"Two Weeks in the Sun"

The Sierra Madre Mountain trip is very interesting. The trip is 6 hours long and I would recommend booking the trip through the Hotel Costa de Oro as they have exceptional knowledgeable English speaking guides. You make 3 stops at little villages. Malpica observe local man hand making floor tiles. Concordia see hand made furniture in construction. Copala main stop, great lunch at Daniel's restaurant included in the tour price. Copala sites included old prison turned into a small mine museum, Local artisan who make masks of various fish and animal skins, and a church built in 1785. The bottom fishing for Red Snapper is very good. We also heard the Marlin fishing was great. One boat caught two over 9 feet on one day.

Quick Tips:

Coupons can be printed off the Internet for a variety of thing in Mazatland. If you plan on going fishing check out the rates and you can do some bargaining. We used the Viking fleet boat. Book early in your stay to insure that you will be able to get a boat.

Best Way To Get Around:

The old buses charge 4.5 pesos, new buses 8 pesos. Their are various forms of taxis, tell the driver where you want to go and then you can bargain. Never get in a taxi before you know what the fare will be, they do not have meters.

Best Things Nearby:
The Hotel has a small store with basic items a family might need. The prices were very reasonable. Their are also a number of flea market-type outdoor shops to buy souvenirs you do not want to go downtown. There are a number of Restaurants within easy walking distance.

Best Things About the Resort:
This hotel has a very well equipped kitchen for those that like to do some cooking, including wine glasses. The pool, hot tub, very friendly staff and the resort guests.

Resort Experience:
The pool is very good for all ages because it gradually slopes to deeper water. The pool floor is color coded to show the water depth. their lots of lounge chairs as well as tables and chairs. The hot tub is elevated so you can look out to the ocean. The hotel Restaurant is very good as well as reasonable priced pool bar. Every a.m. their are Shrimp vendors that come down the beach with fresh caught shrimp for a good price.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Fair
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

The Panama has fantastic fresh desserts and great coffee. They bring a tiered cart to your table with 20 or so different desserts to choose from all fresh cut cakes, pies and others. they also have a bakery stand where you can buy take out. On another visit to the restaurant we had a very good chicken dinner and another dessert.

This restaurant offers drink coupons as do many others. We had Mahi-Mahi grilled with Shrimp. The meal and service was excellent. They also had live entertainment that did not go from table to table and interrupt your meal but stayed in one location and just preformed. It was a very relaxing evening.