First Choice RealtyGuide to San Carlos
Chapter Four: Fun for Kids from A to Z
A is for Almejas That is Spanish for clams. Fresh clams are available year around at little taco stands along the highway. Clams make good ceviche. To dig clams, take the family and have fun digging little clams or oysters at the village of Guasimus in the wintertime. Take along limes and hot pepper sauce to make a picnic out of it. However, I have recently heard that the polluted water in the area has made the oysters bad to eat. Hepatitis A can result.
B iking is great in this town where there is little traffic to worry about. There is a long bike path on Beltrones Highway along the ocean and more paved pathways around the Marina. Rent bikes from Cortez Explorers or Sonoran Sports .
B owling San Carlos BOL , a fairly new bowling alley, opened in 1998. It is air-conditioned, has a bar and a snack bar. They have two pool tables and table games (in Spanish). This is a really nice bowling alley and prices are very reasonable. The people there are very friendly and kids especially have a great time. An all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet is served Saturday and Sunday mornings. BOL offers special party packages for kids, which includes “lunch, bowling, and fun.” Open until 2 AM on weekends. Teens hang out in the parking lot at night and listen to the loud music. Special rates for seniors Monday through Thursdays.
C amping Overnight camping is not allowed on the beaches close to private homes or the big hotels, but camping is allowed a little bit further out on the edges of town. A good camping location is the beach between San Carlos Plaza Hotel and Club Paradiso Resort & Beach Club (old Club Med).
C atch-22 movie set (above) Drive on the main highway as far as Kilometer Markers 19-20. Watch for a broad, well traveled dirt road on the right side. This road was used as a runway during the filming of the movie Catch-22. Turn in here, drive a short distance, and let the kids clamber around the remains of the old sets for the movie. To tell the truth, not much is left of the once fascinating movie set, but it is still fun to explore.
F ishing If your kids like to catch a lot of fish but don’t really care about catching a BIG one, you can fish from a boat anchored over the reefs. A favorite place to take kids fishing is in front of the Fiesta Hotel. You can usually catch croaker, bass, and red snapper on the bottom. A lot of kids are perfectly content with hanging a line over the edge on the marina dock. Bottom fishing is best from November through February. Bring your own tackle unless you go on a charter boat.
H iking The town of San Carlos covers many thousand square miles of land, largely unpopulated, and it has 30 miles of beaches for hiking. There is, then, a good deal of unspoiled natural habitat where birds and small animals can be seen. Adventurous hikers can make it up the Tetas de Cabra. (Not suitable for little kids) Rock hounds know where to look for interesting crystals and arrowheads. Summer is not a good season for hiking. In the hot summer months there are many snakes in the fields and hills, and some of them are poisonous. The intense heat and strenuous exercise are too much for children.
H orses You can go horseback riding on Algodones Beach. Go to El Rancho del Desierto, Kilometer marker 20, at the old Club Med location (now the Paradiso Resort & Beach Club. Horses rented from a ranch near San Carlos Plaza Hotel are less.
I
ce cream
There is something special about Mexican ice cream. Everybody loves
Thrifty Ice Cream
cones across from
Charlie’s Rock
. The ice cream at
Jax Snax
is great. Ice cream novelties are sold at the
Kiosk
by the bowling alley in the
Los Jitos Plaza.
There is a new ice cream parlor opened in the
mini-mall with the Pemex Station on the southside of
the main road (across the road from Los Jitos Hotel.
They have lots of flavours and yummy ice cream
treats. Be sure to try the banana split.
J et Skis . It doesn’t get more exciting for kids than a ride on one of these machines. (Warning! This is not cheap! ) Rent jet skis on the beach at San Carlos Plaza Hotel . The guys working there help you out and suit you up in the right size life jacket. The beach at Paradiso Beach Club Restaurant and Bar is a very popular spot for jet skiing, Hobie cats, and parasailing. Some can be rented.
K ayaks can be rented at the dive shops. Ocean Sports rents kayaks and jet skis on the beach at the Fiesta Hotel as well as on the beach between the Bahia Delfin and Pilar condo developments.. Kayaking is a safe, easy to learn sport that you can enjoy on the beaches and in the coves around San Carlos. Good spots are Piedras Pintas (Frenchy’s Cove) , Shangri-La Cove , Martini Cove , and San Carlos Plaza Hotel beach .
