Puerto Vallarta ZOO

While the zoo gets good reviews here is a link

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g150793-d933965-Reviews-Vallarta_Zoo-Puerto_Vallarta.html

The zoo is located in another town on the other side of PV. probably 45min to hour drive, amazing drive once you hit the other side along the coast where you'll pass Los Arco's. If you renting a car there are other stops past the zoo such as EL Eden were they shot Preditor with the helicopter still there there is also a waterfall there as well as small tequila making co. Past there is Chico's Paradise stop for a bite to eat good food, great huge plate of naco's with all the trimming, lots of parrots in side and they love sparerib bones. Then on the way back stop at Le Cliff order a drink go down the stairs and sit on the ledges and watch for whales.

This all all doable in a day.

Here is a link to pics of Chico's pics https://www.google.ca/search?q=Chico%27s+Paradise&client=firefox-a&hs=nnS&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=wGD9UsysOsPhygH70oGwCA&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=1135&bih=659&dpr=0.9

And here is a link to reviews http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g150793-d1032090-Reviews-Chico_s_Paradise-Puerto_Vallarta.html

Here is a kink to Le Cliff http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g150793-d736997-r153119706-Le_Kliff_Restaurante_Bar-Puerto_Vallarta.html

Since your time is limited, better take a cab. Going there by city bus takes too long, since you need 2 buses to get there.

We like the Zoo very much, you can buy food and give it to the animals. It is a long walk, up/down the hill in the Zoo. Bring insect repellent.

We have been to the zoo several times and love it. My DH and the giraffe have bonded :)

I would also taxi there as well. We have taken a taxi from the Mismaloya highway to the cruise ship and it was about 200 pesos. Might be a little more now but honestly?

As much as we do use the buses down there...... for a single cruise stop day would rely on the local yellow taxis instead.

Wear sneakers or good walking shoes (my first trip to zoo I wore flip flops and it was a little slippery walking up/down some of those moss covered paths.

Personally after a morning at the zoo I would head down to Mismaloya beach to spend the afternoon. We love the first resturant after you cross the bridge. Taxis are always available at the highway :)

Is the "taxi from the Mismaloya highway to the cruise ship and it was about 200 pesos" the price from/to the Cruise Facility or what?

gary

Thank you so much for all the responses. I think I'm definitely going to go.

sent from galaxy s3

Is the "taxi from the Mismaloya highway to the cruise ship and it was about 200 pesos" the price from/to the Cruise Facility or what?

 

gary

The cabs at the cruiseterminal have a fixed per person rate, I am not sure they will take you all the way to the Zoo. . But cheaper are the yellow taxis at the highway, you will see a lot of them around. Always make/check your rate before taking a cab.

Is the "taxi from the Mismaloya highway to the cruise ship and it was about 200 pesos" the price from/to the Cruise Facility or what?

 

gary

approx $15US=200 pesos will get you to the rio caule river with is close to old town, you still have quite away to go to Mismaloya twice the length to get to Zoo. Make sure if you take a cab to negotiate the rate before you get in. You may also want to negiotate a pick up time to go back to pier with him as I don't think the cabs are that plentiful at that end.

Folks do not take the black vans located just outside terminal as they are not regulated. You want yellow cabs. If they are not directly out front of terminal make a left opposite the ocean to the highway (short walk)where you would get the buses and there should be a line of cabs because they all know the ship schedules.

Is the "taxi from the Mismaloya highway to the cruise ship and it was about 200 pesos" the price from/to the Cruise Facility or what?

 

gary

It was from the Mismaloya highway to Walmart across the street from the cruise ship port. When we left the cruise ship we walked to the main street and caught a yellow taxi to the southside (about 80 pesos) did some visiting of friends then caught a taxi from southside to Mismaloya for about 120 pesos.

We like walking up the road from the highway through Mismaloya Village to the zoo. If you take a taxi right up to the Zoo it will cost another 40 pesos.

Barcelo resort is at the entrance to Mismaloya beach (across the highway is the road going up to the village and Zoo) there are always taxis there plus bus stops on either side of the highway.

approx $15US=200 pesos will get you to the rio caule river with is close to old town, you still have quite away to go to Mismaloya twice the length to get to Zoo. Make sure if you take a cab to negotiate the rate before you get in. You may also want to negiotate a pick up time to go back to pier with him as I don't think the cabs are that plentiful at that end.

