GCHAN

My husband and I will be in PV the 1st 2 weeks of Dec. We will be at the Marina the 1st week and Nuevo Vallarta the 2nd week. My research has found restaurants in PV itself, but I'm not having any luck in the 2 areas where we will be staying. We will go into PV alot, but would also like some recommendations for where we will be staying. Thanks for any info you can provide. Also, any favorites for PV?

cabron

In the Marina, Alberto Perez has opened Tikul just down from the lighthouse. He is the owner of the well known La Palapa in PV.
Not much choice in Nuevo, try Bucerias, just to the north.

KVR

We will also be in PV the second week of December. I found the following website that lists 230 restaurants with customer reviews and maps to their location. Very helpful info.

www.Vallartaonline.com
Click on the restaurant tab

GCHAN

Thanks so much for the Marina restaurant and the website for PV restaurants. I'll go to it right now and I know PV has a reputation for wonderful restaurants, so I'm sure I'll find many choices.

butsey

Hi I will be going to P.V. this Sat
have been going for a long time. Here are our favorites. While you are at the Marina if you like Italian food try Portobella very good we go every year, also if you
want a good Steak dinner try Buenos Aires it is Excellent and both are not expensive. If you would like to go into town you must try LaPalapa it is right on the beach and after dinner you can walk around the area it is very nice. If you really want a treat try Hacienda San Angel you can find it on the internet but you must make your reservation before you head to P.V. this is a boutique hotel which originally belonged to Richard Burton as his house it is like stepping into a different world they have a restaurant there which we found last March and we loved it going again this yr. Good Luck and have a great time. Don't know anything about Nuevo have never been.

suze

Restaurants in PV:

The River Cafe
Trio or Vitea
The Red Cabbage
Mariscos Tino's
Joe Jack's Fish Shack
Cafe de Olla
La Palapa
Barcelona Tapas
Archie's Wok
Cafe Bohemio

Juldie

This is a great post. My husband and I are also going to be in PV the 2nd week of December. All of the restaurant suggestions I appreciate!
We could have our own Fodorite gathering in PV.

So how are all of you going to deal with drinking of the water, ice, eating lettuce, etc? I read on Trip Advisor that all of PV uses boiled water but I am still pretty skeptical.

GCHAN

Thanks to everyone for all the restaurant choices. I can hardly wait for warm sunshine and my biggest worry being where we'll eat tonight.

cabron

We do not have to boil our water, I have been drinking tap water for years with no effect.
This is only true in Puerto Vallarta, not outside of it, like Nuevo Vallarta for example, but the resorts that comprise Nuevo treat their own water.
Here's a list of my favourite restaurants:
http://vallartainfo.com/puerto-valla...sider.html#bar

suze

Juldie~ you would not had read all of Puerto Vallarta uses boiled water! that doesn't make sense


Probably rather that the water is of high standards & OK to drink.

Ice comes from the purified water place, delivered by truck to the bars & restarants (they are not making ice cubes from tap water anyways).

I do drink bottled water myself, and avoid raw vegetables (except salsa!) and fruits that cannot be peeled. But most people consider me overly cautious for PV.

Juldie

Suze - yeah, my bad. It said "bottled water is everywhere in PV...", not boiled water.

That's interesting about the ice coming from purified water. I probably will be overly cautious because it just doesn't seem worth taking the risk of getting sick. I really don't want to not eat salsa - I m looking forward to really good salsa.

Suze - I would love your opinion on
Yelapa. I have been told it is an extraordinarily special place - its beauty, energy, etc. Do you think I will get to really appreciate it going for the day and not staying over? How do you get around the island? Are the bicycle rentals? What do I definitely want to do there?

cabron

Well you really need some information on Yelapa, for one it's NOT an island.
Try these two sites
http://palapainyelapa.com and http://yelapa.info
There aren't any roads there, just paths, a few of the kids have bikes, otherwise it's Mule or Donkey.
http://vallartainfo.com/yelapa.html
I would stay overnight, if possible, it's different after the day tourists leave.

suze

I haven't ever gone to Yelapa myself. You can get there on a day tour cruise or by taking a water taxi on your own. I don't think there's anyplace to ride a bicycle there, but I could be wrong.

sweetolive

hey guys .. open your eyes.. i'm from new orleans to pv... and the water is great { stay with in tourist areas...)( not dives..) common sense....99.99 is good water.. i have a home there and everything is good... Finest restaurant is Cafe De Artist.. by far...river cafe for lunch.... porta bella in the marina... GReat! and sailing on a sunset with Vallarta Dreams in the marina... AWESOME!!!they will show you dolphins and whales at this time of year... Great trip...

sweetolive

theres not alot in nuevo Vallarta but lots of condos, time shares and a 30.00 cab ride to downtown... i'll tell the truth because i live there 12 days a month....marina is good because everything is walking distance.. and downtown is a $6.00 cab ride... centrally located....other people who stay in nuevo pv is missing alot.. sorry sweet

Stewbear

Take the water taxi NOT the tour. Unless you like crowded boats at high prices & be at the mercy of another's schedule. They give you a couple of drinks (I do not drink) & pack you in for a rather uncomfortable trip.

butsey

Have a wonderful time, just got back on Sat The weather was perfect, A new restaurant opened at the Marina I am so sorry I can;t remember the name it begins with a T and it is a Seafood owned by the owner of LaPalapa and Vista Grille pretty expensive but if you stay within the Marina you don't have to take a cab ride. I gave a few recommendations previously Portobello for Italian and Buenos Aires for a Great Dinner they actually show the cuts of meat and you get a Salad and baked potato with the steak always great, So there are 3 restaurants and when you do go into town there are some recommendations from the prev replys. Again have a great time I am missing P.V. already and I am only home 1 day. Its cold and damp here yesterday and today AND I am working too. Good Luck

butsey

OOPs Cabron remembered the name Tikul looked beautiful my kind of place but we had already dined when we past it. Will try it next time.

teach2travel

This past July we enjoyed the following in Marina Vallarta (we stayed at the Marriott):

Mr. Cream's (for breakfast)
Portabella (Italian)
Suzy Wong's (Chinese)

The restaurants at the Marriott were good too.

We ate at Daquiri Dicks twice and enjoyed it but it's not in either location you named.

trigrl

We stayed outside PV in a small small town and even they shipped in ice everyday and washed everything in bottled water. We usd bottled water to brush our teeth and had no problems. The CDC website says to take Pepto Bismol 3x / day. I started taking it before we left and the whole time we were in mexico.Was not sick at all.(and we surfed in some areas with raw sewage pouring into the ocean).