O cean Camp is a summer camp for teens that teaches sailing and ocean science. In the winter months they offer some adult excursions as well as the showing of ocean related documentaries. See their web site for details.
P laygrounds I guess you don’t need man-made playgrounds in a place like this, but there are still kids who like the swings, slides, and climbing towers of a playground. In Mexico, it is common to have a small playground at burger restaurants like Guaymas Quick Burger . Local kids have birthday parties there. There is a nice indoor playground at Macdonald’ s . There is a mini-playground at Jax Snax . There is a good size playground at the Guaymas zoo and kids from Guaymas go there on Saturday and Sunday. It is a large, tree shaded area and very pleasant. (The zoo animals have been removed). There is a cute little playground at the rooftop swimming pool of MarinaTerra Hotel .Very safe for little kids. You can latch the door to prevent them from wandering into the pool itself.
P laza Club San Carlos Plaza Hotel has some supervised activities for the younger children of guests. During their busy season, they run a kids’ center, the “Baby Plaza Club” for children over 3 years.
S
hells and Tide Pools
Shell hunting is fun for kids on almost any beach. The best spot is
San Francisco Beach
. Tide pools at
Playa Piedras Pintas
and
Frenchy's Cove
right next to it are excellent and kids can snorkel there too. If you just want to buy shells for souvenirs, shop at
Sagitario, Puerto de Sol
(across from the
south side Pemex station)
or Kiamy's gift shops.
It is fun to land on Honeymoon Island in a kayak or rubber dingy and look for pretty rocks and shells. Shell collecting is best at low tide after a big storm has washed the shells ashore. Lowest tides occur in the winter months at the full moon and the new moon.
S norkeling It is not always warm enough to snorkel in San Carlos. From November through March the water is too cold for kids. By April the water temperature reaches 72 degrees and it keeps getting warmer until it drops down to 71 in November. A wonderful safe place for children who can swim to snorkel is Martini Cove, where the water is from 8 to 20 feet deep . For children who cannot swim, the pebble beaches from the Dorado Condos and El Club de Playa (Formerly Shangri-La Beach) are good. The water remains shallow out as far as 50 feet.
S wimming The Gymnasio Verde has a kiddy pool and a play area in addition to the junior Olympic pool. Summer afternoons are popular times for kids to swim in the pool. Closed from 1 - 3 daily, Saturday afternoon and Sundays. For hotel guests at San Carlos Plaza there is a beautiful pool and hot tub. Not many of the pools are heated, and some of the pools are not open in the winter. On the roof of MarinaTerra Hotel there is a nice pool and a little kid’s play area.
T oys and piñatas Commercially produced plastic toys in Mexico are not durable. This includes the beach toys. American made toys are overpriced, but the locally made, hand carved toys are neat. Little beds, tables, chairs, and ironing boards are irresistible. See a small selection at Kiamy’s on the East Side of the main street and at Puerto del Sol . Piñatas are sold at the Mercado in Guaymas and at a shop in Ley’s Plaza (Plaza del Vigia) in Guaymas.
T -shirts There are too many good T-shirt places to mention them all. Z’s Graphics above Gary’s Dive Shop in San Carlos is a little different though. They will print a shirt with your kid’s photo or what ever on it for $24 and each additional shirt is just $12.
V ideo games Video games are popular at Ley’s mall in Guaymas – next to Ley’s Supermarket . This may be too tame for American kids who are accustomed to more high tech games. There are also a few games and a pool table at San Carlos Plaza Hotel.
V ideo rentals Videos are available in San Carlos and in Guaymas near Ley’s, but there are no VCRs for rent, so bring your own.
W ater Skiing Water skis are for rent locally. Water skiers and parasailors especially like the beach in front of Club Paradiso Resort & Beach Club and the beach in front of La Posada .
Z oo in Hermosillo–also the children’s amusement park, La Sauceda , nearby. Don’t try this in the heat of the summer, because Hermosillo has a terribly hot climate from May to November.
Z orro You can see where the movie, “Zorro” was filmed by driving up to the Mirador Escénico . Some people call Frenchy’s Cove “ Zorro’s Beach.” Buy a Zorro T-shirt at Z’s Graphics on the second floor over Gary’s Dive Shop . Then rent the video!