Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a beautiful welcoming coastal town in Mexico that you’ll want to visit in your lifetime. It’s a romantic town and a place where one can relax and enjoy the beauty of Mexico. The food is amazing, the locals are friendly, the views are fascinating, and the weather is perfect!
Exploring Puerto Vallarta
Driving around is very easy and you can always find parking anywhere in town. Puerto Vallarta is different than other beach resort cities as it offers a cultural and an artistic aspect due to its many fine art galleries and art centers. Here, you can find artisan products such as pottery, masks, silver jewelry, blown glass objects, clothing, and Huichol art. You can try to bargain as there are no set prices.
Walking through El Malecon, or the boardwalk is entertaining. This 2-mile long boardwalk has many restaurants and bars to choose from. It is fun to walk around sipping on a piña colada or a margarita while enjoying a night walk or during a warm day. You will run into many local street performers who are waiting for you to take their picture for a small tip. Some of them, you’ll find, are very creative! Our favorite were a couple of men posing as sand statues. There are also a number of souvenir shops where you can find anything from a shot glass, to a T-shirt. If you’re feeling thirsty, there are a couple of tequila tasting stores that won’t charge you for tasting all of their tequilas even if you don’t buy anything. Tipping is always appreciated!
Traditional Mexican Food
For those who really want to immerse themselves in the Mexican culture and cuisine, we recommend you check out the local Mercado Municipal Rio Cuale. This mercado offers homemade Mexican dishes that will satisfy your palates. There are a number of friendly vendors that serve traditional Mexican dishes including sopes, chilaquiles, enchiladas, handmade tortillas, chiles rellenos, among many other delicious dishes. Plus, you will be happy to find that the food here is very cheap!
Islas Marietas
Islas Marietas are a group of inhabited islands off the coast of Nayarit, Mexico. For $80 dollars, we took a boat ride to the famous “Love Beach,” also known as “Hidden Beach” just an hour away from Puerto Vallarta. Our cruise included breakfast, lunch, and alcoholic beverages! To get to the beach, we had to jump off the boat and swim to the beach. Beware! The currents are strong and they make it a bit hard to get to land. There were a few waves that pushed us a couple times, so make sure you wear a life vest even if you’re a good swimmer. We love this beach so much as it is very pretty and secluded. On the way back, we stopped several times to watch the whales. Since we visited in the winter, we were fortunate to see much of the whale activity. It is definitely a place to remember!
Time We Visited: Winter
Places Visited/Attractions:
- Islas Marietas
- Los Arcos
- El Malecon or Boardwalk
Restaurants We Dined At:
- Bar Oceano Restaurant
- Mercado Municipal Rio Cuale
Food Suggestions:
- Seafood
- Mercado food
Total Costs:
- Air Fare = Virgin America $891 dollars for 2 pp roundtrip ($445 dollars per person)
- Hotel = Costa Sur Resort $282 dollars for 4 nights
- Car Rental = including insurance for 4 days: $144
- Islas Marietas Cruise Tour = $160 for two ($80 per person)
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