Heading to Puerto Vallarta in late March. Any recommendations??
 

Shooting a wedding in Mexico next month and I have started some planning ever since we got the tickets. We will be mostly working during this time but will certainly have some time to do our own thing as well as a free extra day the family is letting us stay at their place.

We are gonna be working pretty hard so I doubt I will be up for any big intense excursions more relaxation than anything so if there are some cool places I should check out or restaurants to hit up let me know!

Thanks in advance for any help.

Bullet proof vest

Check that your life insurance is paid up, and your will is properly updated. Max out all your credit cards and have a good time.

I recommend you shut the hell up about it before I punch you in the nose.

I wouldnt go there or spend a penny there. Even the tourist cities arent safe anymore. If you have to go, ask for hazardous duty pay.

I've been to Puerto Vallarta 8 times, I believe. Great place. And if you weren't such a dick, I'd be happy to give recommendations.

Be careful, down there the weddings, shoot back.:eek:

Bawwww

Butthurt much?

Yea, I disagreed with him on something and get pretty emotional about the whole thing.

Heck, I'm a nice guy, I'll give you my recommendations anyway.

My grandparents have been going to PV for over two decades (in fact, I think they live there most of the year now), so I went there quite a few times when I was a kid. I was last there in March '09.

Definitely go to Pipi's, great food and atmosphere....it's really busy, though, so you'll have to get there early: http://www.pipis.com.mx/

If you are looking for a place to watch the tournament, a sportsbar called El Torito is probably best. Prices are reasonable and the food is good, unlike a lot of the places that cater solely to American tourists. I've never noticed it to be that crowded, so you can at least get the game on that you want. There's another great place called Casa Blakes (possibly even better than El Torito) for this, but there are a lot of Canadians generally here, and they want to watch hockey and curling, which during tournament time can be frustrating.

Other good restaurants include La Dolce Vita (Italian), Mama Rosa (Mexican), Agave Grill (Mexican), Los Arbolitos (though this is a pretty far cab ride into the older, poorer part of PV), Cafe des Artistes (expensive), and Daiquiri Dick's.

Night clubs? I don't know how old you are, but Carlos O'Briens and Senor Frogs are fun.

I'd spend a night to walk around the Malecon (a large beach front strip in the center of the city), it will be especially fun (and tough to get around) if you are there on March 21 which is Benito Juarez's birthday, a national holiday there.

Going out to Los Arcos (a large rock in the middle of the bay) to snorkel is also great (as is one of the many whale watching boat tours), but not sure how much money or time you have to spend to do that.

And I've never had a problem with safety at Puerto Vallarta or even feared for it at any time. I'm sure they've got their fair share of drug dealing (and other shady shit) going on there, but unless you go searching for it, that shouldn't be a problem. Tourism is really the city's only industry, nobody wants to ruin that.

Thats what Acapulco thought too.

hmmmmm............

Living your life in fear isn't living at all.

Neither is dying...

So he should be afraid of dying in Puerto Vallarta because of drug-related violence in the much bigger city of Acapulco? That's your argument?

Acapulco is a HUGE tourist city also, they thought no one would want to ruin that either. Thats the argument.
Anyone who travels to Mexico without a little fear, is naive.

Except, having been to both places, there is a huge difference between Acapulco and PV.

#1. You seem to be connecting the violence in border towns and cities to places where violence has been virtually non-existent. That makes little sense.

#2. You aren't speaking from experience here. I am. There's a greater chance of me dying in a car crash tomorrow than anything happening to me in a place like PV.

This is just North of PV...http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state...exico-3338.ece

Cancun is another example...You are right, I havent been there in years. I dont have to go to the North Pole to know its cold, either.

I know where Nayarit is, have been to a few of the beaches there a few times. You have to make quite a trek to get there from any of the regular tourist locations in PV.

If you ask me, the real naivety here is believing that American cities are somehow different and don't also have drug (and various other kinds) of violence. That's just the way the world is. There's no reason to single out Mexico in that regard (at least not the part of Mexico we're talking about), or as we've been talking about, worry about your life if you're going to a foreign tourist city with little history of violence.

