Puerto Vallarta Favorites
 

In a few weeks I'll be spending six nights at the CasaMagna Marriott in the sunny Puerto Vallarta Marina District with my husband and soon to be 17 year old son. We aren't the types to spend all day by the pool or on the beach and really enjoy exploring along with good food (all price ranges). I've started putting together a loose list of restaurants and things to do and would appreciate any input. What are your not to be missed restaurants, day trips and sights?

Restaurants - I already have a reservation at the Vista Grill. Also thinking about El Arrayan. What are your favorites? If anyone can recommend a few restaurants in the marina area that would be very helpful too.

Day Trip - Yelapa or Sayulita. Both, neither or somewhere else?

City Tour - Can anyone recommend a guide?

General sightseeing - Malecon, Zona Romantica, Botanic Gardens...please help me fill this in.

Snorkeling - Los Arcos? I'm trying to decide if we should even bother bringing our gear.

Thanks for any help.

You should definitely go to El Arrayan, real traditional Mexican food, most of the 'Mexican' restaurants here are actually TexMex.
I would also recommend, La Ronda, Tony's Please, Mariscos Polo's and El Rio BBQ.
Yelapa is a lot less crowded than Sayulita since it has no road and has to be reached by water taxi.
City Tour, no guide necessary just a good map. http://vallartainfo.com/vallarta-downtown-map.html but if you want a guided tour, Superior Tours is recommended, but you'll need a group of people to make it cost effective.
Sightseeing see map above.
For snorkelling at Los Arcos or the Marietas Islands, you'll need a tour boat, which will have snorkeling gear.

I do recommend the trip to Yelepa- we had a great day on the beach - watch for the pie lady.
We did not make it into the town itself that day- feeling lazy.

Take a city bus to Boca- a little beach town at the end of the bus line. If you are ambitious, there is a hiking trail I heard about that will take you to the Ocean Grill Restaurant- if you want to dine there, you will need a reservation. If you don't want to hike in, you can get a water taxi.
The restaurant has good review, looks like a great place to spend some time- we only observed from the boat.

We took a tour to the mining town of San Sebastian - interesting day, there is a stop for tequila tasting on the way home.

One of my friends did a tour through Vallarta Adventures- an extreme outdoor experience. She had a fabulous day rappelling by a water fall, zip lining, water slides, riding on mules up the mountain- came back totally exhausted and loved it. Meanwhile, I drank margaritas at the beach.

Our favorite restaurant was the Barracuda- a small beach restaurant - tables out on the beach, it is not high end- just a casual, off the tourist route, kind of place to go.

You might enjoy at day at Los Caletas- book through Vallarta Adventures. Have to take a boat there, spend the day snorkeling, paddle boarding, - price includes lunch. It is the former estate of John Houston.

Spent a lot of time at the Sea Monkey on the Malecon - where they have $1 margaritas- no, they are not high end margaritas, but we enjoyed spending afternoons sitting in beach chairs watching the waves roll in.

If you happen to be in Old Town on a Sat afternoon, check out the Paradise Community Center.
They have a craft fair every Saturday but the best thing is that you can buy Mexican coffee grown in San Sebastian there.

Had our Christmas dinner at the Blue Shrimp- on the beach- nice way to spend Christmas Day in my opinion.

I snorkeled with PCDive- because the owner lived in our apt building. We had divers and snorkelers on board and spent most of our time around Los Arcos- saw some nice fish but not spectacular.

Don't be afraid to take the city bus- easy to use, pretty well marked.

I love Puerto Vallarta dearly but I rarely "do" anything when I'm there.

Mostly I just walk around town, usually a couple times each day. Pick up or print out a good street map to help guide you. No need for a tour or guide.

There's a free Tuesday 9:30am walk that narrates the sculptures along the Malecon.

Every-other Friday night is the South-Side Shuffle, where the stores, shops, and galleries on B. Badillo put on a street party.

Two Farmers Markets on Saturday morning (again on the south-side) one at Paradise Community Center and one at Lazaro Cardenas plaza.

Pick up a copy of the PV Mirror or Tribune (English-language newspaper) that will have maps & calendar listings of things going on around town.

Thanks cabron, sunbum and suze for the great info! I'm laughing at the Extreme Outdoor Experience. I'd also rather sit on the beach and drink margaritas, but it could be a great Christmas gift for my sons if we go back during the holidays. Unfortunately, we'll miss the South Side Shuffle. Thanks again - I have a lot of googling to do. Suze any restaurant recommendations?

I'm not at all familiar with the Marina area. But I'm happy to share some of my 'south-side' favorites.

I love the breakfasts at Fredy's el Tucan. It's in Posada Roger (a budget hotel I spent my early PV years at) corner of B. Badillo & I.Vallarta. Try to go at an off-time because it's so popular people line up on the sidewalk. Wait for a patio table.

