A BIT ABOUT PUERTO VALLARTA

It was March of 1525 when the Spaniards reached the top of the Sierra de Vallejo and they saw an extensive valley to the east and a very large and beautiful town, inhabited by about ten thousand natives that was called Tintoque.
To the west they saw the blue waters of La Mar del Sur (as the Pacific Ocean was known then) filled a very large Bay whose boundaries were lost in the horizon.
Today, visitors can enjoy the same breathtaking view from any of the hills surrounding the city.

Puerto Vallarta is located on the Bahia de Banderas (Bay of Flags). This is the 3rd largest bay in Mexico. Home to a wide variety amount of sealife.
We have Humpback Whales that arrive the end of November and depart the end of March. Definitely a must see! Lots of dolphins, manta rays, marlin and sea turtles to name a few.
The beauty of Banderas bay is only surpassed by its enormous size, it has the shape of a horseshoe and Puerto Vallarta is located right at the base of the horseshoe shape.
To the south, the Sierra de Cuale plunges abruptly into the sea forming a rugged shoreline with high cliffs and concealing small coves of white sand all the way down to Cabo Corrientes which is the southern most point of the bay.
To the East, the high mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental help moderate the climate, similar to Hawaii’s which is at the same latitude and are home to a wide variety of birds and mammals.
To the west, the waters of the Pacific Ocean reach the horizon.
Contrary to popular belief, Puerto Vallarta did not begin as a small little fishing town. There really has never been any commercial fishing in the bay. Puerto Vallarta was a port for shipping of salt and silver. In the early 1960’s, John Huston discovered Vallarta and filmed the movie “Night of the Iguana”. Along came Elizabeth Taylor tagging after Richard Burton, followed by loads of paparazzi and put Puerto Vallarta in the eyes of the world.

Please note that these are my own opinions…others may vary!

YOUR ARRIVAL
Most of you will arrive into our International Airport. This is located a bit north of Puerto Vallarta central. You will exit your flight, wait in line to have your tourist card stamped and proceed to your luggage. (Be sure and keep your tourist card in a safe place as you will need it to exit the country). After picking up your luggage, you will then be required to push a button on a machine that looks like a stoplight. You will either get green or red light and move into the customs area, where agents will then look through your bags IF you get the red light. Once you exit this area, you will enter a lobby-type area filled with people hollering at you to talk to them – offering you transportation, free tours, etc. Bypass these people as they are timeshare sales people and will just confuse you! Exit the area and taxi drivers will greet you, and if you booked through a charter company, your destination representative with a sign will be awaiting you. Your rep will direct you to your transportation. Or, if you did not come on a charter, you can get a taxi here. Remember that the taxis at the airport are in a Federal Zone and have higher prices than the yellow taxis you will see in town.

YOUR HOTEL-ACCOMODATIONS
Upon check-in, I would recommend getting the safety deposit box. Be sure and put your tourist cards, airline tickets in the safety deposit box. I have found the bellboys at hotels are some of the best source of information, apart from your destination representative or concierge. They can tell you taxi prices from your hotels, ideas for restaurants, pretty much anything that you will need to know!

TRANSPORTATION
Taxis are plentiful and available 24 hours. If you are dancing the night away and suddenly realize it is 4am, not to worry, there are plenty of taxis available at that time. The price for a taxi depends on how many zones you cross over with a minimum charge of 25 pesos. Be sure and ask the driver the cost of the taxi before you take off. I do not recommend tipping the taxi drivers unless they go above and beyond the call of duty (assist with groceries, luggage, etc). For a REAL adventure, take the bus! People pay big money at Disneyland to go on exciting rides and for 5.00 pesos here, you can have the ride of your life! Best to stick to the blue and white buses that say CENTRO. Just stand at the gathering place where people are waiting and board when the bus stops. Best to have your pesos ready as the driver will take off and you might go flying down the aisle, landing in someone’s lap so the rule of thumb is always hang on! When you reach your destination, push the little button or pull the string above the window and the bus driver will stop. Buses run from 6am till about 11pm. Many people consider renting a car. This really is not necessary unless you want to do some day trips outside of the area. Note that for NUEVO VALLARTA to Puerto Vallarta the buses run from around 7am till about 9pm. The cost is a little over 1USD. The buses do not go all the way into downtown but stop at the Sheraton Hotel which is only about 3/4 of a mile to the heart of the downtown . To catch the Nuevo Vallarta bus back, you need to catch it in front of the Sheraton or Sams-Walmart.

MONEY
The money here is the Peso but many people prefer to paid in U.S. dollars (I know I do because many times I have to pay for spare parts and other things in dollars too). You can change your money in the banks from 9am till 1pm only. There are money exchange booths everywhere. Another excellent exchange rate is to use your ATM card. ATM’s are located everywhere. Remember that from most, you can only receive pesos. Credit cards travelers checks are widely accepted (No Discover cards though). Often there will be a surcharge to use credit cards.

SAFETY
Puerto Vallarta is a very small and safe city. As anywhere, use common sense and you will be fine. It is a bit unnerving to see guys riding around in the back of pick-ups with big machine guns – but don’t worry. This is how the police ride around here! Most hotels will not allow any visitors inside the hotel. This is for your own safety. I do not recommend walking the beaches at night. As in any city be aware of what is going on around you and remember that you are in a foreign country.