Try to stay in the moment, if you are thinking about the vacation and still at work in KC it will bug you and make you restless. Then when you are down there make sure you focus on every minute of the glory!

Safety isn't a huge concern for me. A lot of the wedding activities are in a pretty little secluded secured spot. These peeps have more money than they know what to do with. When I go out and about a lot of it is just not being an idiot and being very aware of your surroundings.

No one said the US doesnt have violence. But we dont have bodies with severed heads laying all over the place either.
I personally wouldnt go down there, if you choose to, fine.

I tell you what. Since I will have my camera pretty much the whole time if I see one of those I will take a picture of it.

Haha, Im not saying you will. I just dont want to support a Country like that. Even if there are pockets of sanity.

You might as well not go to any of the major American cities, either. Too much murder and drug violence. Better just stay in your house all your life....it's safe, and that way you know you won't be killed.

Yeah...OK.

Safety first, living life second. Right?

When I was 6 years old, my uncle got married at a secluded beach in PV. Remember taking a small boat ride to get to it. That was my first time there....everything was much less developed then. The city has truly grown immensely since the early 90s.

I drive fast cars but I still wear my seatbelt. I wear ear protection when I shoot. And I dont pretend Mexico is a safe haven for Americans. Right.

I notice that you still drive fast cars and still shoot...even though there are risks. Why is that?

Lol we go to mexico all the time for a little vacay, its no more dangerous than east St. Louis, south central LA, oaktown or any other tourist spot

So when I go to Mexico I can shoot my way out in a fast get away car...:D

Alright, maybe I have been reading to much about the violence in Mexico. Go, have fun, take lots of good pictures!:thumb:

Sorry to ruin your thread Zach.

PV has provided for some good times. Outside of clubs, walk the malecon once, and try and dine at Señor Mr Pepe's in the hills.

Its all good! It is what makes CP fun.

the zoo is a great time. For $5 you buy a bag of veggies and can feed all the animals. You can get up close and personal too, the giraffes lean out and lick you, etc.

For $10 the wife and I were able to hold and play with jaguar cubs for about 10 minutes.

There is supposed to be a great little restaurant there called Teatro Limon, gourmet food in an intimate setting if thats what you'd like. We weren't able to fit it on though.

We did the catamaran tour to a secluded private beach where they put on a show called the Rhythm of the Night....it was fun. Ate dinner on the beach.

Malecon is fun for a night.

If you want to buy silver at a good price, look for a little shop called Poo's Barbara near the cathedral downtown. By far the nicest and cheapest we found.

Don't be afraid to ride the bus....we rode it out to the zoo as it's several miles south of town by the Barcelo resort.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_x...0/IMG_0281.JPG

Yeah, buses are really the best way to get around there. Way cheaper than cabs. I think that zoo is pretty new, actually, I've never been.

We took a boat ride over to Las Caletas, which was a private little beach, and was awesome. I'd recommend that, kayaking near the beach over there above manta rays might have been the highlight of our honeymoon.

I hear the water there is delicious.

Thats the beach I mentioned in my post. Couldn't remember the name.

You can actually drink the water there if you wish. The municipal system is very modern and clean.

Thanks guys!

ROFL. On a side note, have fun on your trip Zach, pretty sweet opportunity.

Safety is fine in the tourist areas around the yucatan.

I loved xel ha. It is a snorkling, scuba park wit cenotes you can swim in. Had a waterproof camera, took great pictures until it decided to not be waterproof and fog up.
I am sure there are other parks like this one.

The ruins were actually boring for the money. You can get great shots though but that is about it.

Sidenote, US would not have an issue with illegal immigration if some of those fine latinas would come over. My lord, I went to a rave in playa with one of the female life guards I met, literally 1000s of beautiful women. And the rave was awesome, more of a eu dance party. Plus they loved my drunk ass, cause the rest of the night went great and I woke up with all my kidneys.

It could be also because playa has tons of americans living and working there to.