Ok Ensenada 

Would you do this tour?

Hi Tony. Your assessment of Ensenada is perfect! Being from San Diego, if you find yourself in Ensenada again, I recommend walking to any restaurant near the port, enjoying some chips and salsa and a few tacos and then enjoy the empty ship. Also, when I realized you were on the same cruise as my friend Jerry, I gave him a mission to seek you out and take a selfie. Jerry reported you are as cool in person as on RU-vid. Thanks for all the cruise content!

I did this excursion and felt the exact same. The blowhole wasn’t even as high on the day I went. I was really disappointed in this excursion. I just took this cruise route again this past Thanksgiving and took the taste of Ensenada. Try that one next time. You taste tacos in 5 different places. The first place is where fish taco originated. The last place was an upscale restaurant. It was really fun and delicious. We also learned a lot about Ensenada and Mexico. Very fun and if anyone out there likes super spicy some places can really give you the heat as a choice :)

I love the excursion tours and just walking around the ports with you. Let's me cruise vicariously through you. Thank you, I enjoy them and would like you to do more!

Been to Bufadora. I actually got a kick out of the trip thru the vendors. It's unusual and something I'd heard about but never seen. And the guide on the bus had so much fascinating insight into every thing we passed that the bus trip seemed to go by quickly.

Thanks for the great video, as always, Tony. Living in AZ we have done Ensenada several times. The best excursion we have done was the Segway tour. Keep up the great work.

A gauntlet is exactly how I was going to describe that scene. I would not be happy.😮

Oooo! just scheduled a trip on the Firenze for next year! Thank you for posting this, I dont know if I'll leave the ship for this one.

Usually the required port stop in Ensenada, MX is the last port before disembarking in Los Angeles. I stay on board have a leisurely day, and pack. I have been to Ensenada a couple of times, I don’t see any reason to go to port in Ensenada again.

I never got off my ship at Ensenada when passing through from Hawaii. Don't feel like I missed anything. 😊

Hola Amigos! "This is the place, come on in, no charge for looking."

We stop at there on our way back from Hawaii. We did a 4 hour tour on our own to watch grey whales 40.00 each the boat wasn’t the best and it was a bit cold also 6 foot waves but all that being said it was great see whales had fun, I didn’t to see the blow hole but my husband didn’t think it would be much since we go out west to see old faithful a lot and he would not have like all that businesses trying to sell stuff! So glad to hear your Thoughts Thank you glad I didn’t miss anything

Loving these experience videos!! Thanks

We did the Cheese cave tour with Royal out of Ensenada. It was about an hour inland by bus to a dairy farm and cheese production facility. We got lunch, cheese, amazing ice cream, and some wine and beer. It was great. We would do it again in a heartbeat.

Hi Tony, I appreciate your candor about the tour. Great video once again--thank you for sharing your adventure 😊

Oohhh at St Thomas … I don’t like wine, but I ❤️ me some ice cream! Lol 😝 and there’s a cute shop across the way with decently priced homemade cream. I think it was $4 a scoop. And it was a big scoop.

I would not have been happy with the “gauntlet” either. I’m not a fan of being aggressively lured into buying something I don’t need.

Glad it worked out.

II have enjoyed this series very much. Great time with BroIL Steve. Really because Sizzler & Ensenada tacos.

Ensenada is a good day to stay onboard and enjoy the ship. I've been to Ensenada many times and I have to wonder why cruise ships even stop there.

This definitely has helped me decide whether to ever visit Ensenada. It does not look like a place for me. I appreciate the review!

I did the same excursion with Royal in February. Beautiful up at la bufadora but agree with you about the walk through all the vendors.. I was extra harassed cuz if my shirt I got in Cozumel.. it has the Mayan calendar on it n every ship wanted me to buy something with it on it

We did a LA Bufadora tour on the Firenze May 2nd sailing and I agree with you Tony. It's like being in the middle of an arcade game trying to make your way through a gauntlet of rude, in your face merchants and hoping to make it to the prize at the end. The prize for me was getting back on the bus.

Cali girl - been to Ensenada a dozen times on cruises (the four day Catalina/Ensenada trips are super cheap). Pre-pandemic, countless vendors were all set up at the port (in and around the buildings there as you disembark, and the blow hole vendors were far more scarce! More similar to Cabo, there were some there, but not like now at all !! I attribute it to the multitude of vendors being vacated from the port and all heading to the blow hole instead.

We always get off in Ensenada and take the bus to two wineries on the Wine Trail. It is so enjoyable to see the hotels along the way. Also, eat local snacks, buy fresh jams and olive oil and listen to the live music in the gatden. Two very different wineries and well worth the money and bus ride. No vendors! And they give you a bottle of wine!

