A First TripTo Puerta Vallerta
 

We are looking for a new warm weather retreat. Usually, we go to SE Asia, but I don't want to take that long flight this year.

PV is one of the places we can fly to non-stop from Seattle. Looking for a nice hotel on the beach. The Marriott gets good reviews - any other suggestions?

Suze - are you out there? Any wisdom for us?

(This will be for 3 weeks in November)

When are you going?

November.

hola Kathie, Oh this is great! Great to see your thread!

Nonstop availability depends on time of year. You can only get them in high season, by November should be OK. (In May and October I have to take a transfer in SFO, LAX, Orange County on Alaska recent trips).

The Casa Magna Marriott is a gorgeous property but it's in The Marina out by the airport. So if you are interested in doing things around downtown (Centro, Zona Romantica) you'd need to use a taxi or local bus each time. The beach there is just OK, nothing special but the pool area seriously rocks! It's amazing.

November is one of my regular months to be down. You need to watch out for Thanksgiving as far as a big jump in airfare prices around then.

The neighborhood I know best is Zona Romantica akar the Southside (looking at a map this means south of the Rio Cuale, the river just south of Centro/downtown) and the beach called Playa Los Muertos.

My favorite most frequent hotel is Posada de Roger (but it's a budget backpacker kind of place so not recommending for you here). But more recently I've started renting condo instead. If you are interested in those I'm happy to share names of good buildings and links of rental agencies.

To understand PV better look at the maps here. Print them out and lay them out so you can get an idea of the order of things around The Bay (of Banderas) and the various neighborhoods within Vallarta.
www.vallartainfo.com

Pls get back to me with your thoughts and questions, I'm always happy to talk about Puerto Vallarta. In fact next week at this time... I'll be there!

Thanks for this info, Suze. The maps on the website are very useful.

Normally, we'd be most interested in something in the downtown area. But this year, we will be swimming in the pool rather than the ocean. It sounds like we will have to go into the downtown area for restaurants. I don't mind taking a taxi - I expect they are cheap. Are there any good restaurants in the area around the Marriott? They don't have to be expensive, just have good food and service. We aren't really interested in a condo.

Kathie:

I have stayed at the Marriott CasaMagna at least a dozen times and think it is the perfect location. Great big pool with swim up bar, lovely staff and rooms.

If we haven't taken the breakfast package, we just walk 5 minutes to the marina where there are a number of options for breafast (and dinner as well). Lunch at the pool.

As you said, taxis are cheap and plentiful so many nights we go into town for sunset cocktails and then dinner.

I have stayed downtown a number of times but much prefer this hotel and location.

Hi Kathie,

No Asia trip this year? I hope you and Cheryl are well, and are foregoing the long trip to Asia for other than health reasons. Jim and I skipped Asia last year and went to Mexico and Columbia instead. We enjoyed both and are returning to Mexico this winter. I've not been to PV, so can't be of any help there, but I will be following this thread in case it becomes a future destination for us.

Shelley

<<Are there any good restaurants in the area around the Marriott?>>

There are a number of restaurants at the Marina. We stayed at the Westin there (down the street from the Marriott) and, like weekender, we walked to the Marina every morning for breakfast. I like the Westin's grounds better than the Marriott's but the Marriott has a better beach.

Yes there are lots of good restaurants right in The Marina area, you won't always have to go downtown to eat. I don't have specific recommendations because I had only stayed there once (and only for one night at the Marriott - airline related situation).

But you'd probably want to go downtown (Centro and Southside) at least a few times? To see The Malecon, entertainment, music or clubs, galleries, and some of the wonderful restaurants there?

Yes taxis are cheap and plentiful. The bus is really cheap (7.5 peso) and pretty fun to experience as well.

Since you want a great pool more than a great beach the Marriott should work just fine.

I think either the Westin or Marriott would be good but I would say that I much preferred the pool area at the Westin over the Marriott. I found the Marriott's to be too much concrete and too chaotic. The Westin's pool area had more greenery and felt a little calmer.

(As an aside, I think we may be going back to PV in June and are considering the Westin again but also looking at Garza Blanca Resort, which looks amazing and is four or five miles outside downtown).

Thanks to all of you for the great info!

Yes, Suze, if we stay at the Marriott we will wan to go downtown more than a few times, I expect.

Hi Shelley, no Asia trip this year, though we were debating another Pandaw cruise, either in Burma or the new one up though Laos. We have been thinking for some time about exploring Mexico, since we've each only been there once - and many years ago.

3 weeks is a long trip (lucky you!) and November is a great month to be in PV.

If you want to do excursions or tours or anything like that, let me know and I'll post a few more websites that are good.

(it's a teeny weeny little thing, but the city name is correctly spelled Puerto Vallarta)

:-)

I missed the fact that you will be going for three weeks. Wow. That's a long time. I think if I was going for that long, then I'd want to be in the downtown area. Before booking the Marriott, you may want to take a look at Villa Premiere. It's a boutique hotel right on the beach a walk away from the downtown restaurants and Malecon. I believe it has very recently undergone a major renovation to the rooms. It gets very good reviews. Obviously, as a boutique hotel, it will not be as expansive as the Marriott, but the trade off in being walking distance to all the great restaurants in PV might be worth it.

