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Puerto Vallarta


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On 1/8/2022 at 1:36 PM, mchookem said:

bump...we leave next week, somehow this trip just snuck up on us! 

changed hotels...our expat friends did some recon earlier in the year and thought the Rosita was a bit too stark...but still got an ocean front room for <$100/night 😊

only excursions planned are a whale-watching boat ride and maybe a visit to Sayulita, but mostly i'm looking to just enjoy the sand and surf 😎

 

We did Sayulita last week and it was crowded as all hell.  Really not worth the drive up there, imho.  If you go, highly recommend getting a driver as opposed to just catching a cab.

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23 minutes ago, field said:

We did Sayulita last week and it was crowded as all hell.  Really not worth the drive up there, imho.  If you go, highly recommend getting a driver as opposed to just catching a cab.

thanks for the tip! we're going with expat friends who will have a car...but yeah, unless there's something must-see, i'm happy to take a pass 😎

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25 minutes ago, mchookem said:

thanks for the tip! we're going with expat friends who will have a car...but yeah, unless there's something must-see, i'm happy to take a pass 😎

there's a pic I posted way above, we rented a car and drove, took our time and stopped multiple times along the way.  we sat on the beach, got stoned, watched the sufers and ate homeade empanadas from a woman selling them on the beach - definitely wasn't a tourist beach there were no cuban cigars or glass pipes or mexican blankets or sale, well and we were the only gringos that day. we people watched, wondered if the empanadas would kill us and wasted half a day just staring at the water.  one of the best beach days we've ever had.

sucks to hear it's crowded as hell.

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1 hour ago, troph said:

there's a pic I posted way above, we rented a car and drove, took our time and stopped multiple times along the way.  we sat on the beach, got stoned, watched the sufers and ate homeade empanadas from a woman selling them on the beach - definitely wasn't a tourist beach there were no cuban cigars or glass pipes or mexican blankets or sale, well and we were the only gringos that day. we people watched, wondered if the empanadas would kill us and wasted half a day just staring at the water.  one of the best beach days we've ever had.

sucks to hear it's crowded as hell.

man. that is literally my idea of heavan 😎

did the same (minus the empanadas) on the north shore of Oahu one day, it was def a top 10 'day in the life'...

 

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so this place is pretty awesome.

ETA: had great luck with food so far, couple of outstanding meals. love the beach, waves are intimidating and water feels about 74 or so...pretty damn perfect. we're in la zona romantica... walking around at night feels like the French Quarter. Mexico is loud lol.

having coffee on our balcony this morning we saw three humpback whales jumping/breaching in quick succession just right off shore, maybe a quarter mile off the beach. incredible!

 

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anybody need a whale watching recommendation i got one...WAY better than Hawaii in that regard, whales all around us, breaching, waving, even a couple of bulls fighting...like 25-50 yards from the boat. one swam even closer checking us out! amazing, if you go for that sort of thing 🐳😁

food has continued to be above average, only a couple of so-so meals.

found a chic rooftop bar with an infinity pool up the hill for spectacular sunsets (took the funicular bc it was WAY up the hill lol).

overall this place has been outstanding. some guy on the street did grab my boob one day, but i yelled and hit him myself and then managed to drag my husband away before he punched him. dude was just crazy i think lol. i mean what's a vacation without a stranger grabbing your tit? 😂

whale pics suck but give you an idea!

 

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On 2/11/2023 at 1:51 PM, hornbri said:

Going with the kids for spring break next month. Staying at Velas Vallarta, it’s a AI but plan to hit some of the places on this list. 

Anything new to know about? 

On the "good" or indifferent side, the apple tv show Acapulco is filmed in PV at the Barcelo.

On the "bad" or indifferent side,

Quote

 

The State Department is urging U.S. citizens to reconsider or even avoid travel to parts of Mexico — including Jalisco state, home to top queer destination Puerto Vallarta — over increased crime and kidnappings in the region. As travelers make plans for spring break, the federal department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has issued multiple advisories over the ongoing violence in Mexico.

Cartel violence erupted in Culiacan in early January after authorities arrested Ovidio Guzmán, a leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel and son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Rather than issue a nationwide risk assessment for Mexico, the department reviewed each state, issuing its strongest warning, for Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas over crime concerns.

Urging U.S. citizens not to travel to those Mexican states, the Bureau of Consular Affairs cited recent shootings between rival gangs that have injured or killed bystanders, as well as kidnappings targeting tourists and “green card” holders.

 

 

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1 hour ago, patrickdrinksbeer said:

honest question, who brings their dog on vacation to mexico and if travelling without a dog, why on earth would i want to spend time at a dog park without my dog when i’m on a beach vacation?

What the fuck is wrong with having a cerveza and a snack and watching dogs play in the dog park?   Are you a fucking commie or something?

 

Oh, and the dogs don't play unsupervised. They have a "Ruffaree".

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honest question, who brings their dog on vacation to mexico and if travelling without a dog, why on earth would i want to spend time at a dog park without my dog when i’m on a beach vacation?

Have you been to the airport lately? It's white people.
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Heading to Sayulita via Puerto Vallarta in July. Debating on whether I should tell my wife abt the violence, or just forget abt it and just see how things go. I am doing the latter so far.