We were on a cruise to Hawaii in March which stopped in Ensenada on the way back. We took the tour specifically to the Blow Hole and described the experience exactly as you said: a very, in-your-face gauntlet. We won’t ever get off any cruise ship in Ensenada again. The worst excursion ever!

In the Navy living in San Diego we’d drive down to the blow hole in our jeeps on the dunes and had a good time but I’ve cruise a lot,not to Ensenada, but I can’t imagine the blow hole being a cruise destination.

I did this excursion in November. Gauntlet is a good term to describe it. Didn't care for it at all. I paid the same and only went to the convention center and La Bufadora. Only took us about 50 minutes to get there. I was on HAL.

i live in CA been on the Mexico cruise before last year we got a free cruise. we stayed on the ship for Ensenada . not much there for us

I got the impression from my one stay at Ensenada, that having one main activity will make it worth it. Wine tasting (and the eats that come with it-- I did this one), or the cheese cave, are reportedly worth it. Especially during inclement weather.

Hi Tony. We went to the blow hole several years ago, enjoyed it. But, you are right the vendors are way to aggressive. We like to just wander around the downtown area, have lunch and head back to the ship. Thank you for sharing. ❤ from Arizona.

T, there is a similar attraction in Bar Harbor, they call it Thunder Hole.

Hey Tony ! Thanks for this video. My first cruise was on the carnival can’t remember, but it was to Ensenada and I remember the comedian that Knight said Ensenada in Spanish means don’t get off the ship and I should’ve listened to him. We went to the blow hole for better terms and we’re confronted by so many vendors trying to sell everything from windmills to bird houses to drugs. had to go to the bathroom the girl charge me a dollar for a 3 inch piece of toilet paper fortunately I didn’t need it

Your first stop, Bar Andaluz, is my favorite place to get a drink. One of several bars that claim to be the birth place of the margarita.

When we were on that cruise, we rented our own car at Alamo in Ensenada and saw all the places on our own. The gas was very cheap and the car dash was completely in metric !

I’ve been to the blow hole before on an excursion, honestly I did not enjoy it at all. Everyone’s in my face trying to sell something. Oh my goodness that was 10 years ago. But it was the first time I ever been on a cruise too. I didn’t know what to expect.

Thank you so much for your honesty, this reminds us of our tour last year,, in Kusadasi, Turkey, definitely chose the wrong tour, $59,99 each. Other people loved Kusadasi, unfortunately for us, total let down, some said that the tour wasn’t good, but we have to se for ourselves. Anyway great Video Tony

If you want a substantial blow hole, try Old Faithful at Yellowstone. Yes, there will be tourists, but no vendor gauntlet to navigate. And there are moose!

I've been on this EXACT tour. You really have to push through. The tacos were pretty good. We picked up some avacado oil... my wife and I don't drink wine.

Hey Tony, we agree. Similarly, we'll never set foot in Cartegena, Columbia for the same reason. Endless beggars and annoying tourist trap "sales"people everywhere... ...we enjoyed the coffee workshop, but... Next time, if there ever is a next time, it's a good day to enjoy the ship and relax... At least your excursion price was cheap.

I don’t mind the vendors, they are trying to make a living. Plus you get to haggle. We were just there in April and my lady bought a blanket that she absolutely loves for $40 she wishes she bought another

I'd like to try out the Costco in Ensanada

Lidias Tacos is amazing

Oh u were on my cruise, lol. Did a different tour but ended up at the blowhole. What i learned is if u act pissed off or in a rush they're less likely to bother u. Im a 5ft tall teenage looking woman, but I power walked my way back to the bus. Whenever vendors tried to pull my mom or sister I would yell "lets go WE'RE LATE!". We sat in the a/c shuttle for 30 mins, just didnt want to deal with pushy people.

I agree with you Tony. We just did this tour in February 2024.. I didn't like all of the vendors constantly pestering us as we walked through to get to the Blow Hole, which, in itself, was anticlimactic. Two vendors started to follow our two beautiful (grown) daughters around for a short distance...which their daddy and I did not like. Wanted them to go into the back of a shop...they were also offered drugs...Ummmm...NO!....Yes, I felt it was my duty to leave a scathing review, didn't want to...but yes, I did to warn others. All in all, I would not do this excursion ever again. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

I'm with you on walking thru those vendors. I would have lost it!!!!!

Star Trek: The Cruise is calling for you, Tony.

Hey Tony. Did that la bufadora swap meet excursion many years back and it wasn’t quite as oppressive however we did the kayak to the blowhole excursion and it was way better. Long bus rides👎🏼

We live in LA and do that cruise periodically. We do not leave the ship in Ensenada.

