Puerta Vallarta - Malecon vs. RC Tour

[Chicago Gal]

Hope I can get some advice, we're not sure what to do in PV.

Could/would you take a taxi from the port and spend the day in PV walking the Malecon, hanging at Los Muertas beach and checking out the shops/restaurants across the street? Found this video of the Malecon and it looks like you could. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e18s0oKk2cY

Is the beach nice, water too cold to swim (we'll be there in 2 wks)?

 

OR some in our group are thinking about the Sierra Madre Hiking Exploration tour or the Off-Road Jeep Safari and Beach Adventure. Are either of those better ideas?

 

Any safety concerns w/any of our choices in light of the news lately (we've got 13-18 yr olds w/us too)? Malecon safer than traveling to the tours? Or would the opposite be true?

 

Just want to have a nice day. Any other suggestions?

 

Thanks so much!

 

Josie

Next Cruise: Mariner of the Seas - March 2009

Previous Cruise:

Radiance of the Seas - March 2008

[averyjenn]

I'm subscribing because I don't know what to do in PV on our cruise next month either. Wish I could help!

[tulsacubfan]

Not sure how much help I will be as we have never been there before, but.. We are signed up for the morning hike in the Sierra Madres. It is 4 hours and supposed to be done at 2:15. Since we are there until 10, we figured we would then have more than ample time to explore PV walking Malecon, and hopefully find the No Name Cafe - the unofficial home of the Chicago Cubs.

 

When are you going? If after us, I will be glad to post my opinion of the hike.

[Ine]

We are staying for a few weeks in Puerto vallarta at the moment.

First of all there are thousands more tourists from the USA, Canada and Europe, apart from the many visitors by cruise-ships.

That means, yes you will be safe, but like in any place use your common sense.

The Malecon and Playa los Muertes are very nice. You can get there by cab (the yellow ones near Walmart are cheaper then the ones at the cruiseterminal) or you can take a city-bus directions Centro (not through tunel) for 5,5 Pesos each.

The Malecon is filled with shops and restaurants (often on 2nd floor for the view). On Playa los Muertes you have various nice restaurants right on the beach like Langoustines, La Palapa and others.

Back by bus take the ones with directions Walmart.

 

The Sierra Madre tours are also very nice, but you will miss seeing Puerto Vallarta as the tours go outside the city.

[Hlitner]

Guess I can help since we just finished spending 2 months in PV (it's our winter home) in a condo right on the new section of the Malecon (right over the bridge in the Romantic Zone). Regarding safety, we feel absolutely safe in downtown PV and have no fears whether we are out walking in the day or night. As to Playa Muertos, we went there nearly every day in Jan and Feb and the water was warm enough for swimming (mid 70s to about 80). However, the water can get rough some days and you should confine swimming to the area from about 50 yards north of the pier going south to the end. The area a bit further north (towards Centro) can get a bit too rough, is pretty much reserved for the local body board guys, and has too many rocks on the bottom. In fact, they do now have lifeguards on the beach and they will often ask swimmers to move south towards the pier. Keep in mind that this entire beach can be walked in about 20 minutes (from end to end) so you can put your towel down anywhere. There are also multiple places (on either side of the pier) that will rent you chairs and umbrellas. We would not hesitate to eat or drink any of the food served by the places on the beach, but it's wise to avoid food sold by the vendors that walk on the beach. As to taxis, make sure you avoid the white taxis that are inside the port and walk out to the main road. Take only the yellow taxis and you should pay no more than 80 pesos to get into town. You can also take any of the buses that run along the main road (this is right outside the port (Sams and Walmart are across the street) as long as the bus has "Centro" written somewhere on the windshield. The bus fare is only 5.5 Pesos (about 35 cents) one way and the buses run every few seconds (they really do). To take a bus back, simply walk 2 blocks in from the water (in town (centro) where the street is one-way in the direction of the port and take any bus that has "SAMS" or "Walmart" written on the windshield.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[Chicago Gal]

Not sure how much help I will be as we have never been there before, but.. We are signed up for the morning hike in the Sierra Madres. It is 4 hours and supposed to be done at 2:15. Since we are there until 10, we figured we would then have more than ample time to explore PV walking Malecon, and hopefully find the No Name Cafe - the unofficial home of the Chicago Cubs.

 

When are you going? If after us, I will be glad to post my opinion of the hike.

 

We'll be in PV March 26. Is that before or after you are there?

 

I really appreciate all of the info, especially the last post w/great details about the beach. I'm going to talk to RC today to check the times of the Sierra Madres tour to see how much time that leaves us for the Malecon (I think we should definitely check it out - I'm not a big shopper, but walking the boardwalk looks like a nice thing to do). Our ship leaves at 7.

[tulsacubfan]

We'll be in PV March 26. Is that before or after you are there?

 

I really appreciate all of the info, especially the last post w/great details about the beach. I'm going to talk to RC today to check the times of the Sierra Madres tour to see how much time that leaves us for the Malecon (I think we should definitely check it out - I'm not a big shopper, but walking the boardwalk looks like a nice thing to do). Our ship leaves at 7.

 

That is before we leave. We are going May 3. If you do the hike, let us know what you think of it!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I am also torn about what to do in PV. We usually like at least one beach day on a cruise. However, we like to snorkel and have a beach where there is access to a beach grill or restaurant. We are thinking of the Las Caletas tour. However, I was in PV last year and thought the Malecon was so pretty. DH has never been there and he likes to see a bit of the town, too. I understand there is not enough tome to do both the Malecon and the Las Caletas tour.

 

Decisions, decisions........good thing we have a long time to decide!

[12B@C]

Besides the town of Puerto Vallarta, there are so many interesting places to visit along the coast and inland.

You have read some of the comments above, but I would still recommend looking into contacting one of the travel companies that specilize in tours around PV. It is much better than using a taxi (most of the drivers don't have a license to do tours) and some of the smaller outfits can do a special deal for a larger group. Check out Surperior Tours, for example.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Besides the town of Puerto Vallarta, there are so many interesting places to visit along the coast and inland.

You have read some of the comments above, but I would still recommend looking into contacting one of the travel companies that specilize in tours around PV. It is much better than using a taxi (most of the drivers don't have a license to do tours) and some of the smaller outfits can do a special deal for a larger group. Check out Surperior Tours, for example.

I googled Superior Tours and came up empty. Do you have a website?

[jdmaillet]

Just returned from MR today and PV was our least favorite port. We had planned to taxi in to the Malecon to do some shopping and then head over to Krystals to use the resort and have massages. Well, we taxied to the Malecon and were completely unimpressed. Some shops but nothing to write home about. Beautiful beach to sit and look at, which we did from Cheeky Monkey (second level bar) while we had lunch, but again not great. Then we hopped on the wrong bus, which ended up not really being wrong, just the long way around. By the time we got back to the pier we had to run to Krystal's to make our massage appt. so, didn't have time to get our swimsuits etc. Had absolutely wonderful (cheap) massages at Krystals but it was late in the day so couldn't really enjoy the rest of the resort. The pools and beach were beautiful there so we were kicking ourselves for not bagging the Malecon and just going to the resort for the day. Oh well, live and learn. I guess the moral of the story is to plan ahead and do something you know you will enjoy.