The winter and spring break travel season is drawing to a close and once again Minnesotans (Wisconsinites, Iowans and ‘Dakotans’) by the thousands have traveled to the beautiful Mexican resort of Puerto Vallarta. Last week was my first visit to the Pacific coast destination and honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by ‘Vallarta’. I’ve heard about it for many years, but I’ve never been a big Mexican vacation fan. While friends and business associates have returned time and time again, I’ve generally decided to vacation domestically, including Hawaii, to Canada or Europe.
Yes, I’ve been to Mexico before for both work and play, visiting such popular resort areas as Cancun, Riviera Maya, Ixtapa and Acapulco. Each one has its benefits, and all provide great weather for a winter-weary Minnesotan like me. But my preference has always been to have wheels to go wherever I want to each day. Unfortunately, Mexico doesn’t allow for this as there are certain areas that simply should be avoided. The on-going internal war between powerful drug cartels and the Mexican government has led to U.S. State Department advisories not to explore beyond most resort areas, placing hiking, zip-lining and other excursions off-limits. Nevertheless, there is more than enough to do in Puerto Vallarta. Boredom was never an issue.
That being said, this year it was time to utilize miles and points that have been earned in the last few months via extensive business travel. Since it had been three years between beach vacations the decision was made to return to the sand. Hawaii was too far and the Caribbean price prohibitive, so we decided to explore a part of Mexico that we’d never been to before. Enter, Puerto Vallarta, winter destination to the stars, Mexicans driving in from Guadalajara, the international gay community and the frigid north country of the U.S. and Canada.
Getting right to the point, let me tell you that PVR (Puerto Vallarta’s airport code) is everything we could have hoped for in a beach vacation and more. Of course, our hotel was the 4-star deluxe Casa Magna Marriott Beach Resort, but there are plenty of less expensive hotels from budget properties to a bevy of all-inclusive hotels at Nuevo Vallarta north of the airport. Downtown Vallarta (Centro), Marina Vallarta where the Marriott and Westin hotels are located, the hotel zone, and Zona Romantica (the Romantic Zone) are located south of the airport. Nothing south of the airport is very far from downtown where there are literally hundreds of shopping options and scores of great restaurants. The Sheraton, Fiesta Americana and Holiday Inn are more moderately priced hotels that are along the city bus route to Centro.
Speaking of the buses, they are cheap (about 50 cents per ride), reliable transportation that are also a lot of fun to experience. We had musicians on-board a couple of rides who had almost everyone singing along. Be sure to hold on if you don’t get a seat as the drivers barely stop when picking up or dropping off passengers. They also like to drive with the doors open, so stand well inside the bus.
While all of our meals were quite good, there were a few that stood out as excellent. Breakfast at the Marriott’s air-conditioned La Estancia restaurant was fabulous, whether you wanted a full buffet or to order a la carte. We had a couple of lunches and one sea bass dinner accompanied by lobster tacos that was superb at the open air Las Casitas, situated adjacent to the beach. A Japanese teppanyaki restaurant and Champions Sports Restaurant with more than 20 televisions are also on property. The service level at the Marriott from the front desk to bellmen, restaurant personnel to housekeeping was nothing short of excellent.
A short five minute walk from the Marriott is Marina Vallarta, home to nearly 500 slips for any kind of marine vessel from fishing boats to yachts, and there were more high-end sailboats and yachts than recreational craft. The marina is surrounded by hundreds of deluxe condos, with the lower level of the marina area occupied by every imaginable kind of restaurant and gift shop. Massage businesses flourish here too, with prices less than half of those at the nearby hotels. There is no shortage of places to dine from an Argentinean or Brazilian steak house, to Italian, Mexican of course, and there is an abundance of fresh seafood. Several coffee shops with free wi-fi or internet access are also available here, and quite a few restaurants offer a much less expensive breakfast option than what you’ll find at your hotel. We had great dinners at Barcelona Tapas and Archie’s Wok, both of which will accept advance reservations. You can also find dining reservations on-line at Open Table.
Shopping options include lots of jewelry, art ranging from ceramics to elaborate glass arrangements, the usual tee shirts and beachwear, and was generally very affordable. Overall, Puerto Vallarta is a wonderful destination for couples, families or individuals looking for a relaxing escape. While both Delta and Sun Country offer peak season non-stop flights from the Twin Cities, PVR is a year-round resort. During off-season (May-November), travelers originating in Minneapolis/St. Paul can get to Puerto Vallarta quite easily with one-connection service being offered by Delta (Atlanta), United (Chicago and Denver), Continental (Houston) and American (Dallas/Ft. Worth). Seasonal service is also avaiable with Frontier Airlines and AirTran.
