For Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to escape to another country without traveling far. Our southern neighbor, Mexico, seemed like the most reasonable option. Upon further research, I wanted to give Puerto Vallarta a try. Initially used as a fishing port, Puerto Vallarta has became a premiere travel destination known for their oceanside retreats. It’s a great summer escape, and only a 3 hour flight from SFO!
As mentioned before, PV is known for their beach-side accommodations. You have the options of private villas, bed and breakfasts, boutique hotels, or all-inclusive resorts. You can find accommodations anywhere from $50 to $400 a night. The average cost for a 3-star hotel is roughly around $93 per night. I opted for an all-inclusive resort because I found some great deals online via Expedia on package deals that included flight and accommodations. Plus, I like the convenience of taking care of all my travel needs with one checkout.
I chose to stay at Grand Fiesta Americana, an all-inclusive adults only luxury resort located south of Concha Chinas. It currently holds a well deserved 4.4 stars on Expedia. The resort is home to 435 rooms, 9 restaurants, 8 bars, infinity pools, private beach, spa, and fitness center. The cost of an evening stay starts at $300 per night.
TIP: Hotel out of your budget? There’s plenty of boutique hotels that are half the price. Here are ones that I think are worth looking into: Luna Luquida Boutique, Casa Karma Boutique, and Rivera del Rio Boutique.
I was so impressed by the customer service. Upon arrival, we were greeted with glasses of passion fruit iced tea and cold moist towels. I felt like a celebrity. The room service was prompt and available 24/7. The concierge was very helpful in planning out our weekend activities.
During our first day there, we wanted to utilize the day to relax, unwind and explore the resort grounds a little bit. The resort has a very refined, modern ambiance. One of my favorite features of the resort were the themed lounges. The martini lounge has a pool table surrounded by wingback chairs to provide a luxurious feel, while the mojito lounge has swings at the bar to create a care-free and relaxing ambiance.
After grabbing drinks at the pool, we decided to have our first dinner at their Italian restaurant, Gullietta.
The following day, we were ready for some city exploration. For $20, we had a guided tour of Puerto Vallarta’s boardwalk, the church, and tequila tasting at a tequila distillery.
The Church of Guadalupe, PV’s most notable landmark, was a sight to see. The tall brick building has endured the Cristero War and an earthquake. The most interesting feature of the church is the main tower which wears a crown hoisted by angels.
My favorite part of the tour was learning how tequila was made at a tequila distillery. The distillery is perched up on the hills in a small village south of Puerta Vallarta. Our tour guide and owner of the tequila distillery, Juan, was very informative. He gave us tastings of a variety of tequila and taught us how to drink it.
What I learned from the tour is that a lot of sweat, passion and love goes into tequila making. Unlike mass producers, there are harvesters, also known as Jimadors, that are out working the agave fields and trimming the plant into a bulb with a sharp tool called a Boa. It’s astounding to learn that it takes 10 years to produce and nurture an agave plant. After that, the plant goes through the process of cooking, extraction, distillation, and aging, meanwhile using only organic ingredients. This entire process takes an average of 20-25 years! A lot of patience goes into tequila making.
TIP: If you have more time for city explorations, there are plenty of neighboring towns that are worth checking out. Sayulita, San Pancho and Mascoto are a few intimate towns that are rich with tradition and culture. Click here for a full list.
The next day we set out for some outdoor adventures. While driving along the coast during our city tour the day before, I noticed a massive arch in the open ocean with boats docked beside it. I wanted to go there. At the concierge desk, I learned that the massive arch was called Los Arcos. For $29, we bought tickets to a ferry that left from Los Muertos pier and docked at Los Arcos for a day of snorkeling. The ferry provided food and refreshments.
Anyone that knows me well will know that the open ocean freaks me out. Getting attacked by a underwater creature is my worst fear. That day I conquered my fear (with the help of a floating device, of course). The ferry provided life-jackets and snorkeling gear for passengers. Our tour guide, Alex, jumped in the water with us and led us under the arch. Below us swam manta rays, school of fishes, and exotic sea animals. Alex even went deep sea diving to grab a star fish. It was an amazing experience.
Afterwards, the ferry took us to a beach called Las Animas. The beach, only accessible via boat taxi, had shops, restaurants, jet skis and other water equipment for rental. While the rest of the passengers was dropped off at the beach, my sister and I joined a small group in a boat taxi to a small fishing village south of Los Animas called Quimixto. Walk down the cobble stone streets of the small village and you will come across a shed of horses that you can ride to a waterfall for 200 pesos.
My sister and I grabbed two horses and made our way up a dirt hiking trail. After a 20 minute ride, we made it to a waterfall that cascaded into a watering hole. Swimming in the watering hole was the perfect end to a horseback ride under the beating sun. Right at the end of the waterfall is a rock that slants at an incline. You can climb up and slide down it like a slip-n-slide. It was so much fun!
Puerto Vallarta was a great and convenient escape for the reality of “adulting”. I wouldn’t hesitate to come back for another relaxing getaway. Next time I would stay try staying in a boutique hotel in Punta Mita and snorkel around the Las Marietas islands.
Below I’ve included some more tips to help you during YOUR Puerto Vallarta trip:
— When paying for anything, always pay in Pesos. Lots of cab drivers and retailers are too lazy to calculate the conversion so they’ll give you a rounded up price in US dollars (10 pesos to 1 USD). With the exchange rate at 18 pesos for every dollar, it would be much cheaper to pay in pesos.
— Avoid solicitors when leaving the airport. You will be hounded by them. Initially, their deals will seem like a bargain. But there’s a twist. It will require you to sit in a 2 hour presentation about time shares. They’ll insist that there’s no pressure to buy anything, but representatives will try HARD to sell it to you. I got sucked into this during my trip to Cabo San Lucas and it was not fun. It was a waste of 3 hours.
— The taxis leaving the airport are expensive. They charge a flat rate of around $30-35 to take your hotel. Grab a yellow cab outside of the airport and they will charge you less.
— Try taking the bus into town! I took a bus from Boca de Tomatlan to Conchas Chinas for 8 pesos. That’s 43 cents!
— Feel free to bargain at markets, especially solo vendors.
— Make sure to cover up in bug spray before you go to bed. My sister was hounded by mosquitos overnight. Eek.
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