Cabo -Medano beach was like that with the vendors, it was extreme. There was no way to relax at all. We did a winery tour in Ensenada

We went last month! Loved the blow hole... but the walk to get there...omg horrible

The name of the tour may have been confusing. Top 10 may not have meant 10 places, but a "Top 10" rating to be considered one of the top 10 tours in Ensenada. That guy at the Agave Room tequila place was a bit off about how much can be brought back duty-free. He said 2 liters duty free to the ship. The ship doesn't tax purchases, it's US Customs that matters. Only 1 liter can be brought back duty free. Over that is subject to a tax. So, based on his statement, some may be surprised at Customs. It's not unusual to pay to use a restroom. I paid on the French Riviera and other places. The shopping gauntlet is like other places. Cozumel comes to mind. It's nicer being inside, but you have to pass through to get anywhere. I was recently in Marrakech and going through the souks is the same, but you may have a cobra staring you in the face. I loved the experience. You know that international travel presents lots of different experiences. The shopping gauntlet is typical in many places. Keep in mind that those little towns would not exist if cruise ships didn't visit with thousands of people bringing $$$. It's a good and honest review and it could be a--been there, done that kinda thing. No need to go back for you. It sounds like lunch may have redeemed the trip. $59.99 is a fair price for an excursion that includes a tasty lunch. I'm looking at some excursions now for some future cruises. All that include lunch are $150-$250.

We’ve sailed on the Majestic several times and also love the ship. Not a big fan of the name plaques in Chinese.

Been there several times as last stop back to USA. The best thing I can say is Stay on the Ship!

we were there, me, wife, two teens. We took Uber to blow hole, faster drive. She waited for us for about 1 1/2 hours at blow hole, food drinks, etc. Drove us back to Ensenada. Total was $50 ish. Much better choice

Long bus rides, not booked through the cruise line, make me extremely 😬 nervous

Wow I did that tour many years ago on a girlfriend trip and agree, takes too long to get there and it’s not that great.

Best thing to do is go eat at Sabina Restaurante por La Guerrerense or their cart.

Totally with you on The blowhole experience, way too long of a trip and the gauntlet was annoying af. Glad I saw it but once was plenty. Lunch was good though!

The faster way to say "California in Mexico" is Bajá California.

Tony, what did you think of the blow hole. My wife and I loved it. I wasn't too thrilled about going through the gauntlet of vendors & pharmacists

The blow hole !? You were on a bus for an hour and a half for that 😂😂😂

I’ve never been to the blow hole because I knew it was a tourist trap. The best thing to do in Ensenada is to have someone pick you up and get a massage.

That is really useful if I was going as with all that travelling no I don't think I would and then the "markets" on top. Just not worth it although your guide does seem great so yes just him! I'll never go on this trip but you have educated me about useful things :)

Went there…it’s a rippoff!

Also.... ARE THE DOORS ON THE CABINS METAL OR WOOD ON THE FIRENZE?

Idk what’s worse….El Bufadora or the Cabo airport?! IYKYK😮😂❤but nothing could keep me from my beautiful Mexico😊

Our Hawaiian itinerary makes a token stop in Ensenada before returning to San Diego, and we've decided to forego any excursions at that port. I feel this vlog validated that decision.

Thank you Tony for taking one for the team so we don’t have too❣️ I can now pass on this tour without FOMO‼️

This video made me more uncomfortable than visiting Jamaica... which I decided in the mid-90's, that I would never get off the boat to see again. YIKES!

Tony- your honest reviews are much appreciated!!

Tony, thanks for taking this tour so we don’t have to.

Tony, my wife and I Just took a short three-day cruise to Ensenada (March 31st to April 3rd 2024) with Princes Cruse Line, we chose the blow hole excursion. Worst excursion ever, I felt like a lamb being led to Slauter. People were actually getting in front of you and stopping you to try to sell you something. As far as the Blow Hole experience, we were not impressed either but like you our expectation was probably to high LOL.

Next time, check out Valle de Guadalupe - wine country is wonderful, safe, friendly, professional, DELICIOUS and far more relaxed.

I'm showing my age but here it goes: Many years ago we did a Hawaii cruise with Carnival. It was a return Trans-pacific crossing ending in Encinada. No tours, no exploring. Every guest had to disembark the ship and get on buses that went to Tijuana border. Every bus load of passengers had to get off the bus and physically walk through the customs building and get back on the bus, which was waiting on the American side. We then were taken to the San Diego Airport. As we arrived you could see our ship already docked at the port!!! 😂😢 Unbelievable!

Hated Ensenada and that was 2003. Couldn't wait to get back on the ship. Loved Catalina.

Dunns River Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica… same gauntlet

Ensenada reminds me of Nassau - vendors all over you! I live in SoCal, so have been to Ensenada on weekend cruises at least 5 times. The last time, I just visited a good mexican restaurant and then a mexican hot chocolate & churros shop that was recommended by another RU-vidr I follow.

