Join us as we talk about our recent weekend trip to Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point.
Her View
OH Rocky Point how I love you! We made a last minute decision to spend the weekend in Rocky Point. I took Friday off, left work early on Thursday and headed out so that we could be the sunset.
Per our usual we stayed at Sonoran Sea, which is in a really great location. You are walking distance to several places like, Banditos, a bar with live music, Changos, a mostly daytime bar with a swimming pool, a new steak house and the Sonoran Grill located at Sonoran Spa. All a bonus to a really nice resort to stay at.
For those of you that do not know, when you go to Rocky Point, it will forever ruin you on almost any beach vacation you will have. Almost every condo building is right on the beach with a completely unobstructed view of the beach, great people watching by the way, and more importantly the ocean. You can see water for miles, the breeze is so relaxing and refreshing and the sound will put your right to sleep.
We usually go with mom and get a two bedroom condo and this time we were able to get a wrap around balcony on the corner, which really ended up being much more space than we needed. Yet, it was still nice to be able to move around. Also it had a kitchen area and a hot tub, items we didn’t really use for a three night stay, but had we been there longer, we probably would have used. We did dump our ice chest in the sink but otherwise we did not use it.
The place was clean as it always is, and I do love that every morning the staff is literally mopping the hallways, cleaning handrails and wiping down doors. It smells clean and feels cleaner than most hotels/condos we have stayed at in the states. The staff is always friendly and although most do not speak english some do.
We have never for one second worried about our safety as the security guards are ever present and alert. They are also kind and helpful to the guests, we had one security guard, as we were leaving ask if it was ok to take one of our beach side tables and umbrellas to another guest who needed them. Although he knew we were done he was still considerate enough to ask first.
The way the resorts are set up you can sit on the edge of the wall overlooking the beach in your lounge chair and drink all day to the sights of the very entertaining people. We plopped down on our first day and spent a solid eight hours, drinking, reading, meeting new people and watching the shit who of drunks! It was great!
The waiter brought us food and drinks, but honestly the beach vendors make the best drinks EVER!! For ten bucks, they cut open a pineapple, clean it out, throw it in the blender with rum, open a coconut and add that to the blender. That is your pina colada, truly made fresh. You end up with anywhere from a 24 to a 32 oz size drink….for ten dollars! We had one lady ask, and you trust them, like you don’t get sick. The only I have ever gotten sick in Rocky Point was from the Pina Colada they make at the pool bar, it is all premade and fluff, so it make my tummy bloated and achy. I literally drank three from the beach vendor and never felt anything but a nice beach buzz! Don’t be afraid, they have bleach on board to clean up and it is all freshly made.
After our first day we got gussied up and went dancing...at 11pm! You do what you gotta do when you wanna get your dance on! Banditos was playing a country band until 10ish and since country makes my ears bleed, we waited until The Summer played at about eleven. This is a fairly good cover bad and we have enjoyed them on two or three other occasions. Normally we really enjoy them and we still did, but there was a large group of drunk douches and douchettes who were hogging the dance floor and just being plain sloppy. So we stayed for about an hour and danced a few times, but they were kind of sucking the fun out with their douchy-ness so we left and went home and rested up for the next day in the sun. It won’t stop me from seeing them again, but it was not my most fun experience.
The next day was the same routine, but we ended up leaving the beach about oneish so that we could get ready for our sunset cruise with Del Mar Charters. They are so great, they remembered us from our trip last year and we all really had a big laugh at the video they took of us, where mom told the captain that the young lady taking the video needed a raise. The captain, Oscar, said he remembers it very well! We had a big laugh over it.
This time the boat was much fuller than last time and the whole front of the boat was taken up with a group of ladies on a girls trip. By the way, they got super sea sick! Speaking of sea sick, mom totally gets sea sick and did not know that until this trip. Last year when we went she said she felt nauseated, I said yup, that is sea sick. And she argued that is was not. Until this trip, when she totally blew chunks! I mean blew serious amounts of chunks! After that she turned to me and said, “Hey Taunya, I get sea sick!” HAHAHA! So funny. Next time we will give her a anti-nausea pill. Live and learn right!
We got to see dolphins jumping in and out, chatted with the crew and saw an amazing sunset. I will do this every time we go, it is affordable at around 35-45 per person, relaxing and just generally amazing. We will always use Del Mar Charters because they are a much smaller boat and not so much a 100 person party boat, which is more than I am looking for. We had around sixteen folks and normally you get to chat it up with everyone so you sorta become a group of blended groups.
We went home and had dinner at the Sonoran Grill at the Sonoran Spa resort. We usually go here once or twice when we go down, food is incredible, especially the steaks and pastas, and very affordable. We were beat from our day in the sun and went home and went to bed.
Got up the next morning, had our coffee on the balcony like we do every morning and then headed back home.
Rocky Point is a short three and a half hour drive or less, depending on where you live in the Phoenix area. You get beautiful white sand beaches, warm water that you can swim in, ocean breezes and a view that you can’t beat in most destinations. The food is affordable and the seafood is fresh. Service everywhere is exceptional and taxis fares are negotiable. You can bring your own booze up to a certain amount (check the Mexico Travel website for limits) in case you want something specific. They usually have store on the resorts or you can shoot into town to the local grocery store. Be prepared, they move at a much slower pace than us Americans, so just relax and go with the flow! The most important thing I can say and give advice wise, is….just don’t be a dumbass. Be smart and respectful and you will be safe and have a fantastic time.
This should be enough basic information to help you make your trip a much easier and more fun experience. If you have any questions or concerns about your trip please DM us on our Instagram account @LiveLoveDrinkTravel and we will be more that happy to help you out. We can connect you with someone who rents condos in that area, give you advice on the best place to stay and the best places to eat. You can also give you some safety tips.
