Puerto Penasco Review

A look at a map shows you that Arizona is a land-locked state. It also shows you that it has a long border with Mexico and that there are miles of beaches along the Sea of Cortez just beckoning to Arizona locals. The most popular and fully developed of these beaches is Puerto Peñasco, which many Arizona folks prefer to call "Rocky Point" because otherwise they have to learn how to pronounce the sound of the ñ (en-yay) character, which as all gringos know, is a terrifying prospect indeed.

In any case, Puerto Peñasco has some things going for it that make it popular with the Arizona local yokels. First, it's got beaches (which sure beats the miles of brown sand that Arizona has). Second, it's pretty darn affordable with lots of dirty cheap hotel rooms and plenty of small seafood restaurants where you can sit out on the beach and dig your toes into the brown sand as waiters bring out plate after plato of yummy-licious camarones al diablo or filetes al mojo de ajo, along with chilly cervezas for 12 pesos (about $1).

Also going for it, Puerto Peñasco is INSIDE the border region, which means that there's no fuss and no muss with getting the usual FMT tourist visa that gringos need anywhere else they go in Mexico. A few unsuspecting gringos have gone down thinking that means they don't need proper papers to cross BACK into the U.S., only to be upset when border patrol agents ask to see their passports. Mexican officials might not care who you are or what kind of papers you have to cross the border headed down into Puerto Peñasco, but the U.S. officials sure as heck DO care --- so do yourself a favor and make sure you've got a passport before you just hop in a car or bus and head on over to Puerto Penasco!

As far as Mexican beaches go, Puerto Penasco is below average. It's okay, but it ain't no Cancun! There's not really a very large critical mass of clubs or hot spots, so nobody goes for the nightlife. There's also no historical sites nor any stunning natural attractions nearby. Sure....there's the surf and sand of the Sea of Cortez, but this isn't the part where you see all the masses of baby whales in the early spring....that's further south.

You see a lot of "reviews" of Puerto Peñasco on the internet, but I rather suspect a lot of them are posted by people who work for Arizona property investors. I think if you found more real traveler reviews they'd be more like mine...."okay place, but it ain't a real Mexican beach resort". Take it for what it's worth...

For my money, I'd rather be in Manzanillo!