We’ve booked a February trip to Puerto Vallerta (PV). Thought it would be fun to get some advise from others who have even there.
For this first trip ever to Mexico, we decided to stay at an all-inclusive resort (also a first for us). It was a compromise, since not close to town/cultural sightseeing. But we’ve booked some tours (city bus tour, market tour with cooking class). I imagine if we go back someday we’ll be braver and rent a VRBO.
I haven’t been for 30 years, but we loved it. Take a catamaran tour. And don’t drink the water or salads….seriously.
It’s been 8 years or so since our trip. Everyone’s favorite activity was by far a street taco eating tour. We ended up doing it twice. First as a couple and ended up rebooking with our kids and others in our group for a second night. We had the most authentic and delicious food!
Taxis to Malecon Boardwalk are cheap. I felt totally safe walking around. We were just there December 2020. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church is interesting (Im not Catholic but still found it fascinating).
My husband just downloaded into Uber some tour locations etc. What are the thoughts of taxi vs Uber? We’ll be north of PV, toward Bucerias.
I stopped there on a cruise (Panama Canal). We did a day tour of a tequlla farm/ranch (I don’t know what else to call it but it looked like a ranch). IIRC it was about an hour from the port, and we also went to a little town and saw the church and a few other things in the Plaza, and then had a lunch at another little town. We really enjoyed it, but it was HOT.
I’m going to Riviera Maya in February. My friend has a time share, she wants to hike a lot of ruins, but I’m more interested in the beach and the pool. She’s already agreed we can each do our own thing. It is not an all inclusive resort, but there are plenty of food options at the resort.
@twoinanddone - Panama canal cruise sounds lovely! What time of year was it (when very hot)?
For those of you who don’t know about Weatherspark, very helpful for travel planning (though of course it only shows averages, and things can vary a lot year to year - esp in CO).
Example link (PV)
LOTS of charts, but usually I look the most at this one
Note - The dotted lines are “perceived” temps, I assume due to humidity
Mine was a repositioning cruise to put a ship on the west coast (and up to Alaska) for the summer, so the cruise was in May. I was doing great in the Caribbean, not too hot. The day through the canal was hot and humid. The coast of Mexico wasn’t too hot, but once we went inland it was really hot again. In fact, the sea days on the coast of Mexico (once you leave Cabo) were pretty chilly.
It was a Disney cruise but very few children because it was in May. Mostly older people, including my mother and her cousin who were almost 80. I did some excursions they couldn’t like snorkeling in Cabo and swimming on the Disney Island.
Lots of fun.
I second the taco tour. Well worth it. If you go on the weekend, they will take you to one of the birria places.
It’s fun to have those taco tour recommendations. We booked a tour of a market followed by cooking class (that day birria menu, something new to us). There is a 24 hour cancellation policy, so we do have flexibility to change things as we learn more.
I was going to ask for advise about buying a bathing suit during the winter, ideally at a store with stock to try on (ie not mail order). But then I discovered that Target stores have a HUGE selection right now… Example - Boulder CO Swimsuits, Bathing Suits & Swimwear for Women : Target
I bought a few yesterday at my local Target (not quite as well stocked as the Boulder store) and then brought them home to get hubby’s help deciding which one to keep.
If you do want to look at mail order, I bought twice from this company during the pandemic. I like that their suits are bra sized. I never thought I could find a suit to fit without trying on first but all three suits I bought fit perfectly. And I was so happy to find suits in the larger misses sizes that weren’t mainly black.
Any tips for Verizon cellphone in Mexico?
We do NOT have an unlimited plan, and when hubby called today they said we could set up a plan that would be $10/day per phone…. but I think only for the days we use the phone(?). Hubby and I plan to be together almost all the time, so might not need anything in phone. Thinking if we had emergency separation we could do wi-fi/email.
I just googled. Mexico and Canada are covered if you have unlimited plan, otherwise you could pay $10/day for international coverage. You can get unlimited while you are in Mexico nd flip back when you return if it’s more economical. The $10/day is for days you are using (leave it off when you are at the resort).
I have ATT. Their plan is the second phone is charged $5 and maximum charge is $100/month. When I am away for few weeks it makes sense for me to have it on the whole time.
Thanks for the response. We’ll try to think through our needs. The right answer might be to enable the plan where we’d spend $10/day per phone (if used)…. but then strive to do just occassional monitor of email and text via hotel wi-fi/AirplaneMode
I often say, if I don’t have a service such as the ability to use data on my phone……the moment I REALLY need it, I would happily pay a lot of money for the ability to have that use. An emergency, getting lost, needing to reach out to someone at home - whatever.
If you can set it up so it’s AVAILABLE but you’re only charged when you use it - and maybe at that point focus on designating one phone to be that phone, I’d be safe than sorry.
Get in the habit of putting your phone into airplane mode (with wifi) before you go to sleep and then deactivate it when you need it. FYI- you can make calls with wifi without cellular service.
Recently when I was in Punta cana I just used the resort’s wifi to make calls and internet access.
That makes sense to me. But my husband is in charge of our Verizon stuff (I delegated it when he retired ahead of me)… so will need his buy-in too.
IT has been 32 years since I’ve been to Puerto Vallarta, but I loved it so much and the memories still very fresh. We bought a copy of a painting of the town that we framed and still hang. I’m sure much is different, but much the same. We did take a catamaran tour one afternoon that stopped along the way somewhere for lunch.
The restaurants and views from town are just lovely. Oh, went horseback riding…first time DH had been on a horse so that was fun.
You’ll have a great time!
I’ve been to PV many times. I would recommend staying close to the city center or in the Zona Romantico. I don’t think you need any organized tours, just bring a sense of adventure. No need to find a bathing suit in the States; they’ll be a much better selection there.
I assume the all inclusive is providing transportation to the hotel. Be careful of the crazy scene at the airport when you come out of immigration and bag claim. There will be scores of people hassling you to get in their cab, see their special timeshare opportunity, etc. Be prepared to say “no, gracias” over and over, while trying to find your prearranged ride.
Don’t change dollars to pesos at the airport; it’s a ripoff. I’d recommend using a debit card at a bank ATM to pull pesos; that’ll get you the best exchange rate.
