I almost hesitate to write this because I want to be selfish and keep this jewel of an excursion a bit of a "secret", but we're here to share the joys..right?  :)

Back in 2002, we took our first cruise on the Elation; a 7-day Mexican Riv cruise.  It was not only our first cruise, but our first family vacation as well.  At the time, our kids were 12, 14, and 16, so we wanted to do shore excursions that would be fun for everyone.  Obviously, shopping tours, winery tours, etc. weren't going to make them happy.  We're also not much into animal "adventures" because well, some of them are a bit too exploitative for our taste and since we already live in SoCal, we're pretty lucky to get close to sea life that live free and wild here already.  So..what to do?  Back then, there weren't nearly as many shore excursions as there are now, so we vascillated between something with some historic significance that we thought the kids might enjoy learning; a tour of Colonial San Sebastian or something just plain silly and fun, like a pirate ship tour.

Over our first evening dinner, we were enjoying the company of our tablemates; another family who were on their 3rd cruise on the Mex Riv.  We told them of our predicament.  The young man in this family got excited and said; "Oh, hands down, you MUST do Las Caletas!  We've done other tours before, but Las Caletas is THE BEST!"  Then he went on to describe the day.  My husband and I looked at the kids and asked them what they thought.  The young man told us we would not be disappointed.  So, that very evening, I went to the shore excursion desk and booked us on the Las Caletas tour.

 When we got to P.V., we were escorted to a boat along with other Las Caletas tourists.  We were told to bring our swimsuits, sunscreen, and our happy faces.  The boat crew that took us to our remote little island getaway made the time pass quickly with a little entertainment (they were hilarious!).  Then, we disembarked on a beautiful little beach dotted with palapa'ed cabanas over hammocks just calling our names!  Everything was there for our enjoyment; kayaks, snorkel gear, cabana boys and girls bringing us drinks on the beach.  We could explore the hillside where there were parrots in trees, my husband and younger daughter went to a cooking class and learned how to make Paella (which we then enjoyed as part of the FANTASTIC lunch buffet), my other daughter and my son kayaked and snorkled the afternoon away.  The best part?  There were NO radios, televisions, cell phones!  In fact, there was no electricity.  They cooked over gas burners and barbeques.  We got a little John Huston history (this was his island).  It was the most amazing day.  When it was time to go, we were sorry to leave, but it was one of our most cherished family memories.  When we met our tablemates for dinner that night, we were just glowing!  And the kids went on and on about their fabulous day.  Now, 7 years later, our kids who are now 20, 22, and 24, STILL talk about that day at Las Caletas.  They still call it one of the best days of their lives.

 Cut to 2008.  We went on another MexRiv cruise with my sister and her husband...no kids this time...to celebrate our wedding anniversaries.  We had raved and raved about Las Caletas to them and they wanted to see for themselves.  So, we booked Las Caletas again.  I HOPED that things hadn't changed too much.  I wanted it to be as beautiful and "rustic" as it was back then.  We were not disappointed!  My sister still says that was one of the highlights of her first-time cruise experience. 

Remember, it's NOT a tour.  You're not going to be walking around being led by a guide.  It's a "beach day".  You can do what you want there and there's a lot to do, but it's all based on beach-type activities in a beautiful, secluded environment.  The staff there bend over backwards to make it a wonderful day.  You can hike, chat with new friends, lounge on the beach, hang in a hammock, swim, snorkel, kayak.  The only thing different about it this last time was that they've added a "sea lion adventure" right in the little harbor there which was a bit disappointing, but the people who were signed up for that seemed to enjoy it.  The sea lion was a bit "barky".  Other than that, its still an awesome day.  I'd do it again, and again, with, or without kids.   Oh, we did this in October WITH our kids and in April WITHOUT our kids...both times, the weather was simply glorious.

We're sailing to Ensenada in a couple weeks and I WISH there were a Las Caletas there!

Pua

Thanks for all the info. I've heard a couple other people tell me that they loved it.