Sierra Madre Villages Half-Day Cultural Tour

From the moment Carlos picked us up timely at our hotel, he kindly explained the various fauna and history and customs of the people. The town of Malpica bread and tile tour was incredible and so rich in culture. Concordia was amazing with its Church and town square. We were able to stop to buy pottery. The tour of Old Town was great followed by a stop at a phenomenal art gallery on the way to a lunch on the beach that couldn't be better. Carlos is an asset and his knowledge and passion for his home was very much appreciated.

Not good use of our time. We did this tour as a shore excursion from Norwegian Cruise Line cruise ship on our visit to Mazatlan Mexico. This was a seven hour tour. We started by visiting the church in the old town Mazatlan which took a half hour. Next we went to the Golden Zone to a place selling fake opals. We were told the ship recommends the store so everything is silver stamped and real opals. Unfortunately not true. So buyers - you are warned. We then drove to the mountains a distance away. On the way we stopped for ten minutes to see the making of handmade mud bricks. We were supposed to see a furniture making shop but it was only a store pointed out as we passed by. The ceramic making stop was another a store to buy ceramics. We finally reached Concordia for lunch which was so-so. The town is tiny with nothing to see. The few shops were closed for siesta. Next we went to an even smaller town Malpica. We saw a man making clay trivets for five minutes - of course to sell. Next the outside of the tiny Malpica church before visiting a bakery. Our description said to try the delicious Mexican bread. However no samples were available. The bread, cakes and pastries were all gone. You would think with three buses (150 people) the bakery would have been better prepared. The bakery only had about 1/2 dozen pastries for sale. Not good business sense. Then the ride back to the ship. Note Malpica was not on our original booking but the original town, Copala, unfortunately, had been taken over by the Cartel. Copala is a historic gold mining town where we originally to have lunch.

The tour was not worth the cost, but our driver/guide was very good and tried his best to make it interesting. Our bet stop was the little home bakery. All their bakery goods were excellent and I wish we had bought more to bring with us. Unfortunately we toured on Sunday and many things were closed , plus in the town of Concordia all the electricity was out. The highlight was the lunch in Mazatlan on the beach. The food was excellent.

Jesus was a wonderful guide, flexible and attentive to the various interests and needs of his guests. Great excursion!

Carlos picked me up at my hotel and we proceeded to pick up the rest of the people. Very professional and friendly, the van was clean, had a/c and cooled drinks (water and soda). My final day in Mazatlan…. I found Mazatlan to be distinctly different from Puerto Vallarta, Playa Del Carmen and Cancun. Mazatlan exudes a more relaxed and laid-back atmosphere. Each has their own great qualities. I had the opportunity to observe a traditional tile maker at work, I believe he is one of the last. We also toured a local bakery, notable for its enormous oven (able to purchase for 20 pesos each) and a pottery making shop, the church in Concordia, some shopping, and lunch on the beach (if you choose). A stop to watch another cliff diver and then back to the hotel. I also did the city tour and this tour overlaps a tiny bit. The shopping is at Michael’s at both places and lunch is at the same place as well (pretty good pina colodas) stopped at the cliff diver’s for both (something to see).

Our experience was canceled but the company rebooked us on another, similar tour and it was amazing! Our guide was JeanCarlos and his understanding of the local history, culture, and customs was interesting and very enjoyable. We would highly recommend this company to anyone.

Great see old Mexico. Our guide Elmara was very informative and friendly. She communicated really well with everyone. Lunch was fab. Real Mexican style I would highly recommend this trip which gave you a good insight into the history of Mexico

I booked this tour through Royal Caribbean cruise as one of my tour. I went on this tour thinking I was going to see the city of Mazatlan. I didn't know we was going to these other small towns. We seen the church with armed police standing next to it. Seen a lot of bars on the windows. Saw the people making clay disk and the house. That was cool. After seeing that, the bus took us to some restaurant for real Mexican food. My food was ice cold, beans was like baby food. I ended getting sick from it. One more thing stay away from opal mine jewelry store that's on this tour. It's a big rip off. Very low quality.

The trip was cancelled. I hope I get a refund I really wanted to take this trip into the mountains of Mexico. Many Viator trips are canceled.

Jesus was a wonderful and knowledgable guide who showed us some of the “real life “ of sierra Madre villages. We saw demonstrations of brick, bread, tile and pottery making. We learned about the history and culture of the area. Highly recommend this excursion.