There were a few things that I had somehow missed when I was reading up on our vacation.  First off I guess we were not allowed to wear shorts into some of the dining rooms.  We went to the Italian place and it said on a sign out front no shorts or flip flops allowed.  Well we were not prepared for anything else, we had brought nothing but shorts for the guys and my daughter and I had capris.  So we entered with our shorts and flip flops, although we looked nice.  There were people that were not dressed nice at all and no one was turned away.  So if you want to take extra clothes for some dinners go ahead, but it was never required.

The all inclusives are like being on a cruise ship, if you are familiar with that.  You order an appetizer, soup or salad and an entree.  Then you can end with dessert.  If you get something you don't like you can order another thing.  So it's great you get to try a lot of things.  The one dissappointing thing is that we were there for 8 days and the menus never changed at the restaurants and they never had specials.  The La Cascada had a menu you could order off of, but they also had tacos and quesadilla that you could go up and have made at the counter.  We never tire of Mexican food so that was always great to fall back on.

We tipped on occassion.  I was under the understanding that it was all included and you could choose to tip if you wanted.  We tipped a few of our favorite waiters the day we left and gave them a big Thank You.

The other thing that you need to know is that for all dinners, except the buffet, you have to make reservations.  We had the choice of about 5 different restaurants.  One night we waited to long and were able to get into the restaurant that we wanted.  But we also found that we could make reservations for the following nights at the same time so we didn't have to think about it the next day.

When traveling around Mazatlan it's the same as traveling around anywhere else in Mexico, work a deal with taxis.  My son, who loves to barter, really liked all that you could do in Mexico.  We had told the kids get into a taxi, but if it was too much just get back out.  We got out of a few before the guy would give us the deal we wanted.  One time the guy wanted to charge us 120 pesos and we already knew ahead of time it should cost more than 60-80, and we ended up talking him down to 80.  So be willing to walk, there are always more taxis. I tell you, there is a lot of traffic in Mazatlan!!

We were exchanging our money for pesos at the Motel and getting 12 to 1.  Which was great.  We found that out on the streets in the little shops you could do a little better, it was 12.3 to 1.  The other thing is they will take American money but they do a 10 to 1 exchange rate, so if you have your pesos ready you can get a better deal by paying with them after you have talked American money.

Our room was fine.  There are pictures on the web that make it look much more luxurious that it really was.  But it was fine for us.  We chose the most inexpensive room you could purchase and we were very pleased.  We had a view out of our room that was spectacular.

There are 3 pools at the El Cid.  We didn't find the 3rd pool until 2 days in.  We were pretty sure there was a hot tub, and we knew it was in the 3rd pool, but we couldn't locate it.  The nice thing is many people can't locate it so it was very quite.  There was always a seat to be had at this pool.  Plus there were some amazing rocks with waterfalls that you could climb up and and jump off of.  And we did that often.

This was all inclusive and that meant all our meals and all drinks.  We went expecting the food to be marginal and that is about what it was.  I consider myself a foodie.  I like good food and I like gourmet food and I really enjoy cooking.  But when I choose all inclusives I lower my expectations and I realize that this is vacation and I don't have to cook or shop or think about it, so it's all good to me.  The other positive thing about food that is good instead of fabulous is that you never overeat.

There were quite a few places that we were able to eat at.  We did most of our breakfasts at La Cascada.  It was a sit down and we found what we liked there, and it had the best coffee.  We went to El Patio one day, the service was not so good and they didn't have coffee, but ran across the street to get some, so it was a long time coming and when it was gone it was gone.  There is always the buffet.  It was fine.  I went to the very back and got an omelet both times.

For lunch we did the outdoor buffet by the beach.  It was easy and again pretty good.  We ate all kinds of tacos most days.  They often were grilling food right there and that was always good.  There was also a snack place in the bar area that had hamburgers, hot dogs and quesadilla.

Dinner wasn't so good.  We went to La Cascada a few times.  I think it was the best.  The Italian restaurant was not good both times we went, and we tried El Patio once and didn't like the selection their either.  I will say it again though, we found things we could eat that we fill us up and we always had the dinner buffet that we could go to just in case we were still hungry.  But because of the selections, we never over ate.  That's a good thing.

So my final opinion would be this.  If you are looking for sunshine and a fun get away at an affordable price I would recommend this place.  We did have an awesome vacation.  If you can afford more there are definitely better places to choose from.  We probably won't go back simply because I am not a huge fan of Mazatlan, but not because I didn't have a good time.

Read on for More Tips of El Cid

The trip was all inclusive and even included our transfers from the airport to the motel.  We ended up in a taxi going to the motel.  The El Cid was a long was away from the airport.  It took us about 30 minutes to get there.  You really got to see all parts of Mazatlan that way.  All the way from everyday life to the touristy section. When we left the motel they took us in a shuttle van.

