated. The vehicles have a limitation on the throttle so you can’t really let loss and go fast. Having said that, the outskirts of Ensenada are beautiful and very different from downtown and La Primera.
Adult Beverages: Since Alcohol is a bit pricey on the ship and you won’t be driving, you may want to consider some drinks while onshore. Craft Beer: Lucky Irish 4 is a hot new addition to Ensenada Craft Beer Scene. Tons of craft beers on the killer Ocean Patio. 1 pm opens Cantina: A tavern rooted in Mexican heritage with consistent mariachi bands, Hussong’s stands alone as an interesting experience. Other places on the La Primera first street just aren’t as interesting. Tuesday and Thursday 2 for 1 beer. Amigos is a good choice for rowdy beers on the street. Interesting Dive Bar: La Cueva de Pirata. Just a block from the cruise port, and totally for locals and musicians after their nightly gigs. So local that I am the only one to leave a google review. . . . . If you want to drink on the street in the sun with US music and a rowdy scene, try Amigos on First Street, near Papas and Beer.
Wine without leaving Centro: Santo Tomas Bodega wines for tasting, lunch place, and collection of cool shops nearby with the best coffee, a vegan bakery, hidden mezcal shop and upstairs joint Alta Baja with cool city views. On 6th and Miramar, it’s a walk from the La Primera first street. Think of it as boutique upper-class shops. Not old school Mexican, and not dusty middle-class shops either.
Cigar: Legit Cubans at Habanos with a semi-cool cigar lounge, Are they legitimate Cubans? I think so for these that are sold in the store - not the guys occasionally up and down the street. Daniel at Habanos across from Villa Marina parking entrance runs his own shop and is my source for an occasional smoke.
Surf Lessons: Why not? Yes, I learned to surf here. Winter waves are plenty for beginners. Water is clean enough. Beach Playa Hermosa works well for beginners with an easy beach break. Guides are fun and equipment (boards and wet suits for cold winter water) new and reasonably priced. For higher-level surfers custom tour on Request. Elsa at Playa Hermosa Surf and Sup has the best operations and Carnival outsource to her. So she is moonlighting direct to clients (Carnival takes a HUGE cut). Ask her about Surf and Massage Package.
Skydive: Safe and fun, skydiving is amazing. Fabricio at Skydive Baja is the man in Ensenada. Yes, they can do pickup and dive during your cruise stop. He was my first roommate in Ensenada, so I can vouch he is adrenaline junkie. And safe enough run the best operation around.
Fun Eats:
da Toni - the best Italian seafood spot in Ensenada. Super authentic, high end of local pricing, and cute.
Planta Baja - great views/good dinner/right next to Baja Brews out in Sauzal.
Boules - great dinner spot. Off the ocean next to nice city park.
Parque Revolucion: It’s a city park for the residents, huge magnolia trees, music on Sundays, guys playing chess, kids on playground, sandwiches for sale.
Ecological park and Buddhist statue with views of city. Keki is Fifteen blocks from the first street and a block for office. I am considering planning out a self-guided walking tour to this and Parque Revolucion as part of hidden cultural side of Ensenada. Great maintained gardens and city views.
The first five cruisers to leave a comment here, I will buy a taco and beer!! Give me a virtual hug by leaving a comment;)
Map of Ensenada Save on your phone if you like to orient yourself:)
Tips in Other Posts
Prescription Medicine: Pharmacy’s here sell lots of stuff at cheaper prices. I have never heard of a problem with quality. What you are sold in pharmacy is the actual product labeled. Taking medication back Rule: . . . Not everything is available without restriction. Many medicines are controlled and the pharmacies are regulated, so no shady practices. You can bargain of course and prices.
For more adventure (or relaxation massage) consider an excursion/tour:
Kayak Excursion to Blowhole