Living, loving, drinking, and traveling through life.
— Taunya
His View
This last weekend we took a trip to Puerto Peñasco, or Rocky Point as it’s known north of the border here in Arizona. Most people think Phoenix is far from the ocean, however Rocky Point is only a little over three and half hours on the northern coast of the Gulf of California. Fun fact, in Mexico the gulf is actually known as the Sea of Cortez, or Sea of Cortés depending on the area. Boom, a bonus thing you didn’t know! Of course maybe you did know, but since you are reading this and it’s not a conversion I’ll never know. 🙂 But I digress...
Anyway, we usually go to Rocky Point a few times a year, but it has been a while so this is the first time was have gone since starting the blog. A lot of people are hesitant about traveling to Mexico right now, however if you go to the right place you’ll be fine. Rocky Point is one of those places that caters to both American tourists and condo owners. It’s also within the no hassle zone, which means you can drive without needing a special permit for your car.
We got off work early on Thursday and headed south. This was the first trip in the new Jeep, so we were pretty excited. The drive down Hwy 85 is actually a good one. There is a lot of pretty and varying desert landscapes, mountains, and flora. The drive to Gila Bend is actually the worst part, and takes about an hour. After that you head down a two lane highway that feels narrow in spots. It make me think about what travel was like before we had our interstate system. You pass through Ajo and Why, and then the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and then you are at the border.
Getting across into Mexico is pretty easy, and there is generally not a long wait if any. Once across, the signs for the 8 highway to Rocky Point are well marked and getting through the border town of Sonoyta is the hardest part. Once out of town, the highway takes you all the way to the gulf. Fair warning, people drive fast on the highway. Really fast. A few people don’t, so there is a lot of passing.
We stay in Sandy Beach, which is a condo area to the west side of Puerto Peñasco. I really like this area for a few reasons. You can generally rent a condo on the beach fairly cheaply, and there are a few bars that have live bands in the area. Our favorite is Banditos, which is just outside the Sonoran Sea resort which is where we have stayed the last four times we’ve gone. The Sonoran Sea is a pretty nice resort, with a heated pool and swim up bar. There is a two level unheated pool as well, and plenty of beach side deck chairs to relax in. There are few permanent cabana umbrellas as well that are owned by the resort if you want to be right on the beach.
When we go we usually spend a lot of time right on the property pony wall so we can relax and watch all the beach action. There are vendor that walk up and down the beach hawking their wares. They sell all kinds of things from hats,sunglass, and friendship bracelets, to decorations and hammocks. There are also food vendors as well that push their carts up and down the beach until they find a lucrative place to halt. You can get some really good deals. One of the things we like to do is get a piña colada made with fresh coconut and pineapple, and served in a hollowed out pineapple and the balance in a 16oz cup all for $10 US. Even the happy hour specials at the poolside bar can’t beat it.
The beach at Sandy Beach is really nice, but a bit steep in some places. The tidal area is pretty shallow, so the water recedes a far way out at low tide, exposing tide pools and sand bars. The water is pretty warm compared what we were used to in San Diego. There really aren’t enough waves for surfing, but paddleboards are common. There are also people selling banana boat rides, or renting out waverunners for short term rides.
As I mentioned, Banditos is our go to place on Friday and Saturday nights when they have live music. The have a small dance floor that can get pretty crowded, but people just dance where ever. They have a house band named The Summer that usually plays after the main act, playing mainstream music and stuff from the 80’s and 90’s, mixed in with local music. It’s usually a lot of fun. Unfortunately the main act this last weekend was Backroads, which is a country cover band. I have an unfortunate and rare medical condition, where listening to country music makes me want to stab my eardrum with a pencil. I jest of course, but country is not my favorite genre, however I did hear a little waiting for The Summer since we they ran a little long on Friday night. They sounded pretty good. Well, good for country.
There is a place at the far west end of Sandy Beach called Wrecked at the Reef, but that is more of a younger hangout where people go to, well, get wrecked. We’ve also gone to the downtown area near the port, but don’t much anymore except to get lunch sometimes. There are a lot of bars and restaurants there, and it gets lively in the afternoon and at night. Most of those places are party places though. We did go to the Boo Bar Cantina once to hear The Black Moods though, and it seemed like a cool music venue with cheap beer and drinks. The food in general here is pretty good, especially the sea food.
As far as accommodations go, I mentioned before we like the Sonoran Sea. We’ve also stayed at the Sonoran Sun, but that seemed more of a party type place where as the Sea is slightly more mellow. Like people are having fun and can be loud, but stop short of being total idiots. Also the Sonoran Sun, Sea, Spa resorts all have rooms with an ocean view. Beware though, not all the resorts in the Sandy Beach area are actually on the beach, or even have all beach view rooms, so do your research.
One nice thing about Rocky Point is that is very friendly towards Americans. Almost all of the menus list prices in both dollars and pesos. If you respect the traffic laws, and drive conservatively you will be fine. We’ve gone many times over the last few years and have never had a problem. The truth is, if you are respectful you won’t have an issue. If you are acting like an asshat you might. You are in a foreign country, with different customs and rules so if you are respectful everything will be fine.
I could go on and on, but I think here is a good place to pause for now. Maybe we’ll cover our favorite restaurants in a future article. Anyway thanks for listening, and if you have any questions about Rocky Point, or any of the other places we have traveled, feel free to hit us up on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Until next time!
— Derek
So there you go, you should now be a bit more enlightened about Rocky Point. That's it for now, be sure to checkout our Instagram for more photos of our adventures. For now go, live life, love life, drink life and travel for life!
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