I am considering my first vacation in Mexico with my 14 yo daughter this coming winter break (end of December- beginning of January). I am looking for your advice on what place to choose. Preferably from the cities served by alaska airlines: Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Mazatlan, Los Cabos, Cabo San Lucas, Manzanillo, Ixtapa. We would like a nice, kids/teens friendly area, clean beach (is the water warm enough in december?), preferably some attractions, activities/ water park nearby. Can we find these in mexico?
I have not done any research yet so hoping to get a starting point.

What's your budget?

Quite moderate. We did Hawaii on a moderate budget with the hints from you, great Fodorites. Suze was of a huge help.
Hope to hear from her and other experts this time too.

Puerto Vallarta fits exactly what you describe and is serviced by Alaska Air. December is a wonderful month weather-wise; yes the water is warm enough. I don't know about a "water park" specifically but there are plenty of tours and attractions to keep both kids & adults busy if you choose.

I think Zijuatenejo/Ixtapa would be another good choice, but much more laid back with less organized type activities on offer than PV.

I'm not against the other places, just have never been to any of them because I keep going back to Vallarta again & again.

Thank you, Suze. Glad to hear from you.You are awesome! Your advice have always been great. If you could also share some info on affordable places to stay and eat I would appreciate it. Also, how safe it is there? Does one need to know some basic spanish to get around?

It is totally safe in my experience (I often go there solo and have been in PV a total of 18 trips, since the early 90's when a friend took me for the first time and fell in love with the city).

Some basic Spanish is helpful and much appreciated by the extremely friendly local folks, but not really necessary to get by in the tourist areas. The hotel front desk clerk and waiters in bars & restaurants will speak English, your hotel room maid, taxi driver, grocery store clerk likely will not.

If you give me a price range and general amenities you'd like (i.e., do you want a resort with activities? is a regular Mexican hotel OK? to be directly on the beach? all-inclusive packages or not?) I am happy to recommend those that I know.

I'll hold off on the restaurant recommendations(!) mostly because there are literally hundreds of good places... just depends what part of the city you end up staying in, as PV hotels and resorts stretch all around the Bay of Banderas.

Some people think Vallarta is "too touristy" and commercial. I think it is a good mix of a regular Mexican town (not like Cancun or Cabo which is 100% tourism) with a tourist infrastructure that is fairly well developed and that the local people are very proud of (there is not resentment against visitors like you find in some other places). It is a bit "honky tonk", say like Provincetown, Key West, or Waikiki can be but that does not detract from the atmosphere imo.

There is an active forum over on Trip Advisor specific to Puerto Vallarta (forum section, not hotel reviews).

Thanks a lot, Suze.I 'll look at trip advisor forum on PV. The price range for the hotel is within $100 a night or under. I do not know what to expect for this amount in Mexico. Will it do a resort or only a cheap mexican hotel? As for all-inclusive packages, are they worth the money?
Proximity to the beach would be great.My daughter is a water freak, she loves swimming and all sorts of water activities. So nice sandy beach by the hotel would be great.
Also what area of town would you recommend to stay?

needsun~
It's not my recommendation, but I can share with you what I do.

I never go all-inclusive but I am traveling solo or with a friend (not kids, so that might be different). I stay in the "Old Town" which is just to the north and just to the south of the Rio Cuale (river that goes thru downtown). The south-side is sometimes called "Zona Romantica" in brochures, and the main local public beach there is Playa Los Muertos. Hotels along that beach include: The Tropicana, Hotel Playa Los Arcos, Suites Emperador, San Marino, among others.

Within a few blocks heading inland away from the beach are all kinds of other hotels. One I stay at is Hotel Posada de Roger. Rooms are about $50/USD per night, it's a Mexican owned 3-star. I mention this (again) not so much as a recommendation but to give you an idea of what you get for what prices. www.hotelposadaderoger.com

Hotel Playa Los Arcos has 3 sister properties in that same area. They offer all-inclusive or not. One hotel is right on the beach, the other two a block away, but you get priviledges at the beach-front and pool. www.playalosarcos.com

There are also a few B&B style places, one I've stayed at several times is Casa Andrea. www.casa-andrea.com These are small casitas (apartments) and feature open air kitchens on a patio. I believe they go for about $75/night and usually rent by the week.

Again, not that these are the only options in all of Mexico... or even all of Vallarta (there are plenty of resorts up in the Hotel Zone, etc.) but I think these three might give you a taste for prices and the types of places available.

There are many other nice hotels & resorts and at least some offer package deals (airfare, room, food). I'm not familiar with those myself; hopefully other posters can chime in (or you could make a new post about PV specifically).

Oops, sorry that first sentence above doesn't sound right. I meant only that I don't necessarily know which place would be best for someone else, but can share my own experiences.

Suze,
I appreciate the info that you share. I kind of trust your opinion. My trip to Oahu happened mostly because of your and a few other fodorites' recommendations. All the posts of yours that I read totally make sense to me and it feels that your approach to things are very similar to mine. ( we do not like to go overboard;-0)

I am going to check the hotels' websites that you mentioned and hopefully settle on one of them.

Also what is the public transportation like there? Or we won't need one if cabs are affordable and safe? How far attractions are? is the city very spread out? Is there anything around/outside in the area that is worth seeing?

Thanks so much.

Transportation is very good within PV. Taxis are inexpensive (approx. 30-60 peso/3-6USD) priced by zones, to get around where you'd want to go w/in the city. The local busses are also fun and 50cents for around town, or a few dollars cost for heading north or south of PV proper.

