Los Veranos Canopy Tour November 2012

[caliking]

Just booked my family of 4 on the canopy zipline tour 11/14. Our ship, Disney Wonder, gets in, the website says at 7:30. I booked the 10:45 tour, I hope that will be plenty of time for us to complete the tour and get back to ship, which leaves @ 5:30p. We aren't interested in any shopping or walking through town, only the Los Veranos canopy tour. Any helpful tips would be much appreciated.

[MSN-Travelers]

Just booked my family of 4 on the canopy zipline tour 11/14. Our ship, Disney Wonder, gets in, the website says at 7:30. I booked the 10:45 tour, I hope that will be plenty of time for us to complete the tour and get back to ship, which leaves @ 5:30p. We aren't interested in any shopping or walking through town, only the Los Veranos canopy tour. Any helpful tips would be much appreciated.

 

You will have no problems with having enough time for the excursion, even if “ship’s time” is an hour behind Vallarta local time when you arrive (common for most cruise lines but that could be another thread by itself). Make sure you read your ship’s newsletter the evening before to confirm there is or isn’t a ship vs. local time difference.

You booked the 10:45 tour … actually you booked the 11:15 tour. Los Veranos runs a morning shuttle from Nuevo Vallarta, past the port, to the Los Veranos offices and on to the excursion site with arrival there shortly after noon. They make stops along the way to pick up people. The shuttle will be at the Collage Disco pick-up point (located just north of the port) around 10:45. You can either taxi to Collage Disco or taxi to the excursion office.

The taxis inside the port (white) charge per person (in dollars) to your destination. The taxis just outside the port property (yellow) charge per taxi ride (in pesos) with up to four passengers. The final cost is the same for two people in either taxi. A group of three or four will save money by using the yellow city taxis.

This is how it works: Round trip travel time between the tour office and the excursion site is roughly 1.5 hours. The excursion itself takes roughly 1.5 hours. Time spent pre & post ziplining at the site is a minimum of 30 minutes but can be longer if you spend time at their tequila tasting bar, restaurant, mini-zoo or swimming hole. So, minimum time (tour office to tour office return) is roughly 3.5 hours. Travel time between the tour office and the port is 20-30 minutes. So … 10:45 at Collage Disco, zipline & return to the port roughly 4.5 hours later between 3:15 and 3:30 Vallarta local time.

 

 

Enjoy!

[caliking]

Thanks so much! Sounds like we should take a YELLOW taxi to the Los Veranos excursion office? I only have dollars, should/can I convert them to pesos on the ship the night b4? For the price I paid, Los Veranos Canopy Tour SHOULD pick us up from the port! Oh well, we'll navigate to the excursion office. This is our first zip line experience ever & we are very excited!

[MSN-Travelers]

Thanks so much! Sounds like we should take a YELLOW taxi to the Los Veranos excursion office? I only have dollars, should/can I convert them to pesos on the ship the night b4? For the price I paid, Los Veranos Canopy Tour SHOULD pick us up from the port! Oh well, we'll navigate to the excursion office. This is our first zip line experience ever & we are very excited!

 

The bus union and the taxi union are very powerful political forces in Vallarta. I'm surprised Los Veranos has been able to get away with transporting "tourists" anywhere in the city without legal problems.

 

Your return shuttle from the excursion site should be able to drop you off at the street corner by the port. Ask before you get on the bus out there as not all shuttles go further than the excursion office.

 

Yes, the yellow city taxis do take USD's. Taxi drivers aren't math experts so an $80 peso fare will convert to $8 USD's (10:1 exchange rate). Taxi rates are set and determined by zones. The river that seperates the downtown area from the south side is a zone boundry. I seem to recall that the rate from the port to the Los Veranos Canopy Office on the far south side was $80 pesos. The bus driver may be looking for you at Collage and wait to see if you are running late. It might be a good idea to contact Los Veranos and let them know you are going direct to their office vs. meeting the shuttle at Collage.

 

It has been a year since we were last there and the rate may have gone up to $100 pesos. We'll be back Saturday and I'll know then if taxi rates have changed. We've done the Los Veranos ziplines three times over the years and you should have a great time.

 

Enjoy!

[mrmac]

The Los Veranos zips are the greatest excursion we've ever done! And Paul & Marilyn always have the best updated PV info! Enjoy!

[caliking]

The Los Veranos zips are the greatest excursion we've ever done! And Paul & Marilyn always have the best updated PV info! Enjoy!

 

WOW!! You said your best excursion ever! Ours was on our honeymoon in Jamaica. We did the horse back riding at Chukka Cove. The rode the horses in the water with nothing sticking out of the water but their heads. Best excursion ever for us.

 

I am sooooo looking forward to this zipline adventure. It's our first time. The videos we watched on youtube, really look exciting!