Trip Reports from Baja Mexico
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Loreto vacation on a tight BUDGET
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Loreto vacation on a tight BUDGET
We decided to plan a big family weekend vacation with my two brothers and one sister and choose Loreto as the destination, since my sister and one brother had never been there previously. My sister and bother-in-law said it had to be CHEAP as they are both still at medical school and living on very tight budget. I was chosen to make the plans and I needed to find accomodations that they could afford.
So I searched for good deals and reserved 6 rooms at this hotel:
OYO Hotel Miramar
23880 Calle Abulones entre Mantarayas
Loreto, BCS 23880
+526131244135
The rooms were very basic but nice and clean and they all did have A/C which is a must have in summer. The rooms costs us approximately 45 dollars per night, a real bargain for Loreto. The hotel is small and relatively quiet but close to most of the places we wanted to go see.
The next morning all go to breakfast at Cafe Olé on Calle Madero in the downtown area. It was kinda busy but a good breakfast and very fair prices.
So we packed some lunches and cold drinks in the cooler and went to see the San Javier Mission. It was interesting though the little ones got bored very soon and my brother got irritated because he wanted to stay more time. Made note to leave the small kids at the hotel with one member of the family next time.
Going back to town we drove down to the boardwalk (malecon) of Loreto. The kids enjoyed that a lot more and we had a fun afternoon walking around, taking pictures, buying food and shopping for souvenirs from the local street vendors.
We went back to the hotel to take showers and a change of clothes and went out for a dinner at the Restaurant Playa Blanca. It’s located on the corner of Madero and Hidalgo on the second floor. They had all the windows open and there was a very nice breeze that came through and kept us cooled off. Everybody liked their dinners and I had the ribeye while everybody else ordered seafood. The dinners averaged about 25 dollars per adult and half that for each kid.
We got up the next morning and went back to Cafe Olé for breakfast and then went back to the hotel to change into bathing suits and chanclas before driving to the marina to meet a man who we were introduced to at the restaurant the night before. His tour business takes people on boat rides out to Coronado Island. He had 2 boats to take our family out for a half day tour of the island where the kids got to snorkel and play while the adults mainly just hung out in the shade, snacking and drinking cold beers and wine coolers.
On the ride back to the marina we saw a lot of fish, a manta ray and some dolphins and it was a fun trip. My brother had negotiated with him the night before and he charged our group 450 dollars for the two boats, which provided the transportation, chairs and snorkeling gear and we brought our own food and drinks. That calculated out to be about 40 dollars per person which was a good deal compared to some of the prices we had seen posted on the internet.
When we got back we walked around downtown and did some shopping and then went back to shower and change clothes before going out to dinner. Everybody was kinda tired so we decided on something simple and easy so we go to Mariscos El Caloron, an open air restaurant right down near the malecon. Every adult ordered several different dishes of seafood and the kids all ordered fish tacos and french fries.
14 of us had dinner with 4 men ordering a LOT of food and the total bill for everything including the drinks was less than 160 dollars. Again, a very good deal for a dinner in Loreto.
We went back to the hotel, left the kids with my mom and we went to Claudia’s by the plaza on a recommendation from the hotel after we asked where we could go for some live music and strong margaritas.
I didn’t take any photos there but the margaritas and service were very good, the music was a bit loud but after the first margarita I don’t remember much about the music – LOL!
After 3 hours there I think the bar bill with a couple orders of shrimp worked out to be about 25 dollars per person.
We checked out the next morning and spent a little more time downtown doing some shopping and sight seeing before heading back north to home.
Overall we had a very good time and my sister and brother-in-law were able to stay under their travel budget for a 4 day / 3 night vacation in Loreto. As a couple, they spend less than 450 dollars, not including the transportation expenses to get there.
And those were none in their case as they rode in our car – LOL!
Spending some time planning really paid off and we learned it’s better not to book the Coronado Island tour online as you will find someone there offering you the same service for less.
That is probably true for many similar type tourism services throughout Mexico. -
1 Reply
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Oh yes! women are MUCH better at managing money in the marriage. It’s funny because when I was single I was never good at saving money but when we get married I really became a tightwad and watch every expense, wanting to save for the down payment on our house. My husband was much better at saving money before we get married but now I do it better then him. He tells me he loves it as he doesn’t have to worry about managing our budget.
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