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mposthuma wrote:

My wife and I will be visiting Mazatlan towards the end of September.  We are looking for things to do.  We were hoping there was Expat Tour - does anyone know of anything like that.  Mark of Mark and Theresa

Hi Mark and Theresa,
Actually it would be hard not to trip over a tour of some sort there.  Your hotel will suggest many, a web search will show more. It is not like Cancun where it is hard to walk 10 feet in some areas without being approached for some sort of tour or timeshare sale but there are plenty of people wanting to show the city off..

I even had people trying to sell me a horse on the beach in Mazatlan. Taxi drivers can be good sources for all sorts of things. I would stick with your hotels suggestions.

Perhaps what you are looking for is a personal tour and maybe someone who lives there will step up to do that.
Do you speak Spanish ? That can be a factor also. It makes it easier to communicate with taxi drivers and locals. Also some locals speak some English or are completely bilingual.

It shouldn't be a problem to find what you are looking for.

hi guys

a quick  note , I"m a Canadian with permanent resident status living in Merida in the Yucatan
I have had experiences with travel as i usually vacation in different locations in mexico
Mazatlan being one of them
Do not , i repeat , do not put faith in taxi drivers, they will for most parts lead you astray , and in most cases to their advantage
Remember you are a non Mexican and the loyalty stops there
my advice is to stick with a tour in your hotel that you have some recourse
Mexico is a great place for the most part have a great vacation

jk

clintaboo wrote:

hi guys

a quick  note , I"m a Canadian with permanent resident status living in Merida in the Yucatan
I have had experiences with travel as i usually vacation in different locations in mexico
Mazatlan being one of them
Do not , i repeat , do not put faith in taxi drivers, they will for most parts lead you astray , and in most cases to their advantage
Remember you are a non Mexican and the loyalty stops there
my advice is to stick with a tour in your hotel that you have some recourse
Mexico is a great place for the most part have a great vacation

jk

Interesting clintaboo,

I'm permanent also, and I have also traveled all over Mexico not usually on vacation and sometimes on vacation..  I have for the most part had very good experiences with taxi drivers, they have helped me out again, and again. They were great even when my Spanish was less smooth. The only problem I had was in MERIDA where one taxi driver refused to help because he wasn't going that way. One or two taxi drivers have gone out of their way to help me find what I was looking for, let me know I had left something in the cab, and so far they are the best people to get directions from.

Everyone wants to give directions but only 25% really know what they are talking about. They just want to help. So far the taxi drivers have been 100% right about direction.

I think your problem with taxis might be a personal conflict of some sort. What you think can often influence what happens.

I was in Mazatlan for a month. I recommend going to the El Faro lighthouse. There are incredible views from the top! Walking around the old restored part of Mazatlan is a must, as well as taking in a show or just touring the Angela Peralta Theater in old town. There is no tours of these that I know of but there could be. 
My brother highly recommended doing Stone Island (of which there are many tour type ways to get there). I didn't do I because I was there in the summer and it was just tooooo hot!  It will still be a cooker in September.
The Acuario (Aquarium) was great too.
Just thoughts.

Thanks everyone for the great replys ...

We certainly do want to do the touristy things while we are there, but we also want to know what it would be like to live in Mazatlan.  For us this is an exploration trip - we are visiting Mazatlan to see if this is a potential place to retire.

We'd like to have the opportunity to meet some people living there to get their perspective on ....

... the people
... possible places to live
... what they like
... what they don't like
... what they do with their freetime
... medical care
... etc.

Mark

mposthuma wrote:

Thanks everyone for the great replys ...

We certainly do want to do the touristy things while we are there, but we also want to know what it would be like to live in Mazatlan.  For us this is an exploration trip - we are visiting Mazatlan to see if this is a potential place to retire.

We'd like to have the opportunity to meet some people living there to get their perspective on ....

... the people
... possible places to live
... what they like
... what they don't like
... what they do with their freetime
... medical care
... etc.

Mark

It definitely sounds like you need a local expat or bilingual native, Your hotel may be helpful there . We stayed in a boutique hotel in the older part of town. They were very helpful . A resort would get you the standard tourist routine. a small local hotel would have a more local flavor and local advice.

mposthuma wrote:

Thanks everyone for the great replys ...

We certainly do want to do the touristy things while we are there, but we also want to know what it would be like to live in Mazatlan.  For us this is an exploration trip - we are visiting Mazatlan to see if this is a potential place to retire.

We'd like to have the opportunity to meet some people living there to get their perspective on ....

... the people
... possible places to live
... what they like
... what they don't like
... what they do with their freetime
... medical care
... etc.

Mark

Hi Mark, just an option is to visit Isla de la Piedra taking the ferry from the old town. My self and my sister-in-law went there a few years back nice laid back area but...my wife and I decided on another area about 5 hours drive from Mazatlán to retire we are moving permanently next August 25th. The place is call La Penita de Jaltemba with Rincon de Guayabitos and Los Ayala near by and only 80km from Puerto Vallarta. Adios y buena suerte en su proyecto, GyC