We had a similar issue at the waterfalls in Jamaica. Not only were we forced to walk through a bunch of tables and shacks set up on the exit, one of the tour guides at the water falls followed our group back to our bus and yelled at a couple in our group that they needed to pay him. It was very uncomfortable. I know that guides and drivers should be tipped and we did but the guides/drivers should never yell at customers to get a tip.

A vendor tried to get my 2 teenage daughters to go into the back room of his shop. I completely feel had I not intervened I would have never seen them again. I also felt things almost got out of control when I did find them and told them to come with me and the vendor stepped between myself and my daughters asking what I wanted. There were a lot of lucky people in that shop that day.

We did La Bufadora back in the early 00s and I hated that gauntlet so much so that I swore I’d never go again. We just went back to Ensenada in February and took the kids this time. If not for it being their first time to Mexico, I would have opted to stay on the ship. With that said though, I’m glad I did end up getting off. We took the local shuttle to downtown (it was raining like crazy otherwise we probably would have walked). Ate some delicious tacos. The street vendors weren’t too bad thanks to the rain keeping them inside. Then my husband went back last month. He visited a food cart that Anthony Bourdain had featured once upon a time and had the best tostada he had ever eaten. In fact, he said it was one of the best things he had ever eaten period, tostada or otherwise. The streets were far more crowded with vendors than during the deluge in February, but he had a great time overall. Definitely things worth seeing in Ensenada, but that flea market at La Bufadora ain’t one of them

Back in the late 1960's when I was a child we went through Ensenada and all I remember is the intact skeleton of a dead horse in a ditch on the side of the road and this blow hole and then way south of Ensenada my dad bought these giant lobsters out of the trunk of some mans car for like .50 cents each.

Make sure you leave a review on the website so people know about the long ride and going through the vendors!

Love the towel animal takeover!😂

My family and I have cruised with a stop in Ensenada 17 times beginning in 1998. We rarely go into port while visiting Ensenada but decided to take a virgin cruiser with us to see the blowhole. To our regret, this open air market was a little intense for our group. We, like you, spent next to no time shopping and a majority of our time sitting at the taco place waiting for the bus ride back to the ship. The best news is this did not deter our guest from falling in love with cruising!

This brings back memories! I was pretty disappointed with this particular excursion since it was described as more of a nature outing than a shopping spree for cheap tequila, trinkets and knock-offs. Oh, well, you learn to take the bad with the good when traveling- it’s all part of the adventure! P.S: we never figured out how they came up with “Top Ten”. 😳 and yes, the tacos were terrific.

I agree, the gauntlet of aggressive vendors makes the blow hole a no go. I did that tour back in 2005 and was very underwhelmed and would never again waste my time taking that bus out there. My pre-teen daughters faced several inappropriate comments that day as well and for that reason if I ever visit Ensenada again on a cruise ship I will stay on the ship!

Part of the fun is experiencing the people…..I’m sure you knew street vendors are a big deal in Ensenada and almost everywhere in Mexico. Some have fun stuff to buy and take home….the people are so poor…..every dollar helps…..

I’m not a fan of the vendor hawking in your face either. Typical Mexico.

Tony- I grew up in S.Cali so I’ve been to Mexico many times (Cabo, Cancun, Tulum, Ensenada) they ALL have the same stuff. Just say “No” and move on, keep your wallet in a secure place and grab some beers and tacos and enjoy that stuff….

Folks. Here's how to enjoy Ensenada. Do not book a tour. Instead, get off your boat and walk ten minutes to La La Guerrerense and order some of the best seafood on the planet. When finished, walk or taxi to Hussongs and enjoy a cold beer or two. After that, walk through downtown back towards your cruise ship, maybe hit up a shop or Pharmacia. If you have enough room in your belly, stop at Tacos Lucero (right before entering the cruise ship check point) for some amazing pastor.

Tourist trap for sure, locals are laughing.

I feel like all the vendors in Mexico, no matter what port you are in are very aggressive.

Thank you for taking us on this tour. No, I dont think I would take it. It's not really a blow hole. Maybe because I live on the coast, I think this is pretty uneventful for the long ride there and back.

If you walk into town you get the same experience. That’s a lot of travel to see a “blow hole” Lol

It's been 20+ years since I visited La Bufadora on a cruise ship tour. It appears the only thing that has changed is a much larger number of shops aggressively hawking junk and offering free tequila from bottles of expensive booze that have been refilled with the cheap stuff! I would never go back. The whole tour is designed to get into your wallet.

That's how I felt in Costa Maya.. Too many pushy people selling stuff, and too crowded..

Man, that sounds like a travel experience I'm not taking anytime soon. And I'm talking about more than just the blowhole - the whole cruise.

Ensinada Sucks!!! All of the time, Constantly Harassing You!!!

I like going on adventures with you!😊