I've stayed at Costa de Oro and it was reasonable and nice. Get out of the hotel to find meals... Breakfasts can be very cheap at local restaurants. Bring snacks, each breakfast late and just eat your snacks for lunch.

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This post was determined to be inappropriate by the TripAdvisor community and has been removed.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

Our staff may also remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason. Thanks for being a part of the TripAdvisor travel community!

I am really disappointed that the "regulars" on here haven't chimed in to help you.! I know that tourism is in the pits right now, but where are the so-called experts when you need them?

Off the top of my head, you will find that even though prices have climbed recently, you will still be paying much less for meals than back where you live. Every restaurant has good food at good prices....our favourite economy spots are Juanitas in the north end of the Golden Zone, and always Las Brochetas across from Mega on Raphael Buelna.

Hotels? Oceana Palace, Luna Palace, Azteca Inn, El Quijote.

The bus service is tremendous...do not be afraid to use it, it is an experience to savour in the best possible way, and way cheap.

This is a very poor intro to Mazatlan, but hopefully will get some dialog going on here people?

Well tripadvisor has removied my reply so I´ll send you a PM.

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This post was determined to be inappropriate by the TripAdvisor community and has been removed.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

Our staff may also remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason. Thanks for being a part of the TripAdvisor travel community!

Hi Joanne,

I have also sent you a personal message. Feel free to contact me any time.

neils, The "experts" on THIS forum at the moment, are Mazatlán full-time residents, so we don't really have the knowledge about the various hotels that you experienced tourists have. I will note that SOME of the hotels (just a few) specialize in deals for spring-breakers, so it's best to ask first, and avoid those that do. Otherwise, spring break is nearly invisible to other vacationers.

Hi Joanna,

We always travel over spring break which for us is Easter every year. Last year, we went to Mazatlan. I usually do a ton of research here on TA and other sites. We usually get very competitive rates from Chicago through Apple Vacations or Funjet. You can go to their web sites and find out pricing yourself and see if some days are cheaper than others. Traveling Sunday to Sunday is usually cheaper than Saturdays. I find most times they are actually cheaper than booking flight/hotel/airport transportation seperately. I also find that what they advertise for amenities at each property is accurate. Enjoy!

P.S. Ocean water in early April last year, really reminded me of Lake Michigan...CHILLY!

I wasn't particularly targetting the "official" experts, but rather all those some-time regular visitors to the site that have been prepared to answer general questions like this in the past.

Seven years ago or so, I was in asking mode, and I got a pile of good info on this site. Not so much anymore....very few trip reports or other tourist information. I know the traffic on here is about half what it was three and four years ago, that it might be a poor time of year with very few visitors reporting in, and may be the OP's original query was too general to answer easily. Or perhaps people have moved on...just saying.

At least there is some response finally, thank you.