MazatlanVisit.com - Everything you need to know about visiting and residing in Mazatlán Mexico!
There are many services in Mazatlán, Mexico that you may need and can use on your Mazatlán visit. Here is the information you need to know to obtain these services.
In the Golden Zone, there is a laundry on Avenida Camaron Sabalo near Calle Ibis. It is one of the storefronts under the Ibis apartments. There is also a laundry next to the Lindamar Suites on Avenida Playa Gaviotas. There is a dry cleaner at the corner of Avenida Camaron Sabalo and Avenida Playa Gaviotas next to the Rin Rin Pizza near where Dairy Queen used to be. There used to be a laundry in the shopping plaza where Mary's Sandwich Shoppe is located, but this laundry appears to have closed down.
There is a seamstress in the Golden Zone. It is Alicia's which is 1 door in from the corner of Avenida Camaron Sabalo and Avenida Playa Gaviotas near the Banamex.
There are two locksmiths in or near the Golden Zone. One is on the bottom floor of the Soriana (formerly the Mega) on Avenida Rafael Buelna. The other is on Avenida Camaron Sabalo, near Calle Albatross across from Balboa Hospital.
In Mexico currently there is only one brand of gas station, Pemex. There are 2 Pemex gas stations in the Golden Zone in Mazatlán. One is next to the McDonalds across the street from Fiestaland where Avenida Camaron Sabalo meets Avenida Rafael Buelna. The other one is about 2 blocks north of the El Cid Moro hotel on the right on Avenida Camaron Sabalo.
There are Car Rental locations at the airport and in the Golden Zone.
Note: During the Thursday and Friday of Easter Week most of the banks in Mazatlán are closed.
The Mexican peso is the local currency in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. You can use pesos anywhere to buy anything. Almost all the shops, restaurants, and hotels in the tourist areas (golden zone, old town, marina) will take US dollars. No businesses will not take Canadian dollars. Note that most businesses will only accept US money that is in perfect shape, i.e. not torn or crumpled. Also, the exchange rate that they will give you will be worse than you can get it you change your money elsewhere.
You can change your US or Canadian money into pesos at a bank, cambio(money exhange), or hotel. Now, you can also use bank machines safely. Plan ahead to make sure you have enough money. If you need to get money at night, use a bank machine which will give you a better rate.
You usually can get the best exchange rate of dollars to pesos at a bank. There are some of the big banks in the golden zone on Avenida Camaron Sabalo. There is a Banamex just up Avenida Camaron Sabalos from the Panama restaurant in the golden zone. There is also an HSBC bank near the Burger King on Avenida Camaron Sabalo. If you are near the Costa De Oro hotel, there is a Santander Bank across the street. It is widely reported that banks will only exchange money in the morning, however we have changed money in the afternoon.
You can also change dollars to pesos at Cambios (Money Exchanges). There used to be many Cambios, but now there are only a few because people are using bank machines more. You can spot a Cambio usually because the exchange rates are posted outside in large numbers. The cambios farther away from the hotels and closer to banks usually give better rates. Be sure to count the money they give you immediately when they give it to you. Occasionally, I have been short-changed.
Most large hotels in Mazatlán will change dollars to pesos. However, this is probably the worst place to change your money because they will give you the worst exchange rate! So, we don't recommend you change your money at a hotel.
Most people use bank machines in Mazatlán now to get pesos. The bank machines are reliable and safe now. You can go even go to a big international bank, e.g. Scotiabank or HSBC, if you wish. The bank machines in Mazatlán dispense pesos! So, remember that you need to enter the number of pesos that you want, not the number of dollars. For example, you would enter 1000 to get 1000 pesos (about US$50). There is usually a service charge of a few dollars to use a mexican bank machine because it is an international transaction, but this is fair. We alway use bank machines exclusively now when we are in Maz. We take out enough pesos for about a week at a time so we don't get hit with too many transaction fees. NOTE: International ATMS only accept 4 digit PINs! If your PIN is more than 4 digits, change it before going to Mexico!
Escualo Fleet Sports Fishing-Boulevard Marina Mazatlán #2303, Plaza Marina, local #11, cp 82103