We made partial payment when we booked back in March and we made the final payment in November right before we left.  So it was nice that it was broken up and easily paid for over time.

If you go through the El Cid web site and book the same thing we just did it would cost you $2914 for 7 nights.  With Vacations to Go we spent $2139.

Here is our Review of El Cid

With my time here I have been searching websites to find some more fun activites to participate in while we are in Mazatlan.  The one time I have been there I didn' t not have a chance to go to Old Mazatlan, so I am excited about that.  My daughter loves to take pictures and I think that will provide a perfect back drop for her.

There also seem to be lots of beaches that you can go to, so just for locals.  I love getting away from what the tourists and trying to discover what the locals do.

Well, until the snow melts I can only plan things on the internet instead of buy things I need for the trip.  Oh well.

So we are staying at El Cid Castilla Beach.  Here are a list of the restaurants that we have to choose from

Club de Playa. Snack bar at the pool offering lunch and refreshing drinks. Active atmosphere with entertainment staff. Swim-up bar. Open from 10am to 6pm.

El Alcazar. A casual but elegant A la Carte gourmet restaurant with a fantastic view to the lighted swimming pool area, offering International cuisine and a wide variety of wines. Some dishes and desserts are cooked at your table. 24-hour advance reservations required. Open 7 to 11pm. Dark Mondays.

La Alahambra. Casual buffet restaurant for lunch with a fantastic ocean view, offering a different theme buffet every day. Large salad and sandwich station. Open 12-4pm

La Cascada. An exquisite fair for Mexican food lovers in a very Mexican atmosphere and décor, serving A la Carte fine cuisine. 24-hour advance reservations required. Open 7 to 11pm. Dark Wednesdays.

La Pergola Theater. A food lovers heaven, with one of the largest buffets in Mexico, offering breakfast in the morning and theme dinner entertainment at night with a different menu and show nightly. Open 7 to 11am and 7 to 10pm.

Lobby Bar. Casual sports bar with live music some days of the week. Open 3-11pm.

So like any all inclusive or cruise we have ever done I always go with the attitude of "I don't have to cook it" and if for some reason it's not all the good, I won't complain about it and let it ruin my trip instead I will think about all the weight I won't gain from pigging out.

Alright, off to keep exploring…..

So this motel is modern, Spanish style hotel includes 500 rooms and suites. Chose between low-rise units with pool views or an ocean-view room in our 17-floor tower above Mexico’s largest swimming pool.

27 holes of championship golf, tennis, sport fishing, sailing, spa and fitness center, nature, cultural and adventure tours, swimming and water sports, disco and nightly theme parties, several restaurants and bars.

All Inclusive is available with upgrade option to Elite status.

Free shuttle service and access to all resort facilities to any of El Cid’s four hotels.

And we have upgraded to the Elite Status.

This restaurant is also right outside the Golden Zone, which is the main shopping area in downtown Mazatlan.  Alright I am going to keep looking at all the facilites, dining, and activities….

Good thing I saved money there, because I just saw that Target put out their new swimsuits so I will be making a trip to go pick out a new one for Mexico. We have just 2 more weeks before we leave.

We have had a great experience with Vacations to Go. We have been in contact with them a number of times and they are always courteous and very helpful. Be sure to check them out for your next vacation.

We just found out that our flights have been changed somewhat and we couldn't be happier. This is a great flying tip. We were flying out of San Francisco into Mexico, and after we scheduled that we were told that it often times gets fogged in and you can't get out. Well, they changed it to LAX for some reason, so we are good to go.

Off to find my summer clothes and start to think about what else I might need in that suitcase.

Last year for Christmas we did something really different, we went to Sunriver, which is in Central Oregon.  It was perfect for Christmas with all the snow and lights and full moon.

We even went sledding at 10pm in the moonlight one night.  It was hard being quiet that late on a sledding hill we weren't supposed to be on.  ANYWAYS….after that my daughter begged us to go to Mexico or somewhere warm for Christmas "08.

Well we had enough bonus miles through Alaska that we could have gotten free tickets, but you know Christmas is super expensive.  But we searched and got our airline tickets for half price using our miles. We then had to look for some place that we could afford to go stay.  I searched and couldn't find anything under $4000.  I told my 14 year old daughter that I had to give up.

Next thing I know she is on the internet herself looking through Vacationstogo.com and she found a place.  It's in Mazatlan Mexico.  She found an all inclusive(alcohol too!) for $2200, and that is for 7 nights and 8 days. We actually found it cheaper until we realized she would be 15 by the time we went so the price went up for her.  So we called Vacationstogo.com.  We had never used them before. The guy spent 20 minutes with us checking different dates and different things (I have no idea what he was doing) until he finally found it for $100 cheaper.  The place we found was a 4 star.  It has mixed reviews, so we will have to wait and see.  But don't worry I will keep you posted as that gets closer.  So far our experience with Vacationstogo.com has been very positive.

Read on for the review of our trip.