Isla de la Piedra

Mazatlán


A popular half-day escape from the city, this peninsula (not an actual island) is just southeast of Old Mazatlán and boasts a beautiful, long sandy beach bordered by coconut groves. Surfers come for the waves, and its simple palapa (thatched-roof) restaurants draw Mexican families, particularly on weekends. Water taxis depart frequently (6am to 6pm) from the Playa Sur embarcadero (dock).

‘Playa Sur’ buses leave for the embarcadero from the corner of Serdán and Escobedo, two blocks southeast of Plaza Principal in Old Mazatlán.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Mazatlán attractions

1. Teatro Ángela Peralta

1.06 MILES

Named after a 19th-century soprano and constructed between 1869 and 1874, this 1366-seat theater just off Plaza Machado was a thriving center of local…

2. Plaza Machado

1.1 MILES

Surrounded by splendid 19th-century buildings, this gorgeous tree-lined plaza comes alive in the evening, when market stalls pop up, couples stroll hand…

3. Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción

1.12 MILES

At the center of the old town is this striking 19th-century Romanesque and neo-Gothic melange of a cathedral with yellow twin towers. The dramatic…

4. Old Mazatlán

1.18 MILES

Mazatlán's restored old town is a picturesque compendium of noble 19th-century buildings and pretty plazas. It's set back from Playa Olas Altas, a small…

5. Museo de Arte

1.18 MILES

This is a small museum in a sprawling colonial courtyard complex, which makes a convincing case for the vitality and innovation of contemporary Mexican…

6. Museo Arqueológico de Mazatlán

1.19 MILES

This absorbing museum focuses on pre-Hispanic Sinaloan civilizations. Among obsidian tools and ceramics, standout exhibits include beautiful Aztatlán…

7. Playa Olas Altas

1.26 MILES

In Old Mazatlán, the crescent-shaped Playa Olas Altas is where tourism first flourished from the 1920s onwards, although the rocky beach is buffeted by…

8. El Faro

1.52 MILES

At the Mazatlán peninsula’s southern end, a prominent rocky outcrop is the base for this lighthouse, which is 135m above sea level. Join the locals either…