Puerta Vallarta first time
 

My husband and I are traveling to Puerta Vallarta for the first time in November. I am especially interested in the "Old Town" and would love walking tour advice. Also we are interested in snorkeling and hiking. Any general info on the area would be greatly appreciated. I should add that we are staying at the Dreams Resort as the guests of a wedding party. (my husband is a Pastor) Our budget is quite limited! I would appreciate advice on a thank you gift as well!

I've seen guided bus tour around but never taken one myself. I'm not sure where they are organized from.

I just get a good street map of downtown and start exploring.

Other economical or free things to do include: using the local busses to get around, visit the main church, stroll along the Malecon (a seawall promonade with artistic sand sculpture, metal sculpture, food and entertainment), take a water taxi to Yelapa for the day.

Visit Playa Los Muertos, the main local public beach on the south-side for the day. For the price of a little food/beverage you can get a chair, umbrella/palapa, table for the day.

Get the local english-language tourist newspapers and read their calendar for special events.

You can take busses around to other small towns to the north or south... like Boca, Bucerias, Sayulita, etc.

You can find excellent maps at:
www.vallarta-info.com

how easy are the buses to take? we are staying at the Dreams Resort and (I think) that is to the south of the old town? I am planning on taking $5s and $1s for the first day tips and then exchanging for pesos ASAP. I'd like to do that at the airport ATM; any advice on any of that? We really appreciate it!

I'm sure there's an ATM &/or exchange booth at the airport. I never have used it, because you can pay for a taxi with USD. And I stay right downtown so it's easy for me to change money once I get checked into my hotel. I zip out of the airport as fast as possible.

Some hotel reception desks exchange at reasonable rates (some are not so good, but it is convenient).

The bus may be a bit intimidating at first (especially if you haven't been to PV before) but once you get the hang of it, it's a snap. Routes or stops are not marked. You just learn where to stand and flag the bus down. When you want to get off buzz the buzzer and exit thru the back door. Have exact change or near to it. And hang on, it can be quite the bumpy ride!

Your hotel front desk should be able to help with more detailed information for you about both these things.

Yes, Dreams resort is about 5 mins. south on the highway, from the "southside" of downtown PV.

We were in Puerto Vallarta at Dreams 3 years ago. I just used the ATMs at the airport and it was really easy. You will get paid in pesos. I'm pretty sure the exchange rate was good or I wouldn't have used them.
Also, we just got a taxi at Dreams to go to town. I think it was $4.00 each way. There are taxis all over the place when you want to come back. Just be careful when crossing the streets. The pedestrian does NOT have the right of way. I got a kick out of the crazy driving in Puerto Vallarta - it's like this chaotic ballet of buses, cars, trucks, people, but somehow it is organised. You will love Dreams. Great service and accommodations and the best food I've had anywhere in Mexico.

Dreams is not far from town. We love using the buses in PV! They are very economical and run often. I think the last return trip is at 10:30 pm.
I wouldn't exchange your money at the airport. You'll prepay for the taxi in $ at the airport, tip in $ and then find an ATM in town.
Hiking? Just walk up and down some of the streets!
Snorkeling? We tried it off Los Arcos in Jan. and it was terrible! The driver of our boat just threw out some food and the fish surrounded us. After the food was gone so were the fish. The water was very cloudy.

Better to get pesos at the airport ATM machine and pay the taxi in pesos, otherwise the Taxi Booth will only give you 10 to 1, while the ATM will give you 13 pesos to the dollar.
Water clarity changes day to day, week to week, month to month.
Suru11
The pedestrian does have the right of way, they changed the law a long time ago. Unfortunately they didn't tell anyone. LOL

If you use a walking stick (available in the Markets) Mexican drivers will stop for you. They are in fact much more polite then US drivers when it comes to this. especially if you have a head of Silver Gray like I do.
I have taken the buses in Mexico since my first trip in '85 bot locals & long distance. In fact on my first trip I took a bus to Tepic on a rainy day with out a word of Spanish with no problems.

My favorite ATM museum is just over the bridge before you get to the market, near the sculpture of Liz Taylor and Richard Burton. As Pastor you will want to see the Our Lady of Guadalupe church, with the milagros hung on the Saints (and buy a few for less than a quarter from the old lady sitting on the church steps; I've given a foot to a friend with an injured foot, a pair of breasts to our local mammogram center etc.) You will enjoy the diorama just inside the church door, but might not appreciate the sign, in Spanish, warning parishioners not to heed the Evangelicals who try to convert them.
As to the thank you gift, I'm afraid you will go loco trying to select from the many wonderful shops downtown. My favorite (if it is still there) is Cherubim. Many of the silver shops give a good discount for cash, worth it even if you pay a dollar to peso fee at the ATM; silver jewelry is sold by weight. You didn't say for whom the gift was, but if it is for an art or anthropology loving non-Mexican, I suggest a piece of Huichol handicraft; be sure to have the salesperson explain the symbolism. As for a walking tour: just walking around old town, both sides of the river, and the island in the middle, will be enough exercise, and you will not be bored. I stayed at what is now Dreams for 10 years, doing a week long workshop there, and never tired of old town Vallarta. Also read my post on suggestions for first time goer with children.

Another suggestion: San Miquel shoes. I'm grey haired myself and I have 6 pairs in different colors, non-skid bottoms and elastic tops. I've worn them on cobblestone streets all over Europe and never had foot pain; they pass for dressy or casual. Best buy: in a tiny shop on the island in the Cuale river, directly across from the fancy restaurant the Bistro; I've paid $35 a pair!!

I'm getting obsessive here- I was wrong about the Saturday night Plaza, its Sundays and Thursdays. Go to http://www.vallartainfo.com/puerto-vallarta-events.htm

Best silver can be found at Robertos, between Parque Lázaro Cárdenas and the beach. He's marked on the vallartainfo map of the south side.

Just get a decent guidebook and read about what there is to see downtown, and get a map, that's all I did for seeing the downtown area. I didn't have any trouble with the buses, but I read SPanish well and speak it to some extent. But there were definitely bus stops on the route I took.

I stayed at Fiesta Americana a bit north of downtown (nice hotel BTW), and their hotel exchange actually gave better rates than downtown banks. I was surprised, but they did. It wasn't as easy to find an ATM as I would have thought, although I did find a couple downtown. There weren't any around my hotel, as I recall. I don't understand the advice about not using an ATM at the airport due to exchange rate. The ATM doesn't decide your exchange rate, your bank does. I also don't understand someone saying the rate must have been good at the airport ATM or they wouldn't have used it. You don't know the rate of an ATM.

Now if they are talking about exchanges (cambios) with people, yeah, airports are not usually the best place.

All good PV information, but the OP went to Mexico in November of last year (2008), I think.