Puerto Vallarta questions

[jonj]

We were in Puerto Vallarta on a cruise in 1992. It was only DH and I at the time and we just hired someone at the pier to take us around the island. We had the best time and it was reasonable. He took us wherever we wanted to go and stayed as long as we wanted to stay. He also showed us some beautiful spots between the ship and Mismaloya Beach area. We went into downtown with him and walked around a bit

 

We will be back in August 08 with 2 kids age 14 & 11. Our port time is long 9:30am -11pm.

 

Does anyone still recommend that taking a private driver is still a good option for a city tour? Does anyone have any recommendations / emails / websites for anyone they have used recently?

 

Any other recommendations on what to do with our time there?

 

I always find the ship tours to be overpriced

[pvfunlover]

I've stayed in Puerto Vallarta a number times. This web site has been very helpful to me. I've met the person who's site this is and have followed many of his recommendations. I highly recommend checking it oul

 

www.vallartainfo.com

[MSN-Travelers]

We were in Puerto Vallarta on a cruise in 1992. It was only DH and I at the time and we just hired someone at the pier to take us around the island. We had the best time and it was reasonable. He took us wherever we wanted to go and stayed as long as we wanted to stay. He also showed us some beautiful spots between the ship and Mismaloya Beach area. We went into downtown with him and walked around a bit

 

We will be back in August 08 with 2 kids age 14 & 11. Our port time is long 9:30am -11pm.

 

Does anyone still recommend that taking a private driver is still a good option for a city tour? Does anyone have any recommendations / emails / websites for anyone they have used recently?

 

Any other recommendations on what to do with our time there?

 

I always find the ship tours to be overpriced

 

The Vallarta you visited in `92 doesn't exist any more. Fifteen years of increased tourism has changed the city. That's not a bad thing, but you will find the city very different. This web site will give some good information- http://www.vallarta-info.com/

 

Additionally, this web site will give you some information on tours/excursions available to you. http://www.vallartaonline.com/tours/

 

The hottest activity for cruiser is one of the zipline/canopy tours.

 

Enjoy!

[katstoy]

Try an Vallarta Adventures. www.vallarta-adventures.com We have done tours with them both on our own and through the cruise line. The prices were the same. I love their Las Caletas excursion. For about $50 extra you can swim with a sea lion in the ocean. Pretty dang cool. We've done the sea lion swim three times and loves each one. It is a small group of six and you interact with the sea lion for about 30 minutes. The one we did this past summer fell in love with me, he kept coming near me so I could pet and scratch him. He even gave me a hug. It was like playing with a really funny looking big wet dog!

[beauty1492]

We did the pathers of the jungle thu "things to do in PV". it was a dune buggies thu the jungle very cool

[ReadyToFloat]

We were in Puerto Vallarta on a cruise in 1992. Does anyone still recommend that taking a private driver is still a good option for a city tour? Does anyone have any recommendations / emails / websites for anyone they have used recently?

 

We too first visited PV around that time (in 1993). In fact, we stayed at Mismaloya for that trip - what a neat spot! MSN-Travelers is right - it has changed, though we've been back a few times and good news - many of the highlights you'll most likely remember are still there. And, while PV has grown, we've found the mix of activites and culture to be just as warm and friendly as 15 years ago... though prices are a little higher. Our last trip was 12/06 to PV.

 

I'd suggest a private city tour. You can hire your own, or I think there is a person associated with Mazatlan Mike who does tours in PV - we've not used them, though they've been highly recommended on these posts. I think the person's name is Arturo? You can do a search to find out.

 

If I were heading back after 15 years and didn't want to do any expensive tours, I'd suggest:

1-Hire a private driver and see the highlights of PV for 60-90 minutes, and be dropped off at the Malecon to visit the downtown and sculptures you may remember. Do some shopping and sightseeing.

2-Take a taxi to a hotel (Krystal & Westin) for some swimming and beaching with pools, food options, showers and towel service (we really enjoy the Westin and Nikki Beach). Westin is right across from the pier (tall tan building with bright pink window boxes and about a $5 cab ride from the pier).

3-If you go to the Westin, walk across the street to the Marina for some shopping, food and walking amongst some big yachts. There's also a Millenium Massage place here (same as Krystal) that offers great prices on massages (though not on the beach like Krystal). There are some low, moderate and high-end restaurants here... one of our favorite low end (price) ones with great food was Victor's Cafe (right near Millenium Massage and the Embarcadero Hotel).

 

If you decided you'd like some more adventure, at the Marina are some tour operators - they sell for Vallarta Adventures, as well as some private boats. You may find a good deal on a small(er) private boat to take you along Banderas bay and to Los Arcos and Mismaloya bay.

 

We really enjoy PV. Hope you have a great time on your visit back.

[jonj]

Readytofloat - great information. Thank you

 

The Westin allows cruise passengers to com in and use the pools? Is there a per person charge?

[Tartessa]

We were there last week. We rented a full size car for $90 for the day (which I think was high, but we did it at the last minute right where the ship docks). The total was $90 no additional charges. We drove all over the island. We headed for Chico's Paradise for lunch. The drive through the Sierra Madre mountains was beautiful. Then we headed in the opposite direction, past the ship and saw some of the most beautiful beaches ever.

 

I would highly recommend hiring a driver or rent your own. We have been there many times so we knew our way around. We hired a cab in Matzatlan and got a driver who spoke good english and he took us on a private tour and to the Shrimp Bucket for lunch. We offered him $50 for about 3 hours and ended up giving him $70.

[ReadyToFloat]

Readytofloat - great information. Thank you

 

The Westin allows cruise passengers to com in and use the pools? Is there a per person charge?

 

According to some here, they emailed the concierge and it was around $15/pp through the Westin to use the pool, beach, facilities and towel service.

 

Nikki Beach is at the Westin though a contracted beach/bar/restaurant, and it has a suggested $25/pp cover, though that gets applied to food and drink.

 

At Nikki, we just requested to be there a few hours, and let them know we'd keep buying some drinks, and they didn't charge us the $25/pp fee. I don't recall there being any age restrictions at the Nikki part.