Disney Wonder - Mexican Riviera from San Diego

Where this cruise calls, day by day

6 ports and 2 sea days over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   San Diego, CA

   United StatesDepart

   San Diego is one of the easiest cruise arrivals in the country: the B Street and Broadway piers sit directly on the downtown Embarcadero, with the aircraft carrier USS Midway permanently moored a few hundred yards along the same waterfront. The Gaslamp Quarter is a flat ten-minute walk. It works as both a turnaround port for Mexico runs and a pleasant one-day call.

   • USS Midway Museum, with the flight deck and hangar open to walk
   • Balboa Park's museums and the San Diego Zoo
   • Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, the original Mexican-era settlement
   • The ferry across the bay to Coronado and the Hotel del Coronado

   Getting ashore

   Docks downtown at the B Street or Broadway Pier; the Gaslamp Quarter, Midway and Little Italy are all walkable.

   Best months

   Year-round (Sep-Oct warmest and clearest; May-Jun often grey until afternoon)

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3

   Cabo San Lucas

   MexicoPort

   Cabo is a tender port, and one of the better ones - the boat drops you at the marina in the middle of town rather than a mile from anywhere. The setting does the work: desert mountains falling straight into the Pacific, with the granite arch at Land's End a ten-minute panga ride from the dock. Expect timeshare pitches from the moment you step onto the boardwalk.

   • Water taxi to El Arco and Lover's Beach
   • Médano Beach, the one bay in town that is safe to swim
   • Snorkelling at Chileno Bay or Santa María
   • Grey and humpback whale watching in winter

   Getting ashore

   Tender port - about 10-15 minutes to the marina, which puts you in the centre of town; heavy Pacific swell occasionally cancels the operation.

   Best months

   Nov-May is dry and mild, with whales Dec-Apr; Aug-Oct is humid and hurricane-prone

4. Day 4

   Mazatlán

   MexicoPort

   Mazatlán's berth is inside a busy commercial cargo port, so the first thing you see is containers and cranes. The fix is a pulmonía - the open-sided golf-cart taxis unique to this city - and ten minutes to Centro Histórico, where Plaza Machado and a restored 19th-century opera house make the case for Mazatlán better than the Golden Zone hotels do. Ships avoided the port for two years over cartel violence before returning.

   • Plaza Machado and Teatro Ángela Peralta in the old town
   • The malecón and the climb up to the El Faro lighthouse
   • Stone Island (Isla de la Piedra) for beach and coconut groves
   • The cliff divers at the Glorieta on the seafront

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock in the commercial port; a pulmonía or taxi reaches Old Town in about 10 minutes, and walking out of the port area is long and dull.

   Best months

   Nov-May is dry and mild; Jul-Oct is humid, rainy and hurricane season

5. Day 5

   Puerto Vallarta

   MexicoPort

   The Terminal Marítima is at the north end of the bay, next to the marina and a cruise-oriented shopping mall, so Vallarta proper - the Malecón, the Zona Romántica, the tiled church dome - is a 10 to 15 minute taxi away. Banderas Bay is deep and calm, humpbacks winter in it, and the town behind the seafront is a real one with an art scene and a long-established gay quarter.

   • The Malecón sculpture walk and the Zona Romántica
   • Playa Los Muertos
   • A boat to Yelapa or the Marietas Islands
   • Humpback whale watching, December to March

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at Terminal Marítima; downtown is 10-15 minutes by taxi, and timeshare touts work the terminal exit hard.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr is dry and warm; Jul-Sep is hot, humid and the heart of the rainy season

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7

   Ensenada

   MexicoPort

   Ensenada is on most California itineraries because US law requires a foreign stop, and the town knows it. The port is a working commercial harbour with a short shuttle or walk to Avenida López Mateos, a strip of cantinas, curio shops and pharmacies. It is far better than that sounds if you leave the strip - the Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico's serious wine region, starts about an hour inland.

   • La Bufadora, the sea geyser 45 minutes south
   • Valle de Guadalupe wineries
   • Hussong's Cantina, open since 1892
   • Fish tacos at the Mercado Negro

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock; the main tourist street is a 15-20 minute walk, or a short shuttle from the terminal gate.

   Best months

   Apr-Oct is warm and dry; winter here is cool, grey and windy - this is Baja's Mediterranean end, not the tropics

8. Day 8

   San Diego, CA

   United StatesArrive

   San Diego is one of the easiest cruise arrivals in the country: the B Street and Broadway piers sit directly on the downtown Embarcadero, with the aircraft carrier USS Midway permanently moored a few hundred yards along the same waterfront. The Gaslamp Quarter is a flat ten-minute walk. It works as both a turnaround port for Mexico runs and a pleasant one-day call.

   • USS Midway Museum, with the flight deck and hangar open to walk
   • Balboa Park's museums and the San Diego Zoo
   • Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, the original Mexican-era settlement
   • The ferry across the bay to Coronado and the Hotel del Coronado

   Getting ashore

   Docks downtown at the B Street or Broadway Pier; the Gaslamp Quarter, Midway and Little Italy are all walkable.

   Best months

   Year-round (Sep-Oct warmest and clearest; May-Jun often grey until afternoon)