Puerto Vallarta
 

Going for first time 3/07-3/12. Any sites of activities that are "must see, must do"? Spouse is nervous about food as we did not go all inclusive. Looking for restaurant recommendations.

Our favorite & very safe restaurants
1.The Red Cabbage- praised by Gourmet Magazine & bargain travel guides alike. Best Mole North of Oaxaca but lots of other delights.
2. Chez Elena at the Los Cuatro Vientos Hotel- A PV institution in PV's second oldest hotel. Back in the "day" was a fav of John Huston & many of the beautiful people but also us common folk.
3.Bolero- A hidden gem on the upper island. Great service/food in a garden setting over looking the river.

Where are you staying? We were in PV last month and had a great time. We mostly just hung out at the pool/beach and went to town several times for some great meals.

Places we ate:

Daquiri Dick's - good lunch on Playa Los Muertos

Joe Jack's Fish Shack - my meal was great, DH's was just OK

Barcelona Tapas - best meal of our trip. Small plates and we love this type of food

Boca Bento - great lunch & dinner. Located in Mismaloya

On a previous trip, we did the zip lines with Los Veranos - very fun!! and the Rhythms of the Night dinner show.

Check the forum at tripadvisor for more info on PV.

MY

For excursions we did the Yelapa & Majahuitas tour with Vallarta Adventures, The Jungle Trio/Escape to Paradise Tour, which took us to view the Arches, view Mismaloya Beach, Mama Lucia Tequila Tasting, El Eden and Chino's Restaurant. We had a huge shrimp plate at Chino's. The best meal of the trip. Then we did the Rythems of the Night show and beach dinner. The show and dinner were good, but the boat ride over and back was awful.

We had a great breakfast at Daquiri Dicks. We also enjoyed the coconut shrimp at Paradise Burger. Avoid Pipi's. DH got very sick after eating there.

If your over 30, try Andales Bar. Great atmosphere and music.

Try this site for restaurant listings:

http://www.virtualvallarta.com/puert...t/restaurants/

Staying at Villa Premiere - any feedback?

my recommendation~wait until suze gets back from Cabo..... she's a wealth of knowledge about PV!
I haven't stayed there in several years, but while on a cruise last Feb, we went ziplining with Vallarta Adventures~it was a blast! A word of advice if you go with them and order their (overpriced) pictures~opt for email delivery. The one couple who opted for FedEx delivery has never received theirs!

You're safer eating out than at the AI places IMO.
Best seafood is without a doubt Mariscos Polo on F. Madero. Here's a list of favourite places
http://vallartainfo.com/puerto-vallarta-insider.html

No need to be nervous about the food on Puerto Vallarta -- I would be more nervous about food if you *were* at an All Inclusive.

The food in PV is fabulous and you can find excellent food in all price ranges. My favorite meal there was a Trio.

www.triopv.com

Check out the Puerto Vallarta forums at TripAdvisor...they are pretty active.

Villa Premiere is a lovely hotel, and should be a great place to stay. As others have already mentioned, you'll be much happier not doing an all-inclusive in Puerto Vallarta. No worries there.

My favorite restaurants are around the area I stay on the south-side. Joe Jack's Fish Shack, Cafe de Olla, Fajita Republic all on Basilo Badillo are great places. I also like La Piazzeta nearby on Olas Altas.

Mariscos Polo's is a fantastic hidden gem (thank you Cabron) that I went to for the first time my last trip.

Another new (to me) place I really enjoyed was Cafe Roma, overlooking the river, a casual place with cold beer and decent pizza.

All of these have wonderful food, moderately priced, with friendly service and nice atmosphere.

For something more upscale I like The River Cafe.

Haven't been myself but always hear good things, and love the look of Trio.

We LOVE the Villa Premier. Stayed in Jan. of 2008, just made reservations for April 2009 this morning. Do read the reviews on tripadvisor. If you scroll back far enough, you'll see my lengthy review. We had other meals in restaurants and had no adverse reactions the entire time we were there.

We booked lodging only, not the all-inclusive as we like to go out at night for dinner. However, in our room rate, I inquired about breakfast. I was told for an extra $7.50 each we could have breakfast items off the al la carte menu. Good deal! You will have a great time!!

Breakfast on the patio at Fredy's El Tucan (Posada de Roger Hotel, south-side) on B. Badillo is a must imho!

Ditto the recommendation for Red Cabbage. It's a special place.

we are going in July so I wanted to keep this thread....

Thanks for all the links