Excursions in Puerto Vallarta any suggestions

[Harbie]

We are on the Splendor October 31st..We have nothing planned for excursions in Puerto Vallarta and I am kind of concerned we should since we are there a long time or should we wait till we get there and wing it? Any suggestions? We enjoy snorkeling, 4 wheeling, sightseeing? :)

[CapeCodCruiser]

Check out the ports of call board:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=203

[Jo2310]

We are on the Splendor October 31st..We have nothing planned for excursions in Puerto Vallarta and I am kind of concerned we should since we are there a long time or should we wait till we get there and wing it? Any suggestions? We enjoy snorkeling, 4 wheeling, sightseeing? :)

Puerto Vallarta is my favourite holiday destination!! Been there many times and there is so much to see. What I love about PV is the fact that you do not have to do an excursion - unless you really want to - just head to downtown, old town/romantic zone and enjoy the culture, shopping, restaurants etc....pretty amazing place! You can eat a a 5-star restaurant for a fraction of the cost or eat at a taco stand - your choice. You can easily travel from the port on the local bus or take a taxi. You could also visit neighboring towns like Mismaloya, Buccerias etc...but, if you've never been there, I would just head downtown and walk along the malecon (boarwalk by the ocean). Enjoy!

[Upandadam]

There's a great water park there with all your typical slides, tubes, lazy river, etc.. and dolphin encounters. You can book on-line and save a lot of money. We did admissiion to the park and a dolphin encounter for $43. Try that on a ship sponsored excursion.

 

Another idea is to grab a cab and ask them to take you to a nice beach. There's one on the south end of town with a quaint little restaurant/bar where the beach and the water rival those in the Caribbean. Plus as mentioned, the downtown area is very nice also.

[suzmarie]

Puerto Vallarta is loaded with fun things to do! Swim with dolphins or zip line, whatever you want or just hop a cab and walk on the Malecon, shop and have happy hour! It's a safe place to go, shopping is great too!

I used Vallarta Adventures and they were awesome!

 

https://www.vallarta-adventures.com

 

Hope you enjoy yourself!

:D

[dstone]

loved PV, we were there this past April. we booked a private all day tour with tony at vallarta tony tours dot com and it was the BEST. Clean van and professional driver/guide. We did the downtown, malecon, the cathedrals, several scenic stops,then mismaloya to snorkel and a real secluded, small beach that was BEAUTIFUL, then he took us to nigolita for lunch and it was fantastic, then went to the swinging bridge at isla rio caulde and ended up with a stop at walmart across from the port!!!! Absolutely fabulous day, not one complaint!

i posted a review on travel advisor with some px.

[skypilot52]

OMG, Puerta Vallarta,

 

Get off the ship, walk out to the road, turn left, go to Wal-Mart. Leave Walmart go one shopping center over and walk around. Do not buy anthing at these places, yet.

 

Leave the center, walk back to walmart, go across the street at stop lite, get on the bus and take it to the boardwalk area along the ocean. Spend about 2 hours walking around, sitting on the beach, talking to people from all over who own condos in the area. Have an iced tea (DW) and a bunch of tequila (me) to keep cool. Start buying stuff, dont forget to bargain!!

 

Go back to the street, get back on the bus (marked Walmart), take it back to walmart, buy the stuff you needed, but didnt want to carry around. Go back to the shopping center next door, buy the stuff you wanted, but didnt want to carry around.

 

Go back to the walmart cornor, cross the street and walk back to the ship.

 

Get on the ship, go to your cabin, throw the crap on the floor, and lay down for about an hour to rest.

 

It's alot of fun in the port. Have a Blast!!!!!!!!!:D:D

[flip]

We did the ship excursion "Rhythms of the Night". It was one of the best we have done. Great food, a folkloric show and a really great crew on the boat to and back. The crew on the boat put on a little show on the way back which was a real treat.

[joeyancho]

For the thrill of a lifetime try the Rio Cuale zip lining tour. You can Google it and find it. Last time I checked it was only 58 bucks pp. Which is a fraction of what the ship charges. I have taken it 3 times it it just gets better each time. Looking forward to doing it again next year.

[Stircrzy]

Puerto Vallarta is my favourite holiday destination!! Been there many times and there is so much to see. What I love about PV is the fact that you do not have to do an excursion - unless you really want to - just head to downtown, old town/romantic zone and enjoy the culture, shopping, restaurants etc....pretty amazing place! You can eat a a 5-star restaurant for a fraction of the cost or eat at a taco stand - your choice. You can easily travel from the port on the local bus or take a taxi. You could also visit neighboring towns like Mismaloya, Buccerias etc...but, if you've never been there, I would just head downtown and walk along the malecon (boarwalk by the ocean). Enjoy!

