Extreme Canopy Tour Puerto Vallarta - What to wear/bring?

[tink24]

My husband will be doing the Extreme Canopy Tour in PV in August and I need to know your best tips on the following:

 

1. What kind of shoes to wear

2. Best bug repellant

3. How best to carry money, ID, etc...

4. Will he need to bring/buy food

5. Will he be able to carry a camera

 

Any other tips you might have would be greatly appreciated. He is soooo excited!

[tiyana4]

My husband will be doing the Extreme Canopy Tour in PV in August and I need to know your best tips on the following:

 

1. What kind of shoes to wear

2. Best bug repellant

3. How best to carry money, ID, etc...

4. Will he need to bring/buy food

5. Will he be able to carry a camera

 

Any other tips you might have would be greatly appreciated. He is soooo excited!

 

We did a similar zip line with Los Veranos and thoroughly enjoyed it. These are my suggestions:

 

1. Wear comfortable sneakers or hiking shoes. I believe the canopy tour includes rappelling down a watery sloped area. So wear shoes that you can afford to get wet (and possibly discard afterwards).

 

2. We used Avon's Bug Guard and seemed to be fine (no bites) but I would definitely recommend some type of repellant.

 

3. We used a waist pouch to carry our money/id, etc.

 

4. It depends on how long the tour is and how often your DH eats. For us it was a full day and there was a restaurant on-site (keep in mind this was Los Veranos so not sure what the other one offers by way of food) that had fantastic food and drinks. We spent $40 for two of us before the tip.

 

5. It is not recommended that you carry cameras as you normally need to use both hands to hold on. But I did use my Flip it camera to video tape while zipping - so it can be done. But they do not recommend it - safety first.

 

Hope this helps.

[MikeM]

1. What kind of shoes to wear

Closed toe with a tread.

2. Best bug repellant

High in Deet,we used 90% from Sawyer (not for children) bugs were not a problem at the time

3. How best to carry money, ID, etc...

They took all our pocket items and put them in a secure area.

4. Will he need to bring/buy food

They had beer and food available after during the picture processing. Fairley basic stuff.

5. Will he be able to carry a camera

Not recommended

Any other tips you might have would be greatly appreciated. He is soooo excited!

 

We have done it twice the latest was June this year. It was over a hundred degrees and humid. I would advise you hydrate the day and morning before. Ware shorts and light clothing.

Love this tour

[tink24]

Thank you all so much for the tips. How much money should he bring for photos/food do you think? Do they take credit cards or cash only?

[HeidiHo]

The above posters have given you good advice. We did this excursion while on a land based vacation in PV in November. The tour operator is "Vallarta Adventures." You get get more info if you go directly to their site but I don't believe they will let cruise ship passengers book directly to save money. I'm not sure on that though. One thing for sure, they DO NOT allow you to bring your own cameras. They will have a professional photographer taking pics and will offer them for sale at the end of the tour. They are pricey but the pics are fantastic. We bought the whole disc of pics of our family.

 

When we went in November bugs did not seem to be a problem at the time but the next day we all had some small bites only on our legs. Because they were mostly only on the legs I suspect there was some sort of small biting insect on the mules. None of these bites itched much or caused us any issues but insect repellent would not be a bad idea. I also did one of Vallarta Adventures other zip line tours in March of 2009. This one did not involve mules and we didn't have any issues with insect bites then. I didn't wear insect repellent either time.

 

Vallarta Adventures will lock up all of your valuables so no worries there. They seem like a VERYsafetyconscious outfit. I'm always concerned about safety standards when out of the USA but this outfit seemed to have the same kinds of safety standards I would expect in the USA. Never once was I concerned about our safety.

 

Keep in mind, YOU WILL GET WET! Wear water shoes or shoes you don't care about getting wet. A change of clothes is not a bad idea. You will have time to change after the tour but before heading back to port. I wore a very light weight pair of shorts that would dry quick but I still changed. My husband wore his swim trunks and a quick dry shirt and didn't bother changing.

 

This excursion was by far the best thing we have ever done. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Have a great time.

[teampursuit]

Vallarta Adventures is top-notch. I've done the tour in PV and did not get wet, but it rains there so often you probably will; the ground can be muddy and you do repel from the canopy back to the ground at the end. You will then hike for like 10 minutes to get back to their base camp where you can get refreshments and order pictures if you wish.

 

Their website is really good. You can even order your pictures after you get home if you like.

[xbatt8]

You might want to also invest in additional insurance (or at least make sure your current health insurance covers you in Mexico).

 

Not wanting to start a worry wart thread, but I think this is a good thing to know when traveling to other countries.

 

I was on a cruise a few years ago and spent some time in the disco with a group of about 6-8 ladies traveling together. One night in the disco there were just 2 of them and I asked where the rest were. I was told that one of the ladies had shattered her leg zip-lining and she was still in the hospital. Before the end of the cruise I was told that their friend was being flown home in a private hospital jet because she didn't want to stay in a Mexican hospital with all the surgeries coming up, and she couldn't travel without having a Dr. with her due to the extent of the injuries.

 

Well, it seems she had to pay the nearly $40,000 bill for the hospital jet and Mexican hospital all on her own because her health insurance didn't cover her when traveling outside the US.

 

So, moral of the story.... Have a great time, but check to be sure you are covered when traveling.

 

Bob

[tink24]

Thanks again for even more great advice. I already have the travel insurance purchased. Hopefully we won't need it!

[Ryancoke]

Wonder why this got moved? It was as relevant as many that don't.