The yellowcabs charge about Pesos 80 to old town. The cabs at the cruiseport charge about US$ 5.- per person (or more) for the same distance.

You will see yellowcabs parked on the highway, on the parkinglot of Walmart and Soriana, all not too far from the terminal.

The yellowcabs charge about Pesos 80 to old town. The cabs at the cruiseport charge about US$ 5.- per person (or more) for the same distance.

You will see yellowcabs parked on the highway, on the parkinglot of Walmart and Soriana, all not too far from the terminal.

Thanks Ine :)

It has been a year since I have been back to my home away from home and when I read ILoveSailing's post just couldn't believe it went up that high in a year.

Thanks Ine :)

It has been a year since I have been back to my home away from home and when I read ILoveSailing's post just couldn't believe it went up that high in a year.

Most likely he had one of the cabs right from the terminal or was overcharged by a yellow cab. Some of them charge 100 if you go across Rio Cuale. Also some drivers know the rates of those at the terminal and try to charge the same. That is why one must make the rate before getting into a cab.

Quincytoo, for your info weather out here is great.

The yellowcabs charge about Pesos 80 to old town. The cabs at the cruiseport charge about US$ 5.- per person (or more) for the same distance.

You will see yellowcabs parked on the highway, on the parkinglot of Walmart and Soriana, all not too far from the terminal.

My mistake as i was quoting from airport not cruise terminal as we often do both and we had flown in last month.

I am definitely doing the Zoo, and I thank you all for the information. Im definitely going to take the cab all the way to the zoo, I would rather skip the walking on the highway hahaha

I am definitely doing the Zoo, and I thank you all for the information. Im definitely going to take the cab all the way to the zoo, I would rather skip the walking on the highway hahaha

The walk from the highway is only about 10-15 mins tops. It takes you through Mismaloya village and we love the walk to the zoo :)

The only time you are on the highway is if you choose to cross it to spend the afternoon at Mismaloya beach (something we love to do, we walk down the path cross the wooden bridge and spend the afternoon at the first restaurant there.

Clean restrooms, beach loungers, massages if you want (I had one for 30 mins for about 100 pesos ) the food there is great. My DH and I usually share the whole red snapper for 99 pesos. This amazing fresh whole snapper, rice, beans, tortillas, lettuce, salsa and garc Very yummy :)

Usually the Yelupa pie lady is there selling her slices of pie.....these are incredible and the pecan pie?? It is worth the price of the cruise cost down to PV :D

When you want to go back to the cruise ship (we go back around 2:30 ) then there are always taxis at the start of the highway.

Barcelo resort shares the Mismaloya beach and believe me there are always taxis.

The walk from the highway is only about 10-15 mins tops. It takes you through Mismaloya village and we love the walk to the zoo :)

 

The only time you are on the highway is if you choose to cross it to spend the afternoon at Mismaloya beach (something we love to do, we walk down the path cross the wooden bridge and spend the afternoon at the first restaurant there.

Clean restrooms, beach loungers, massages if you want (I had one for 30 mins for about 100 pesos ) the food there is great. My DH and I usually share the whole red snapper for 99 pesos. This amazing fresh whole snapper, rice, beans, tortillas, lettuce, salsa and garc Very yummy :)

 

Usually the Yelupa pie lady is there selling her slices of pie.....these are incredible and the pecan pie?? It is worth the price of the cruise cost down to PV :D

 

When you want to go back to the cruise ship (we go back around 2:30 ) then there are always taxis at the start of the highway.

Barcelo resort shares the Mismaloya beach and believe me there are always taxis.

Would you think this is a safe trip to make from the cruise dock to the zoo as a woman alone? ? I'm curious, as I am now going to be alone on this trip.

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Would you think this is a safe trip to make from the cruise dock to the zoo as a woman alone? ? I'm curious, as I am now going to be alone on this trip.

 

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I am a 5"7 130 pd female andf I always feel very safe in PV, walking around alone, especially doing a day trip like you are going to be doing :)

Have a great cruise and day in Puerto Vallarta and please come back and give us a trip review :)

I am a 5"7 130 pd female andf I always feel very safe in PV, walking around alone, especially doing a day trip like you are going to be doing :)

 

Have a great cruise and day in Puerto Vallarta and please come back and give us a trip review :)

Thank you so much for your response. I really appreciate that. Now I can stop worrying and keep my plans as they are. I will definitely come back and let you know about my experience. I will be sailing on March 8th. YAY Puerto Vallarta here I come. lol.