FOOD SAFETY
The water and ice here are purified in any tourist restaurant, hotel, etc. Be careful eating on the street at the taco stands. There are some very good ones but there are also some deadly ones! Oftentimes, someone will arrive, head to the beach, soak up the sun, drink beer all day, tequila shots later, dance all night and then, wake up in the morning feeling very sick. They then say “gee, the water here has really made me sick!”. Most likely their bodies are in shock. Ease into your vacation, stay well hydrated, drinking lots of water (no – beer doesn’t count!).

TOURS
There are some wonderful excursions here and there are some really bad ones. I like to recommend low impact rides such as mountain biking and canopy tours and of course our own private fishing, snorkeling, and wild dolphin expeditions as well as our whale watching and bird watching.

RESTAURANTS
You could probably eat at a different restaurant each day you are here for a year and not hit all of those available!

My favorites are La Esquina de los Caprichos for Tapas, in the corner of Miramar and Iturbide, on the hill behind the church of our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s a small place that doesn’t take reservations and works on the basis of first come, first serve.

For Mexican food El Arrayán hosted by owner Carmen, always charming. Their phone number is 222-7195.

I recommend tipping 15%. Remember that you must ask for the check. It is considered rude for the waiter to bring you your check before you ask for it. If you don’t ask, you will sit at your table until breakfast the next day.

COMMUNICATION
There are internet café’s on nearly every block nowadays. Prices are very cheap! If you want to phone home, whatever you do, don’t use the phones that say CALL COLLECT WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD. You will have a heart attack when you receive your bill. If you have a calling card, the 800 numbers rarely work. You can dial 090 and talk to an international operator who can put your call through. As well you can purchase a TELMEX card. These come in 30, 50 and 100 peso increments. Insert the card into any Telmex phone (they are everywhere), dial 001 the area code and number and talk til your time runs out. About 15 minutes on a 50 peso card. These cards can be purchased everywhere.

MISCELLANOUS THINGS
If you get sick while you are here, Pamela Thompson who works at the Cornerstone Hospital, where they have wonderful physicians, can be reached at Cornerstone
@ 224 9400 Ext 136 or 224 8122 and she can make an appointment for a consultation. She can also be reached early mornings and evenings at 222 9638 and on her cell number 044 322 1077007 or at pmt15@hotmail.com.

If you have not purchased travel insurance I strongly advise you to do so!
It’s better to be safe than sorry.

You are going to see kids selling everything from gum to roses. Be careful when giving them money. It is best to give them some clothes or food.

TIMESHARE
People always ask if we have sharks here. We only have the ones with two legs that stand in a timeshare booth. I am definitely NOT against timeshare – I am against the way that they hassle and pressure people to attend a presentation. Just beware!

NIGHTLIFE
The beauty of Vallarta is that there is something for everyone. If you want to shake your booty all night, head to the Malecon (boardwalk) and you will find the Zoo Bar (You can dance in a cage!), Hard Rock Café (excellent live music), Carlos O’Brians, (gets crazy), Hilo (new disco), La Bodegita del Medio (if you like salsa-cuban music).

Either way, be sure and head out to the Malecon at night – especially on Sunday night. There is lots of free entertainment and things to see.

If you are interested in some different types of accommodations, I recommend the following:
www.puertovallarta.net

Are you staying in a private villa-condo? How about a private dinner or cocktail party? Joe Thompson, who is a concierge-waiter-event coordinator, can put together a wonderful little gathering for you, your family and friends. He can be reached at pmt15@hotmail.com

SHOPPING
You can shop till you drop here! Best buys are leather products, blankets, silver, blown glass, pottery, tequila and Kahlua to name a few. The flea market is a good place to go, but it gives me a headache. Venture up and down the side streets for some really good buys. In flea market type of places you can barter, but other places no. It doesn’t hurt to try.

A SPECIAL GETAWAY
If you have time consider an overnight stay in San Sebastian, a small pueblo located high in the Sierra Madre Mountains. The Hacienda Jalisco is a 200 year old building that has been resorted and is the perfect getaway for anyone interested in seeing the real Mexico. There is wonderful food and staff. See their website at www.haciendajalisco.com

WEATHER
People always ask about the "weather forecast". "Normally" from the months of mid-October until the middle of June, days are clear and warm with cool and balmy evenings. Sometimes days and days go by and we do not see one cloud! Our rainy season begins from the middle of June to the first of July. Again, "normally", days are clear and hot (and humid!). Late afternoon the clouds roll in and the rains begin along with big, booming thunder. Now, this is not your little "pitter-patter" but huge downpours. You will see that the curbs in Puerto Vallarta are very high - that is because after about 30 min the streets flow like mini-rivers. The rains are welcome as they cool things off. Everything is lush and green. And wow! What a show you will have out over the bay - better than the Northern Lights! Life goes on pretty much as normal when the rains come so enjoy!

THE END
Whatever you do on your vacation in Puerto Vallarta, enjoy!