Three weeks seems kinda long to be only in a hotel at The Marina.
And trust me no one loves PV more than I do!

There are very cool boutique hotels like Quinta Maria Cortez, Rivera del Rio, Casa Isabel, Casa Amorita.

Or larger resorts outside of the city both to the south and the north if you decide to split up your stay.

I think I'd split up my stay if I was going to be there for three weeks.

Oops - sorry for the misspelling!

I do appreciate the suggestions of other places to stay if we split our time - we've thought about spending some time in PV and choosing another location in Mexico.

Quick question about taxis - are they metered or do I need to negotiate before getting in?

Regarding taxis - I am trying to remember when we took a taxi from the Marina district to old town - I don't think they were metered. I seem to recollect that we asked what the fare would be before we got in the taxi (and even before that asked at the front desk what a normal fare would be for where we were headed). And I also think on our way back later at night, we got a couple of different quotes from different taxis. But maybe suze or someone else familiar with PV could confirm.

Taxis are Not metered so ask what the fare is. We found in El central fares ran 40 to 60 pesos & to the airport 180.WE hired Roberto are favorite cabbie for the day at 950 pesos or about $50 US.

Taxi fares are about to increase, the lowest 40pesos is long gone. Check with the concierge for the rates and confirm with the driver before ge

ge ..... :) getting in. Take the bus downtown for 7.5 pesos.
IMO 3 weeks is not nearly enough time to appreciate PV.

Yes tom42 is remembering correctly.

Not metered or negotiated either one... Taxi fares are set by zone. Ask at your resort front desk what the fare should be (or they may have a rate sheet posted) then just confirm with the driver before getting into the cab.

Coming in from the airport you buy a ticket for a federally regulated taxi in the lobby of the airport. There are ticket booths with the zones and fares clearly posted. These (are usually white but not always) are a little more $$ than the (usually yellow) taxis around town because of picking up on the airport property (same at the cruiseship port).

Oh and try to have exact change or near in peso. A taxi driver is no place to try to change that 500 note for a 50 peso ride! -lol

I wouldn't go anywhere else in Mexico with 3 weeks but perhaps stay at two different areas in Puerto Vallarta would be my pick. I could stay for months myself without hesitation, but I'm in a condo or apartment, not a hotel room.

If you ask a taxista to take you to 'central', you may very well end up at the bus station. If you instead wanted to go downtown, then you'd want 'centro'.
As far as having 3 weeks in Mexico, it would be a shame to waste all that time just in PV when you can fly to BJX (Leon) via TAR for about $60 in under an hour. From there, you could easily explore Mexico's colonial heartland cities of Guanajuato, San Miguel De Allende, and Queretaro.

Three weeks in November is awesome! I would definitely split it up though. Maybe a week or week and a half in PV and the rest north in Bucerias. Way less touristy and commercialized, cheaper than in PV, great restaurants and much better beaches. And closer to explore the northern cities. Been over 20 times and love it down there!!!

I enjoy Puerto Vallarta so much, I consider it my home-away-from-home, I have friends there, and 3 weeks is hardly enough time to see it all.

Thanks for all of the taxi info. And I appreciate the suggestions on how to spend our three weeks.

I hope you stick with your PV plans.

It's sure nice everyone has their own other ideas of where you should go vacation, but you didn't ask about touring the inland colonial cities or staying out in Bucerias or small towns north of Vallarta.

Maybe you want to change your mind, but I would encourage you to stick with your original idea of a nice hotel/resort and enjoying everything PV. And check dates for when you can get a nonstop flight in & out on Alaska Air.

We all have different paces 7 desires. I personally have no problem staying far longer than 3 weeks at places I enjoy. I have spent up to 4 months at favorite locations.

Kathie, Are you on Trip Advisor? You can find me on the Puerto Vallarta forum there as well.

Suze, I avoid TA like the plague!

We like to go somewhere and settle in for a while and really get to know a place. That said, we sometimes do opt to explore a nearby place. Given all that we have dealt with this year, three weeks in PV sounds like bliss!

Oh, OK. I was just going to say you can PM me there. I'm on the PV forum daily.

If you do decide to book this trip, please let me know and I'll write up some basics about arriving the airport, local currency, taxi/bus, websites for tours or activities, special events in November (I will be there at that same time) & any little insider tips I can think of.

I love PV and continue to go. I just think 3 weeks is a long time in the marina area so would break it up to go where there are better beaches and smaller towns to enjoy. I also really appreciate Suze and all she has to offer, she is the reason I stayed at PDR and was one of my favorite holidays.

Could we possibly have one single thread on this forum without people fighting with each other?

Then maybe people shouldn't attack others opinions and there would have been no fighting:) Just a thought!

Suze, Thank you for your kind offer. I will post here on Fodors once we have made the decision.

Sounds good.

I'll be in Vallarta later this week, staying for 2 weeks in Old Town. Then back again in Oct/Nov (dates not yet confirmed) for another 2-3 weeks.

I know you are an experienced traveler and PV is pretty much a piece of cake, but there are a few tricks that can smooth things out. No need to reinvent the wheel ;-)

I agree, Suze. It's always useful to have local tips.