While the entire area could be considered 'spread out' as there are places you could stay all around the Bay of Banderas, the actual city center is small and totally walkable.

You can find excellent maps to get the idea of how things at laid out at www.vallarta-info.com. www.allvallarta.com is another good website.

Thank you, Suze! I will check out the web sites on PV that you mentioned.
Posada de Roger site shows rates for double $65 plus extra charge for NY week I wish I could go at a different time of the year but.... I always have to pay more for travelling during school vacation time- winter break, spring break, Thanksgiving week.

I emailed them to find out how much that extra charge will add to the bill.

My last question to you, Suze, (I know you are getting tired of me, how far this hotel is from the beach, and from that little city center that you mention?

Thanks again, you are a gem!

Puerto Vallarta is a good choice.
Easy to get around by buses, 5 pesos (50 cents), no need to waste $ on cabs. Puerto Vallarta is quite small and easy to get around.

IMO Hotel Posada de Roger is too boring for a 14 year old (hotel iso okay but dull for kids).

Go to Trip Advisor Forum for Puerto Vallarta and ask for hotel suggestions (after getting suggestions, click on the Hotel Review section on that Trip Advisor page for actual comment & photos from other people on each hotel). Possible hotels: Bueaventura, Los Arcos, Plaza Pelicanos, Canto DeL Sol, Las Palmas, etc.

Waterpark is a little north of Puerto Vallarta:

http://www.splashvallarta.com/

Lots of tours listed here:

http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/

Maybe it is cheaper to book a package (separate air/hotel is best for singles - for 2 people, probably cheaper to find a package deal).

If you don't know any websites for package deals leaving from your city, ask on Trip Advisor Puerto Vallara Forum for websites selling package deals. However, school vacation times the prices are always alot higher.

Nosocksno.....
thanks for the link of the water park. Looks like a fun place. My daughter will love PV, sounds like it has a lot of what she likes doing- swimming, sunbathing, beaches,water park, etc.

The hotel does not matter much (3 stars Ok) since we are not planning to spend a lot of time there. Usually taking off around 9 am and returning after 10pm.
The only requirement is the decent pool.

I'll look into the ones that you suggested although I doubt if they offer better rates, not that time of the year.

Ouch, noshoes..These places are way out of my budget, very nice though...have to stick with "boring" ones

needsun~
Hotel Posada de Roger is 3 blocks inland from the beach. It is an easy 10 mins. walk north, up into El Centro (downtown) and the Malecon area (seawall promonade you often see mentioned). Sure there are no "activities" there, it's a normal Mexican hotel not a tourist resort. But offers a nice rooftop sundeck and small pool, and a fantastic restaurant downstairs for breakfasts or lunch. People (staff and guests) have always been very friendly. I've stayed there a dozen times myself.

I'm pretty sure all the hotels hike their rates for that couple weeks at Christmas.

I'm not certain it is the same person above, but we have a poster over on TA who sells activities with Vallarta Adventures, but often posts as if they were a regular visitor.

Anymore questions, ask away. I'm not getting tired of you in the least! Happy to help if I can.

No I don't sell any tours.
I haven't been to the waterpark myself I just heard about other people with kids talking about it so I googled it in the past. I did go on one tour with Vallarta Adventures.

Again, I suggest you look at package tours for 2 people instead of air / hotel separate - the air /hotel separate can be very expensive. The packages should be cheaper, although as I said it is an expensive time.

We've gone to Mexico many times in the summer - VERY cheap package deals; i.e. at the hotels I mentioned before there are package deals for $500-$700 per person (even less) for air/hotel/all inclusive or under $500 for air/hotel.

In the summer the hotels are full of Mexicans on vacation (from Mexico City, etc.) and Puerto Vallarta feels less touristy.

If price is a major issue, maybe going in the summer could be an option? Lots of other kids at pool that time of year.

Nosocks,
Thanks for your input but I do not think I'll get any deals at that time of the year.

Your packages prices sound great, but it maybe from certain cities only. I live in Alaska and never heard of such deals from here even in summer.

Suze,
Thank you for being so patient with me;-)
Since you do not mind it, I'll go ahead and ask you a few more things.

What places of interest outside of immediate/ suburbs PV (within cab distance or local city bus lines)would you suggest to see.
We are not the "hotel"type people who hang around the pool all day. We are not huge shoppers either. We like to get out of the hotel early morning and actually see and experience things.

What cultural and historic sites/ museums, events if any would you recommend to visit? Also we love botanical gardens and zoos. Are there
any around PV?

Also what other beaches besides the main city one would you suggest? I do not mind it but think that it may be too crowded.

Beaches- by taxi or bus you can go south to Boca. North up to Bucerias (town & beach), Destiladeras or El Anclote (beaches to the north).

Museum- there's one on the island of the Rio Cuale (so I hear, have not been there myself) also gardens there and an art center. Cool swinging pedestrian bridges! This is right in town.

Church- the one with the crown on the top, in the middle of downtown, is definitely worth stopping into, sit for awhile.

Malecon- is a very festive place with artists, music, the statues, people strolling each evening, sometimes special shows at the stage under 'the Arches' (south end of the Malecon).

My favorite event happens earlier in December, the Festival of the Virgin of Guadelupe (but that is the week before culminating on the 12th of December).

Christmas itself is a great time to be in PV, but more a family celebration. You may see local block parties around then. And the decorations are, again, festive.

Get out and walk around, as sounds like your style. PV is great for exploring. Get a good street map to orient yourself.