Puerto Vallarta - love it or hate it?

I know I know I'm always asking these waaaaaay off topic travel questions

It's about that time to go away again and I am debating between a few spots in the Carribean and Mexico. We have been almost everywhere in Mexico but never to Puerto Vallarta (mostly due to the flight length from Chicago).

Does anyone here have any opinions (good or bad) about Puerto Vallarta?

If you like it there, where's your favorite place to stay? We like larger more upscale resorts, but are open to suggestion if you have a favorite spot that you love.

Thanks in advance for any opinions!

Aaron

AaronR,

We last ventured to Puerto Vallarta four years ago. We stayed in a delightful resort called La Jolla de Mismaloya. The food was great. The service exceptional. The town had a few interesting places, but the resort made the vacation.

Best of luck,

Ben

we are planning a trip there in Sept. I have never been either, so some site seeing/exhibition tips would be great.

I visited there in 2001 and stayed a week in the Mayan Palace. It was very nice. The temperature was very hot, but we had a wonderful time.

it was nice for 2 days then it got boring. Not much to do and I felt like the natives there were kind of sick of Americans. I had different reaction from Cancun. The place reminded me of Vegas. good for 3 days and thats about it. My wife and I agreed not to go back. That was just it. We had most of our fun in the resort. It was real nice there. but other than that. the water as well was not clear.

Thanks for the input guys! La Jolla de Mismaloya was actually one of the travel channel's 10 best spots in Mexico.

After reading up a little more about the clayish sand and unclear water we decided to go to The Cayman Islands instead...should be fun

Thanks again for the input!
Aaron

Visibility for diving around Peurto Vallarta is about 60 foot
horizontally. This is true of most of the west coast of Mexico. Water is also slightly cooler and beaches not as nice as the
Caribbean side. Peurta Vallarta is charming, has mountains, whales, great weather, great dining ($$). I've not been to the Cayman's but have heard they are beautiful, have great diving
and are generally more expensive than MX.

JimK said:

I've not been to the Cayman's but have heard they are beautiful, have great diving and are generally more expensive than MX.

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My wife and I have been to Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac several times. The diving is the best that I have seen/done in the Carribean. On Grand Cayman there is one main road that runs the island's 28 mile length. You can pull over at just about any point, walk to the water, and find great snorkeling or shallow reef diving everywhere.

Charter a boat, and they can bring you to some excellent wrecks, or you can dive the 800 foot wall on their barrier reef that runs around the island. That kinda freaked me out a little when I did it because the water is so clear that you can see for several hundred feet below until it fades to darkness. I guess I've seen too many "Jaws" type movies, so I kept imagining something coming up out of the clear darkness below.

Its a little more expensive than most of the islands in the Carribean and Mexico (at least the ones we have been to), but its worth it. The islands are British governed, very-very clean, and very tourist safe (unlike a lot of the carribean islands).

dnicho05 said:

Its a little more expensive than most of the islands in the Carribean and Mexico (at least the ones we have been to), but its worth it. The islands are British governed, very-very clean, and very tourist safe (unlike a lot of the carribean islands).

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Man, I can't wait....it sounds like it is just going to be awesome. We are staying in the center of Seven Mile Beach. We were just in St John USVI and Cozumel Mexico in the past few months and both are also really nice dive sites. It was slightly expensive, but less than st. Lucia and Antigua (which will probably be my next 2 destinations). I hear the entire island of Grand Cayman is very chill and laid back. It should be a whole week of drinking rum, smoking cigars, and diving (obviously NOT in that order)

A whole week of drinking rum, smoking cigars, and diving

Now I'm getting the itch to go again.

So middle of Seven Mile beach eh? I'll guess the Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman or Treasure Island Resort Maybe?

Make sure you wander over to the Holiday Inn Grand Cayman one night and take in the "Barefoot Men" if they are still playing there. Great fun island music to knock back various rum drinks to, and just about the only night time entertainment on the island.

Find out when the cruise ships hit the island, (its either Wednesdays or Thursdays), and avoid going into downtown George Town on those days. George Town is nuts on those days with the droves of cruisers that come in, but don't worry they're always all gone by 5:30pm (I think its the law).

If you like Shrimp, make sure to hit the "Island Tastes" resturant in downtown George Town. They have always had an all you can eat shrimp dinner thats great, but be warned that the first mountain of shrimp they give you will probably be all you can eat.

Have Fun

dnicho05 said:

So middle of Seven Mile beach eh? I'll guess the Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman or Treasure Island Resort Maybe?

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Man, you are good! We will be at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman.

Did you go to rum point? It looks stunning from the pics I have found online.

The Hyatt is nice, you'll enjoy it.

There is a ferry that you can take, can't remember where you catch it at the moment (ask at the hotel), but thats one of the easiest and nicest ways to get over to Rum Point. They have live bands and stuff on the weekends, so that is the best time to go. There are several resturants, bars, and resorts there. You can rent sailboats, jetskies, scuba equipment, and just about any other thing that you can think of that typically goes in the ocean.