Destinations

Aaaahh, Puerto Vallarta, images of palm trees, beaches, tropical drinks and mountain scenes conjure up in my mind. Its Logan, “The Sea, The Town, The Mountain”, pretty much sums it up. No other popular touristy beach town in Mexico offers the backdrops that Puerto Vallarta does. The town faces Bahia de Banderas (Banderas Bay) and behind it are the beautiful Sierra Madre Mountains. For those who enjoy romance, seclusion, yet close enough to population, and places to party at night, Puerto Vallarta is one great place to visit. It’s not for nothing that Richard Burton’s, The Night of the Iguana, chose such a beautiful location to be filmed in. PV (Puerto Vallarta) still maintains that small town atmosphere with its cobblestone streets, the main plaza in the center of town and the church, Templo Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe.

Puerto Vallarta started becoming a resort town in the 1960’s and since then it has grown into a town of nearly 350,000 people. Most are locals but many are retirees and anyone who decided to visit it often enough to purchase a condominium there. This growth has prompted the development of many hotels and condominiums. The area of newer development is called Nuevo Vallarta, which is mainly a hotel zone. So if you like to be in the middle of all the action, day and night, than staying in a hotel in Nuevo Vallarta is the place for you; many touristy shops and restaurants are located here. However, there are other locations such as Zona Hotelera and Zona Marina that offer beautiful hotel accommodations as well.

In Puerto Vallarta the tourist can enjoy everything under the sun including golfing, whale watching, sport fishing and ecotourism. Surfers from all over the world have even found a place to surf in the northern town of Sayulita, about 25 miles north of PV. However, for off the beaten path beaches you may want to take a water taxi ride to the small fishing town of either Quimixto or Yelapa. To get to these towns you will need to get to the suburb called Boca de Tomatlan, reached by taking the Barra de Navidad road or carretera, traveling south of Puerto Vallarta; getting to the fishing towns could be on either taxi or public bus. Once there, you will find a few small water taxis (basically small fishing boats) that will transport you to one of the three small fishing villages. The first stop is Las Animas, next is Quimixto, and the final one is Yelapa. If agreed, the water taxi will drop you off where you wish in the morning and will come back for you at a predetermined hour in the afternoon. Quimixto is the most recommendable of the three to visit; but going early is the best bet to avoid crowds. In Quimixto you will find a hiking trail leading to a beautiful water fall; this area is wonderful for hiking.

A few hotels, especially those located in the southern parts of Vallarta such as in Conchas Chinas and Mismaloya offer their own private beach, such as Dreams Resort and Spa. However, there are many alternate hotel options, for an array of budgets, with a short distance to the beaches in that area. This area is surrounded by more tropical greenery and you will also find eco adventures such as canopy tours.

On the opposite end, the Northern side is what many refer to as the Riviera Nayarit (Nayarit is the state bordering north of Jalisco, which is the state Puerto Vallarta is in), but the official name is Punta Mita. Punta Mita is also a beautiful location, without the closeness of the mountains as found in the south, but a beautiful area with newer developments. One of these new developments is the exclusive and luxurious Four Seasons Hotel; located about 42 km from Puerto Vallarta airport.

Puerto Vallarta has everything a beach town can offer; beach, nightlife, small town ambiance, archeological site (Ixtapa) and it has been transformed into a creative and artistic Mecca. Many talented retirees and professional artists have made this town their home. This makes Puerto Vallarta a great place to view art displays as well theatrical events. It’s a good idea to always check with your hotel concierge or front desk for information on performances during your stay.   In the evenings one can enjoy anything from a loud, fun atmosphere of the restaurant bars found on the Malecon, to a quieter seafood dinner , to a possible art exhibition, whether it be performed or displayed.

Puerto Vallarta is a very unique destination in Mexico. Many tourists are repeat tourists for many reasons and the best part is that the place maintains its beauty and charm. So whether you travel alone, with your loved one or your whole family I am certain that Puerto Vallarta will not disappoint.

See you in PV and Happy Travels!

Try a Holland America Cruise to Mexico!  The winter months are a great time to head down South of the Border.  What could be better than being on a wonderful cruise ship like the Holland America Oosterdam.

The ports of call were Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta.  Each Port has something special to offer the Holland American guest.  In Cabo, you can swim with the Dolphins, which is a wonderful experience for old and young.  In Puerto Vallarta you can zip line or do the Jungle Tour.  I am really getting hooked on the zip line; great view!    Mazatlan is a great place to shop and the open-air cabs are a fun way to see the sites.

The winter months are the best time to see the Whales migrating off the coast of Baja.  We saw a lot of pods with babies, how cool is that!  The waters of Mexico are full of dolphins and game fish. 

The service and the food on Holland America Cruise Line is absolutely wonderful.  I was very impressed with the Lido deck buffet dinning. I cruise a lot and this was the best buffet on the seas.

Cruises are still a great value and Holland does such a wonderful job!

On our vacation in Puerto Vallarta we took Los Veranos Canopy Tour. My kids chose the company because they advertise exotic animals. They are a very professional company and we had a great time with the zip line tour. This is a unique tour where you are zipped from tree to tree over the jungle canopy. The company has various pick up spots all around Puerto Vallarta. They are located about 25 minutes south of town.

They have a nice restaurant and a little building that houses two different types of monkeys. You’re able to get into the cage and feed them. In addition they have a deer and some animals that looked like raccoons without the masks. Up by the bar they have tarantulas, a lizard and two toucans. They also have a Burmese Python that they wrap around your neck. Off the restaurant they have two water slides into the river below. After doing the zip line trip, you’re welcome to hang out as long as you like. They have vehicles that back into town every hour. The zip line was fun and a work out. I highly recommend it.

That Sunday, we went down to the Dreams resort to check it out. We had arranged for a day pass for the family. We checked out the Standard, Jr Suite with Jacuzzi and a Suite. The rooms were spacious and festively decorated. The beds were firm, but not too bad. The Jr. Suites’ Jacuzzis are located on their balconies. The Suites and Presidential Suites have small pools on their balconies. Dreams has 5 restaurants I believe, plus a makeshift snack bar. They do not take reservations for their restaurants. If it’s full, they’ll give you a pager. I liked this because then you don’t have to plan out your meals right when you check into your hotel. I don’t like deciding that I want to have a certain type of food and then be told their restaurant is booked up for the next week.

They have a spa, but it’s not as impressive as the Marriott’s. However, I did take a pressure shower in their spa and they are fantastic. Dreams is an all inclusive resort, but they charge to use the internet in the business center and for full bottles of wine. Everyone I asked at Dreams, loved the place. They were very happy. My family enjoyed the property also.

A final note. We flew down on Alaska Airlines and as usual we only took carry on luggage. It’s a good thing we were not going back to Seattle. When the flight from Puerto Vallarta lands at the international terminal, you need to go to customs and then go over the the domestic terminal while they tow the plane over there. If we had bought Duty free liquor, we would not be able to bring it in our carry on for the flight to Seattle. Those who were continuing on had to put their duty free in their checked luggage.

As I tell people, one of the best parts of the trip is going where it’s sunny and warm knowing it’s cold and rainy back home.