A week at Nuevo Vallarta Mayan Palace

We really enjoyed the day long trip on the Santa Maria boat. The crew was very entertaining, and included continental breakfast, snorkeling at Los Arcos(which was a disappointment), open bar, horse back riding for an extra , and lunch on the beach (drinks extra). We also really enjoyed the Rhythms of the Night booked through Vallarta Adventures. It was an evening sunset cruise with open bar and snacks on board, with a program of dance and dinner buffet with drinks on shore. For going to a timeshare presentation at the Flamingo Resort (which we loved), we got 4 free tickets for the Santa Maria cruise, and 4 half priced tickets for the Rhythms of the Night. They have a little stand up by the Sun Market/bus stop, and they whisked us off to the resort in a taxi on the spot. From there we took a taxi a little further north to the town of Bucerias for a little shopping and dinner. I think prices there are better than Puerto Vallarta since less tourism. It was worth the trip.

Quick Tips:

The resort provides a couple of nice booklets with information on the resort and Puerto Vallarta. They will arrange trips through their travel shop, but we didn't use them since we got our tickets through the timeshare presentation at the Flamingo Resort. We also got 4 tickets there for a tequila tour in Pitillal for , which we also enjoyed. I purchased tequila there that are not for sale in the states. They have flavored and cream tequila and all available for sampling.

Best Way To Get Around:

Taxi service proved to be expensive from the resort into Puerto Vallarta so we usually took the bus. The taxi was or each way depending on how far you were going. We walked to the bus stop and took a coach bus (like an old Greyhound) to Walmart for .20 each. There you had to change to a city bus to go to the Centro shopping area for 40 cents each. There was a guy there whose job it was to help you get on the right bus to take you wherever you wanted to go. I would not recommend renting a car as traffic there is much different than we are used to in the states. There whoever is the biggest or the fastest has the right-of-way. Also, I've heard you sometimes have to pay your way out of an accident if one occurs. Besides, the bus and taxi rides are a Mexican part of life you must experience to make your vacation complete.

We had the breakfast buffet, which was good, but they kept running out of certain foods. I never did get any French toast, they were making more at one time, but by the time I went back up, it was all gone again. They also had only a half a bagel when I went through the line. The food was okay, but not as good as the breakfast buffet at the Cafe del Lago.

We ate the breakfast buffet here twice. The first time was a part of their timeshare sales presentation, and we liked it well enough to come again. They offered fresh fruit, bakery, made to order omelets and eggs, waffles, pancakes, Mexican entrees, a juice bar and cold cereals. It was a nice selection and priced at about $15.

We really enjoyed this restaurant- good food, reasonable prices. It was also the only restaurant within walking distance of the resort. Lunch menu is mainly sandwiches with more options for dinner menu. I can recommend the prawn appetizer, hamburgers and the meatball sandwich for lunch, and the pizza served at night.

This was recommended by the cab driver, and we were not disappointed. Without directions, we would not have found it on our own. Open dining on the ocean with good food at reasonable prices. It is south of the shopping square along the beach, just ask for directions. On Wednesdays they offer a steak buffet for only $15. Just watch out for the green stuff served with nacho chips- it is jalapeno sauce and not guacamole.

This is a couple blocks off the main shopping streets. They are known for their large Margaritas-one is enough. The food was good and the make fresh guacamole right at the table, which was very good. We had a cab take us right there, otherwise it may have been hard to find on our own.