First Time in Puerto Vallarta: Conchas Chinas
 

My husband and I are traveling w/ 2 friends to PV in Sept and staying in the Conchas Chinas (Horizon Condos) area. It is our first time in Mexico and have a few questions:
1. How do we get around? Are there taxi and bus stops in/near the area? Or should we rent a car?
2. How far is the nearest beach?
3. We have a tight budget, please recommend cheap restaurants/eateries.
4. How is the street food? Any recs?
5. Yelapa day trip, thoughts?

Any other recs and comments welcome!
Sorry sooooo long. Thanks for all your help! :-)

Conchas Chinas sits just to the south of the south-side of Puerto Vallarta.

1. You can get around by bus or taxi very easily as far as going into town and back. I would only consider a rental car if you want to go elsewhere to the north or south, you definitely don't need one just to go to & from PV.

2. Conchas Chinas IS a beach, but your home may be up above it on the hills, so it's impossible to say exactly how far it will be from you.

3. Inexpensive restaurants I like along Badilo Basillo:
Fredy's Tucan for breakfast
Cafe de Olla for lunch
Joe Jack's Fish Shack for dinner

4. Street food is great. Just look for any busy taco stand with a crowd of locals around it.

5. I get seasick so have never tried to get to Yelapa myself.

Any other questions, feel free to ask. I go to PV at least once a year, have for years now.

Thanks, Suze for the great info!
We are staying in one of the hillside condos which I think (if my research is correct) is in the Amapas area or along Paseo De Las Conchas Chinas?
Will it be a hike to the beach?

Btw, what do you think of $100/night at a Conchas Chinas condo?
Is that a good deal?
Thanks again!

Depends on the condo ;-) Seriously it's impossible to answer if $100 is a good price without knowing what exactly you're getting!

Same answer for getting to the beach. There are some places along Amapas that are relatively easy access, and some with a LOT of steep twisting stairs.

There are a few very nice stretches of beach and coves 'under' Conchas Chinas.

Or you could walk or taxi north a tiny bit to reach Playa Los Muertos, the main local public beach that is lined with bars, restaurants, activities, vendors, etc.

For a list of taco stands , see :
http://vallartainfo.com/streetfood.html

Hi Suze! Below is the link to what I found on Horizon Condos (where we are staying) on vallarta online.

http://www.vallartaonline.com/real-estate/horizon/

The unit we are staying at has 2 BR and 2 Baths with supposedly a good view of the ocean plus the use of the condo's pool, etc.

What do you think?

Cabron,
thanks for the link!
Will definitely check those out!

Thanks again!

Oh dear, I really can't judge. That's way out of my league. For comparison I'll show you the hotel I usually stay at ;-)

www.hotelposadaderoger.com

We have stayed in a villa in the concha chinas neighborhood. We would always walk, during the day to town and usually taxi back, $6-8 us dollars. If you are close enough to the beach area, and don't mind a little hill and some beach walking, it is very doable. We also taxied at night into town for dinner, the taxis were there within 15 minutes of our calls. We love the lower Concha Chinas area and the beaches in that part of PV.
Have fun

PV has become very very very gay friendly. It has also become some what a little more dangerous at night. Beaches are everywhere therefore, you should have no trouble finding it...I say that because I do not know of the place you are staying. The last time I was in PV (1999) my brother and I were both robbed right outside the restruant costa verde. The police just made a report. Do yourself a very big favor and DO NOT rent a car. You are totally responsible for it (any where you are in Mexico). Most US insurance companies will not cover you there (you will need to read your own insurance policy). Taxi are cheap you just need to bargin (speaking spanish is a big help, NEVER travel alone and Never flash money. personally I will never return to PV or Alcapoco (robbed there too!)Like everything else you just need to be aware of your surroundings. No por favor (no thank you) goes along ways IF you or someone in your party does not look interested in what ever they are selling. If you do want something tell them to come back in a few minuets (this way you can retrieve your money without them seeing you. ALWAYS bargin. What ever he/she might be selling, someone else will be by with basically the same thing in an hour or so. Mexico is excellent! espically Cabo, Cozamel and Cancun. I hope this helps enjoy your trip and just be safe.

Well, I'm glad I'm not that paranoid, I've lived here for 15 years and have been coming here for 30 years and never been robbed.
Just lucky, I guess. :-)

Wow, robbed twice? That is unfortunate. I can't help but wonder about the details of the circumstances, because I've been going to PV for years & years (~20 trips) and never had ANY kind of troubles. And most often I am traveling solo (and am female).

Since you haven't been to Puerto Vallarta in almost a decade, I'm not sure how you can say that it has become more dangerous recently. How would you know when your last trip was back in 1999?

Also the "gay friendly" seems way overexaggerated the way you phrase it. Sure some particular bars or places on the beach may be, but certainly not the entire city of Puerto Vallarta (which is up to a population of more than 300,000 these days).

Must Comment on Robberies.
In 23 years of Mexican travel alone & with my spouse by bus, plane, foot & car Not only have I never been Robbed there (Unlike the good Ole US) but never felt in danger even in cities where I was the only gringo. Getting robbed twice is either really bad luck or a sign that behavioral changes are in order.

We have a condo in Lower Conchas chinas www.puertovallartarentalcondo.com and it is a very easy walking distance to the beach ( just one block). We actually saw some Horizon condo's when we were buying ours and they are in Upper Conchas Chinas. It is probably okay to walk down to the Conchas Chinas beach but would be hard walking up from there as it is quite steep. I disagree with tyedyeddreams post. I have always felt very safe in PV and not heard of any robberies. As far as renting a car is concerned, we rent a car most times we are there and the procedure is very similar to that in the USA. A lot of the major credit cards offer collision waiver and damage insurance and if not, it is offered through the rental company. Most of the time I rent through Europcar which is a worldwide car rental agency and have never had any problems.

Author: tyedyeddreams
You seem a bit slow on the up take as PV was a major destination for our many fine Gay Citizens for well over 25 years so hardly a new thing.
As one that has traveled the length & breath of Mexico alone with never a problem I am wondering why you seem to attract grief. I have been in Cities where I was the only gringo & instead of problems I am often invite to locals hones, out to eat & even to spend the night.
OH By The way it's ACAPULCO FYI!

I've done a day trip to Yelapa - it was quite an adventure. We bought tickets right by the beach at a ticket booth - don't remember how much though. You get in the boat from the beach so you will get a little wet. If the waves are big (which they were when coming back), its a little scary. We all got a little banged up. They piled us all in (probably 15 too many people, but that how they do things in Mexico) and off we went. I made sure I sat by possibly the only life jacket on board. It was quite a ride. We saw a whale up close which was very cool. Yalapa is rustic and quiet. We walked up to a waterfall and then down a windy unpaved road through part of what I guess is the town to the beach and hung out for a few hours. There's a couple food stands and we drank beer and ate nachos. Make sure to buy a piece of pie from the ladies on the beach. I didn't and later heard it's a must do! If you like a little adventure, this is a neat day trip.

I just hate it when people post erroneous information,
'tyedyeddreams' falls into this category.

Fortunately with posts like that one (hopefully) it is fairly obvious that it is biased opinions and incomplete or incorrect information from one person with bad attitude &/or bad karma.

Out of all the postings about Puerto Vallarta and great experiences people have their year after year that you can read here and elsewhere on the internet, the few clunkers stand out.

Not to beat a dead horse but he/she does not even know what Por Favor (If you please) means confusing it with Gracias.

<<NEVER travel alone>>

Sorry can't help myself, that's another bit of ridiculous advice included in the post.

Wonder how I survived about a dozen solo trips to PV?