The Red Cabbage is WAY off the beaten path but unique and worth the taxi ride. http://www.redcabbagepv.com/

I love the restaurants that line Playa Los Muertos (the beach on the southside). La Palapa is the most elegant of these.
http://www.lapalapapv.com/site/

But all of them are fun, where you can find "toes in the sand" dining. Mariachi bands stroll the beach. Fantastic place to watch sunsets.

http://www.cuatrovientos.com/ Los Cuatro Vientos is a hotel up on the hills near the church. They have a restaurant, but my favorite is teh rooftop bar called El Nido that has amazing views of the city. Perfect for a margarita or two at sunset.

http://www.casaisabelpv.com/ Casa Isabel is another hotel high on the hills (different part of town) with a bar and restaurant. Again you want to take a taxi there. I've not had a meal there but visited for happy hour and to see the spectacular views.

Lastly the entire street of B. Badillo on the southside. el Mole de Jovita, Café de Olla, Joe Jack's Fish Shack, Fajita Republic to name just a few (the streets unofficially dubbed 'restaurant row').

Highly recommend snorkeling at Los Arcos and the Marietas and a day trip to Yelapa.
Here are some restaurant recommendations -- Archie's Wok, Fajita Republic, No Way Jose and Derby Burger.

hey wtm - first time I was in Puerto Vallarta, we really enjoyed Barcelona Tapas. We will probably go there again when we are in PV in April.

Suze - I am interested in the Red Cabbage (you had recommended it to me several years ago before my first PV trip) but the website does not show the menu. I am assuming it is Mexican food but any particular type? Is it more fish based, traditional, any particular regional food showcased?

We did the Yelapa & Majahuitas tour with Vallarta Adventures. It was a good tour. That tour also offered a snorkel stop, but the snorkeling was not worth it.

We also did the The Jungle Trio/Escape to Paradise Tour with Best Day. Enjoyed this trip more than Yelapa & Majahuitas.

Even though we went AI we enjoyed Paradise Burger, Daquiri Dicks and Andales Bar. We stayed in the Romantic Zone so the Malecon and dining options were easy to get to.

I have a full review at:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Vallarta.html

tom42, Yes The Red Cabbage is home-cooking Mexican-style food. They have a "Mexican plate" that gives a sampling of a few entrees. I've had grilled fish or shrimp there. The chicken mole is excellent. They do that specialty dish "chile en nogada ("a creamy and colorful main dish using the Mexican flag for a palette"). They do a wonderful hot spinach 'salad'.

The décor of the restaurant is part of the fun, extremely colorful with movie star photos, Frida Kahlo posters, etc. It's located in Remance (district inland on the southside). It's been around for 20 years.

They have a (open to the public) Facebook page with lots of photos. https://www.facebook.com/RedCabbageCafe

Suze & Tom thanks for the restaurant recommendations! Andrew & KVR thanks for sharing your snorkeling and daytrip info along with more restaurant suggestions. KVR, I'll check out your TA review. It is starting to snow here so this trip can't come soon enough.

Paradise Burger is good, too, but I think Derby is actually better. I liked Daiquiri Dick's, too.

I also recommend Freddy's el Tucan- had chicken enchiladas - very good- could easily have shared an order- seems to me everything in Mexico comes in units of 3- 3 tacos per order, 3 enchiladas per order- I am usually good for 1 1/2 of whatever.

This is my favorite restaurant- was in PV for 6 weeks and this was our " go to" restaurant- only a few blocks from where I stayed

I loved the fish and veggies cooked in foil .

http://www.elbarracuda.com/puerto-vallarta.html

Hey thanks sunbum. Another one to add to my list.

So many choices! I'm going to plot all of these on a map. We were in Cancun several years ago and felt somewhat limited as far as dining options, so I'm very excited about PV. Thanks again.

wtm - I've been to Cancun a few times and there is no comparison as far as restaurant choice. Way better in Puerto Vallarta than Cancun.

I've heard only rave reviews for el Barracuda from people I trust -lol! It's a little far north from my usual stomping grounds so I haven't been yet, but an excellent addition to this list.

I went to Derby Burgers for the first time last November. Got a fancy burger to go. It was fantastic, so were the fries.

wtm, We've barely scratched the surface for the best of the best and more well-known places on this thread. There are hundreds of great restaurants tucked away all around town.

I don't think anyone's mentioned Salud Super Food on Olas Altas yet? It's new-ish, a small health-foody kind of menu with amazing smoothies, sandwiches, breakfasts. I had a shake called Bay of Banderas (or close) with tropical fruits, coconut milk, etc. that was amazing.

For your map, use the ones kindly provided by carbon in the first post. They're the best and have some restaurants already marked. You'll need to print more than one to cover the different parts of town.

That was my plan so good to know. That smoothie sounds delicious!