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From one end of Banderas Bay to the other, you will find great scenery, friendly people, warm weather, and terrific food, with beautiful downtown Puerto Vallarta right in the middle. Stroll the Malecon on Sunday evening to mingle with the locals, see a performance at Los Arcos Amphitheater, and try some treats like fried bananas and coconut candies from the vendors. Or, take a balcony table at Tequilas and watch the action while drinking the best margaritas in town. But perhaps the biggest moment for me on this trip was when I finally got up the nerve to parasail -- what a rush!

Quick Tips:

Get pesos from an ATM -- you get the same rate as the bank. But use them up before you leave because the booth at the airport gives a terrible rate on buying them back.

Best Way To Get Around:

We still like riding the buses. They are cheap and it is another opportunity to mingle with the locals. Just make sure you know where you're going.

Best Things Nearby:
Marina Malecon with lots of shops and restaurants, golf course, marina terminal.

Best Things About the Resort:
Friendly staff, great pool, including a separate adult pool with swim-up bar and canal for kayaking.

Resort Experience:
We actually stayed one week at Nuevo Vallarta Mayan Palace and one week at the marina, which worked out well because Nuevo Vallarta is "away from it all," a good place to unwind, and Marina Mayan Palace is close to all the marina action. The one-bedroom suites are roomy and we had a great view of the pool and the ocean. The housekeeping service is terrific: the maids fold towels into birds, dogs, even elephants -- you never know what you will find when you return to your room. Activities at the pool all day long are fun for adults and children. Bakal Restaurant is very good and reasonably priced, and the poolside snack bar serves up very good lunches.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Walking the Marina Malecon, there are too many restaurants to choose from, so it's just pick one and hope. That's how we ended up in the Sea Fare. Dining outdoors looking over the marina and its fantastic yachts makes a romantic setting.

We started with the ceasar salad, prepared from scratch at our table and very delicious. I had the red snapper with seafood and lobster sauce. The seafood part of the dish was skewerd shrimps and peppers and several small scallops. It was absolutely great. My wife had the shrimp combo but substituted the breaded shimp for one coconut and one garlic sauce. She loved it, but then in Mexico she tries shrimp prepared every way imaginable, and then some. Being serenaded at our table by a Mariachi trio (tip 10 pesos each memeber) topped off a near perfect evening.

This has become a favorite of ours, not only for the excellent seafood, but also the spectacular sunsets. Unfortunately, the new bridge extending the Malecon across the river blocks the sunsets, but the food is still great.

The bus ride takes you up the coast and over an arm of the Sierra Madres through villages and rainforest. It is a long ride, but the scenery is great. Near the town of San Blas, you board a small motorboat called a panga for a trip into the mangrove swamp (bring mosquito repellant). For birdwatchers, more than 300 species of birds have been spotted in the area. We saw white egrets, blue and gray herons, and cormorants, to name a few. There are also crocodiles. We saw four on our trip, as well as iguanas and turtles. A stop at a crocodile farm is included where you see babies being readied for release in the wild. This trip was a real treat for us animal lovers. From the swamp, the bus goes to the town of San Blas for a little shopping and sightseeing. The town is very picturesque, with an old cathedral downtown, and a very old Spanish fort on the hill. From there, it's back down the coast with a stop for lunch and drinks at a beach restaurant, and a stop at a roadside produce market. A very full day.

We have been to Islas Marietas before, but not like this. Other tours take you straight to the islands, snorkel, and then back. Vallarta Adventures gave us a good tour around the islands, showing us natural stone arches and caves we had not seen on previous trips. This is a tour which mixes great fun with a learning experience. The guide talks about everything from the ecology of the area to the historic importance of the islands for the pre-Columbian peoples to their use as a bombing range for the Mexican navy. The snorkeling was was great, with bright tropical fish along a steep underwater cliff. Alas, we did not see dolphins or manta rays, but nature gives no guarantees.A delicious lunch is served and there is open bar on the way from the islands to a secluded beach where we spent a couple hours relaxing in the sun and exploring tide pools before closing out another perfect day.