 

Excellent advice!!! I love PV, too!...

[Jo2310]

Excellent advice!!! I love PV, too!...

I know Stircrzy - it's a great place! We stayed in a Villa once for 3 weeks!! and travelled all over from Mismaloya to Punta Mita - Personally, I would never book an excursion in PV, too many things to do for free!

[Harbie]

thanks to everyone for all the great advice! :) Much appreciated.

[merinski]

We would like to take a tour. We are wondering if anyone has done the city, shopping & beach tour with the ship or anyone? If so is there much time for shopping and do you go to the flee market? Thanks:)

[andynapril]

There's a great water park there with all your typical slides, tubes, lazy river, etc.. and dolphin encounters. You can book on-line and save a lot of money. We did admissiion to the park and a dolphin encounter for $43. Try that on a ship sponsored excursion.

 

Another idea is to grab a cab and ask them to take you to a nice beach. There's one on the south end of town with a quaint little restaurant/bar where the beach and the water rival those in the Caribbean. Plus as mentioned, the downtown area is very nice also.

 

Where did you book that for $43?? What a great idea!

[Lair Bear]

We are on the Splendor October 31st..We have nothing planned for excursions in Puerto Vallarta and I am kind of concerned we should since we are there a long time or should we wait till we get there and wing it? Any suggestions? We enjoy snorkeling, 4 wheeling, sightseeing? :)

 

Like so many others here on CC, plan ahead and don't wait until you get there (and don't bother with the ship's tours).

There are many good suggestions on this thread already, but if you want to do some sightseeing with a reputable tour company (rather than a cab) you might check out Superior Vallarta. There probably are others, but this small company does a great job.

[dstone]

We would like to take a tour. We are wondering if anyone has done the city, shopping & beach tour with the ship or anyone? If so is there much time for shopping and do you go to the flee market? Thanks:)

We did shopping on the malecon and later at the flea market and it quite the experience - but we had fun and bought some good "stuff" for nearly nothing to take back to friends!

[cidymom]

From the post above, can someone tell me where the flea market is in PV? Is it far from the ship? Within walking distance? Can you get magnets for each port there (PV, Mazatlan, Cabo)? Thanks in advance for your help.

[seahunters2000]

We are on the Splendor October 31st..We have nothing planned for excursions in Puerto Vallarta and I am kind of concerned we should since we are there a long time or should we wait till we get there and wing it? Any suggestions? We enjoy snorkeling, 4 wheeling, sightseeing? :)

 

We booked a trip out to Marietas Island through Vallarta Adventures. It was a great snorkel area in P.V. Also there is a great place to get a message only $40 for 75 mins. My wife & I got a couples message with tip $100 for both. Try getting that on the ship. It's called "Venus Sunshine" right on the marina. We found them through "Trip Advisor" they were highly recomended & very professional.

[merinski]

Has anyone been to the flee market marked on this map? Down from Sams/walmart. http://vallartainfo.com/hotelzone.html

 

The Flee Market is at the bottom of this map, you'll need to bus or taxi there.

http://vallartainfo.com/downtown.html

[yvrnavigator]

Puerto Vallarta is loaded with fun things to do! Swim with dolphins or zip line, whatever you want or just hop a cab and walk on the Malecon, shop and have happy hour! It's a safe place to go, shopping is great too!

I used Vallarta Adventures and they were awesome!

 

https://www.vallarta-adventures.com

 

Hope you enjoy yourself!

:D

 

Just a quick question on Vallarta-Adventures. I checked their site and they have some great excursions. I am mostly interested in the Canopy Adventure Park.

Once you booked with them, did they meet you at the ship?

It also seems that they allow kids from age 8 and up to do the Canopy tour, whereas with RCI kids have to be 12 and up. Is this the same Canopy Adventure Park that RCI is offering?

My son is 9 and really wants to do the Canopy tour, yet most places require children to be 12 years of age.

[bzy1]

Vallarta Adventures does meet you at the ship but ONLY when you book through the ship. They are not allowed to pick-up clients at the port for the canopy tour that did ot book through the ship, the cruise ships will not allow it. As well, Vallarta Adventures will not have times available for most tours directly on days and times that the ships are in port because all of the spots have been already allocated to the cruise ships.

[yvrnavigator]

Vallarta Adventures does meet you at the ship but ONLY when you book through the ship. They are not allowed to pick-up clients at the port for the canopy tour that did ot book through the ship, the cruise ships will not allow it. As well, Vallarta Adventures will not have times available for most tours directly on days and times that the ships are in port because all of the spots have been already allocated to the cruise ships.

 

Thank you. It's interesting that RCI is using Vallarta Adventures where RCI has a restriction on the Canopy tour for children of 12 and up only allowed on that tour, yet Vallarta Adventures minimum age is 8.