First of all, apologies for some of these photos being really small and low quality. They were taken many years ago with a very old camera. Fortunately most of them turned out alright, it’s just a few that aren’t as good, but I felt that they were part of the story and wanted to include them.

Waaaaay back in 2007, I took my “first” real trip to Mexico (I’ve been told a day trip to Tijuana when I was 16 doesn’t count)(I still count it). So I guess you could say it’s my first time staying over. My parents good friends Linda and Dennis own a timeshare that they had extra weeks for, so our accommodations were about $150 for the whole week, split amongst four of us at a luxury hotel in Mazatlan. It was possibly one of the nicest places I’ve ever stayed up to that point. The main point of this vacation was to do as little as possible, but if you know me, you know that’s entirely not possible for me. Of course I managed to do plenty of that, but fortunately we also got out and toured the city and surroundings as well. But first, let me show you this hotel in all it’s luxury.

Pretty impressive, right? Yeah, I definitely did not mind spending a week here, relaxing in the pool at the swim up bar, enjoying many cocktails. But we did go into the city for dinners and spend a day or two walking around. We took these little red pickup truck taxis with benches in the back to sit on. It was a really fun way to get around!

Mazatlan was founded in 1531 by the Spanish Army, but it wasn’t until a large group of Germans arrived that the city really blossomed into what it is today. They European influence is apparent in the buildings around old town, though some of them remind me more of the French Quarter in Louisiana than Germany.

It is also famous for it’s shrimp and has a huge shrimping fleet based out of it’s harbor.

We also spent time walking along the boardwalk, admiring the beach and fishing boats. We never went swimming here, but I hear it’s nice.

You can also hike out to the lighthouse at the top of this rock and there are supposed to be great views, but my parents had heard it was dangerous and refused to let me go. I’m not bitter about it though…

I also wanted to join these guys diving off the rocks to impress the tourists, but alas, it was not in the cards either.

If you’re looking for a great place to relax, without many touristy things to distract you, Mazatlan is great. The food is excellent, the beaches are nice and it’s an easy city to navigate. But if you are looking for something to do besides the beach, we also did a day trip into the mountain villages which I will tell you about next!