First Try at Puerto Vallarta

An October 2003 trip to Puerto Vallarta by J Greg

Quote: Seven nights at Villa Del Palmar and four nights at Mayan Palace. We had a nice time.

First Try at Puerto Vallarta

Overview

Quote:

Spent 11 nights total in Puerto Vallarta. It was nice to be at VDP as its closer to town. Mayan Palace was huge and very nice. The pool is cold, and that's the only drawback I found!

Quick Tips:

The usual Mexico stuff. Get the price of the fare from the driver.

Best Way To Get Around:

The buses worked, but when it was real warm and we were tired we would spring for a cab because sometimes the buses can take awhile.

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Villa del Palmar Beach Resort and Spa Puerto Vallarta

Hotel | "Villa Del Palmar"

Quote:

Our first room was bad. We paid more money than what they gave us. We complained and got the room we deserved. Everything was fine after that. The food there was fine--not great, but nice. Pools were good, and there's daily entertainment if you like that sort of thing. It was nice to be closer to town. We own at Cabo, but this is the sister resort. I would come again.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on November 4, 2003

Villa del Palmar Beach Resort and Spa Puerto Vallarta
Bd Francisco Medina Ascencio B
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 48300
52-322-224-0635

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Mayan Palace Puerto Vallarta

Hotel | "Mayan Palace Nuevo Vallarta"

Quote:

This is a big resort. Lots of walking, which was fine for us, but others may not like it. The pool is very cold, and again some may like that, but not us. Grounds are very nice, and they turned our beds back at night. We had two good evenings at the Baka restaurant, one bad one. The service seemed confused, didn't get butter with our rolls, stuff like that. We stayed away after that. This place is recommended if you find a good price. It's kind of away from things, but at the end of our vacation that was just the thing.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 4, 2003

Mayan Palace Puerto Vallarta
Paseo de la Marina Sur S/N
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 48354
+52 (322) 226 6000

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Pipis

Restaurant | "Pipi's"

Quote:

Dinner with some good people we met at the VDP. We had the guacamole and of course the flaming fajitas. It was a nice time and I would recommend it to others. Watch out at the beginning though as they take your picture then come around later to see if you want to buy it. You'll see that in Mexico all over the place.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 4, 2003

Pipis
Guadalupe Sanchez 807
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 48380
+52 322 327 67

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Tia Marias

Restaurant

Quote:

Small restaurant on the east side of the main road, south of VDP. Very small and at first we were a bit leery eating there just because of the location. I'm glad we stayed. They were closing, but when we came in they jumped and helped us. Great food--we had the chicken tacos and a few beers each. I would go back again, and am surprised we didn't go again actually.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 4, 2003

Tia Marias

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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Señor Sweeneys

Restaurant | "Senior Sweeneys"

Quote:

This is an upstairs bar/restaurant in Zona Romantica, close to Arribas I believe. It was recommended by one of the guys at our pool. There were four of us there, and it wasn't too bad, though my friends pork wasn't done. My wife ordered the shrimp, and it arrived deep fried. She hoped it would have been grilled. The price was fine.

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on November 4, 2003

Señor Sweeneys

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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Adrianos

Restaurant

Quote:

This is a decent place on the beach in Bucerias. We had a club sandwich and chicken tacos, with cervezas of course!! Not too bad for the price. I would go back. It was nice to get out of the sun for awhile.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on November 4, 2003

Adrianos

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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Guidos

Restaurant

Quote:

This restaurant is on a road into the marina at Nuevo Vallarta. There's lots of signs to help find it. They have very good service, the best we had the whole 12 days we were there. I had pasta and Nicole had another pasta dish, and both were very good. We had a nice salad as well. It was just the two of us when we were there, so it was very quiet indeed. They also had pizza, but we never made it for that.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 4, 2003

Guidos
Nuevo Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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Los Arcos

Attraction | "Diving Los Arcos"

Quote:

We had decent visibility, though it was better on Maui last year. It was because of the combination of weather and the water from the river that comes in by Mismaloya Beach. It was a nice time though. We went to 65 feet with no wetsuit! My wife got bit by a fish of all things. She's okay, but told everyone it was a barracuda!!

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on November 4, 2003

Los Arcos
Highway 200 Sur Km 12
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 48300
Not applicable

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Marigalante

Attraction | "Marigalante Pirate Ship"

Quote:

We had a good time on this with the couple we met. They keep the drinks going, and have some skits with sword fighting and other stuff like that. The main guy is a good speaker, so he keeps things going. Didn't get to see the sunset as the rain was around us, but oh well. I had 11 nights of sunsets. I would recommend it, though for $95 it seemed a bit steep. Probably wouldn't have done it if our friends hadn't planned it, but am glad I did.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on November 4, 2003

Marigalante
Paseo Diaz Ordaz 770 - 21
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 48350
+52 322 303 09

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Trip to Bucerias

Story/Tip

Quote:

I heard that the vendors are a bit better priced up there, so we took a cab from Mayan Palace to get there. Fare was 80 pesos.

Shopped for some local stuff, and we always get one wall 'thing' when we go on vacation. We have some moon, sun/moon, sun, and one wooden gecko from Maui last year. It's fun to haggle with the local people. My wife actually found a knit hat there for her dad who's taking chemo. Good find for her!

We had lunch at Adrianos and it was good and located right on the beach.