We had a great time at the PV zoo a couple years ago. We only had US dollars and the round trip taxi fare was about us$40 (it is FAR, even though there inexplicably are signs pointing to it on the street right outside the cruise port). I also looked into taking public transportation but having been there, I wouldn't recommend it. The zoo is so far from the port, I think you could run out of time, unless you are already familiar with the buses. The cab ride was at least 45 min each way so I would guess the 2 buses + walking would be 2 hrs or more without mistakes.

Admission was about us$10. Not as cheap as I was expecting but well worth it. You may want to go onto your roll call page to see if anyone wants to share the cab ride. Plus you can feed the animals which is pretty fun and the food was another $3 or so, and they tell you what food to feed which animals. You can get up close to a lot of animals and feeding the hippopotamus, camels, giraffes, etc was pretty amusing and something you definitely won't get to do in an american zoo.

Be sure to wear shoes with good traction as it is on a hill and the walkways are somewhat steep. I wouldn't recommend it to people with mobility issues.

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I sort of wish the cruise lines would organize a shore excursion to the pv zoo. On the one hand, when we visited in 2012, the people working at the zoo seemed to be doing as good a job as they can running the zoo, but there were only a few visitors and the zoo looks like it could have used more funding. On the other hand, getting the cruise lines involved would turn it immediately into a tourist trap.

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I sort of wish the cruise lines would organize a shore excursion to the pv zoo. On the one hand, when we visited in 2012, the people working at the zoo seemed to be doing as good a job as they can running the zoo, but there were only a few visitors and the zoo looks like it could have used more funding. On the other hand, getting the cruise lines involved would turn it immediately into a tourist trap.

 

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I definitely agree with this. If the zoo was smart they would do that. I'm definitely going to the zoo when we get into port on March 11th (exactly a week from today) I'm just nervous riding a taxi alone that far.

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We had a great time at the PV zoo a couple years ago. We only had US dollars and the round trip taxi fare was about us$40 (it is FAR, even though there inexplicably are signs pointing to it on the street right outside the cruise port). I also looked into taking public transportation but having been there, I wouldn't recommend it. The zoo is so far from the port, I think you could run out of time, unless you are already familiar with the buses. The cab ride was at least 45 min each way so I would guess the 2 buses + walking would be 2 hrs or more without mistakes.

Admission was about us$10. Not as cheap as I was expecting but well worth it. You may want to go onto your roll call page to see if anyone wants to share the cab ride. Plus you can feed the animals which is pretty fun and the food was another $3 or so, and they tell you what food to feed which animals. You can get up close to a lot of animals and feeding the hippopotamus, camels, giraffes, etc was pretty amusing and something you definitely won't get to do in an american zoo.

 

Be sure to wear shoes with good traction as it is on a hill and the walkways are somewhat steep. I wouldn't recommend it to people with mobility issues.

 

 

 

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LOL Did you go during Easter and did the driver go through town and southside?

$40 US is way too much and 45 mins is way too long. That would be the bus not the taxis.

LOL Did you go during Easter and did the driver go through town and southside?

$40 US is way too much and 45 mins is way too long. That would be the bus not the taxis.

It was in October. I think he drove through town and it seemed like he mostly stayed on the coastal highway. His route seemed fairly direct as far as I could tell but I really can't say for sure. It just seemed like a long way. Maybe not 45 min, but definitely at least a half hour. The cabbie just waited for us to take us back presumably because he knew he wouldn't get a fare this big anywhere else.

I definitely agree with this. If the zoo was smart they would do that. I'm definitely going to the zoo when we get into port on March 11th (exactly a week from today) I'm just nervous riding a taxi alone that far.

 

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Taxi felt pretty safe to me, certainly nothing worse than most other taxis I've taken in developing countries and even some here in the US. They may not all have seat belts, but they don't go very fast. I'm more concerned about getting norovirus,etc from the cruise ship.

Have you tried the roll call to see if you can find someone else to go with you? Or do you simply prefer to play solo?