We are there for 3 nights in a 10 cabana hotel abt a 10 min golf cart ride from the town. Each cabana is provided a golf cart for the stay. The only plan so far is to take surf lessons and eat a shit ton of food. Any other recs would be appreciated. No kids on this trip, and i think we are renting a car.

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6 minutes ago, LonghornJones said:

Heading to Sayulita via Puerto Vallarta in July. Debating on whether I should tell my wife abt the violence, or just forget abt it and just see how things go. I am doing the latter so far.

We are there for 3 nights in a 10 cabana hotel abt a 10 min golf cart ride from the town. Each cabana is provided a golf cart for the stay. The only plan so far is to take surf lessons and eat a shit ton of food. Any other recs would be appreciated. No kids on this trip, and i think we are renting a car.

Nayarit actually isn’t too bad at the moment, just be cautious and you’ll probably be fine. As for recs I’ve never actually been to anywhere on the pacific coast of mexico so you’re SOL.

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3 hours ago, LonghornJones said:

Heading to Sayulita via Puerto Vallarta in July. Debating on whether I should tell my wife abt the violence, or just forget abt it and just see how things go. I am doing the latter so far.

We are there for 3 nights in a 10 cabana hotel abt a 10 min golf cart ride from the town. Each cabana is provided a golf cart for the stay. The only plan so far is to take surf lessons and eat a shit ton of food. Any other recs would be appreciated. No kids on this trip, and i think we are renting a car.

Sayulita is about as safe as it gets in that area. You are more likely to get hurt in a bar brawl with drunk Americans than anything else.

Find a surf instructor that will take you away from Sayulita centro for lessons; the main beach is fucking crowded 24/7.

We like El Pescador Poke Bar on the main square

https://goo.gl/maps/jnhqNEuDnVezG7bS7

For chilling with drinks/food/beach, Club de Playa Camaron

https://goo.gl/maps/U7wRsiaPkSk247PX8

 

 

 

poke bar.jpg

marley bar sayulita.jpg

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Great info, ty!

21 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

Sayulita is about as safe as it gets in that area. You are more likely to get hurt in a bar brawl with drunk Americans than anything else.

Find a surf instructor that will take you away from Sayulita centro for lessons; the main beach is fucking crowded 24/7.

We like El Pescador Poke Bar on the main square

https://goo.gl/maps/jnhqNEuDnVezG7bS7

For chilling with drinks/food/beach, Club de Playa Camaron

https://goo.gl/maps/U7wRsiaPkSk247PX8

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  • 3 months later...

Got back from 4 nights at Playa Escondida just outside of Sayulita. We were 2 of 8 people in the entire place, so it was incredibly quiet (except for the very intense t-storms at night). This is considered the offseason, which I would highly recommend. The first day we hung out at the beach and drank fruity beach drinks for a few hours, and then made our way into Sayulita. We had surf lessons the next day so we tried get a lay of the land.

Sayulita was a sleepy town when we were there (Fri-Tues). Obviously the weekend had more people, but we are accustomed to Cancun and other major tourist towns. For surfing, we took a bus to La Lancha, a beach just south of Punta Mita, and had a blast. We were pretty bruised up the next day from the actual board, but it was not intense whatsoever.

I got Montezumas Revenge that night, so my food and booze intake for the remainder of the trip was limited. I blame it on some random street tacos, but I have no regerts.

I highly recommend the place we stayed. It has AMAZING snorkeling, and the food was much better than average. There are several options for rooms, but AC was at the top of our list. They had just wrapped up filming the Bachelor in Paradise, so the grounds were fantastic.

https://playa-escondida.com/

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4 hours ago, LonghornJones said:

Got back from 4 nights at Playa Escondida just outside of Sayulita. We were 2 of 8 people in the entire place, so it was incredibly quiet (except for the very intense t-storms at night). This is considered the offseason, which I would highly recommend. The first day we hung out at the beach and drank fruity beach drinks for a few hours, and then made our way into Sayulita. We had surf lessons the next day so we tried get a lay of the land.

Sayulita was a sleepy town when we were there (Fri-Tues). Obviously the weekend had more people, but we are accustomed to Cancun and other major tourist towns. For surfing, we took a bus to La Lancha, a beach just south of Punta Mita, and had a blast. We were pretty bruised up the next day from the actual board, but it was not intense whatsoever.

I got Montezumas Revenge that night, so my food and booze intake for the remainder of the trip was limited. I blame it on some random street tacos, but I have no regerts.

I highly recommend the place we stayed. It has AMAZING snorkeling, and the food was much better than average. There are several options for rooms, but AC was at the top of our list. They had just wrapped up filming the Bachelor in Paradise, so the grounds were fantastic.

https://playa-escondida.com/

Did you visit the boom boom room?

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Just got back from a 3 night stay at the One&Only Mandarina. Got a villa with private pool. Couldn’t say enough amazing things about the property, beach, restaurants and service. About an hour drive from the airport. Never left the property. 
 

Have always been a Caribbean guy and never a Pacific guy, but would go back here in a heartbeat. 

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  • 8 months later...

Ended up booking secrets Bahia mita for 5 nights. Wife is really more of an AI and relax person but we’re still excited about taking a taxi into town for a little bit here and there for culture. 
 
We’ll be there during anew moon and I plan on doing the night time kayaking with the bioluminescent plankton.

Any experience with tequila places there or do you need to get a few more hours inland?

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