Our Trip Itinerary in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
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| Puerto Vallarta aerial view |
We have stayed in Puerto Vallarta for 10 days, this includes the two travel days and two remote work days. On the first day we have arrived very late in the evening and on the last day we have left for the airport by noon. So, technically we have spent only 6 full days in Puerto Vallarta. Having said that, we were still able to get out of our Airbnb and take a stroll at Malecon Boardwalk and get some local food on the remote work days. At the end, Puerto Vallarta turned out to be a great place to relax and enjoy food as well as to have some adventure and get to know the locals.
Puerto Vallarta Trip Itinerary
Day Zero
Travel day.
Remote Work Days
I have ran at malecon and on the beach in the morning before work.
We spent the days working but we were still able to eat local breakfast with chilaquiles and molletes. We tried some street snacks including tostielote, papaelote, and camarones envara asados (shrimps on a stick). On the second day we discovered the local ice cream shop which we ended up stopping by everyday.
Day One
We have spent our first vacation day by relaxing on the beach at Playa Los Muertos. Played with waves and gotten massages before the dinner.
Playa Los Muertos is "the beach" in Puerto Vallarta. It is walking distance from Zona Romantica and downtown (El Centro) and Malecon. It is lively. It is common to see a Mariachi band giving a private performance. This beach is also good for families. There are several activities including jet skis, and parasailing. There are plenty of eating options as well.
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| Playa Los Muertos, Puerto Vallarta |
We ate enchiladas vegetarianas and sopa de mariscos for dinner at a beach restaurant with a sunset view. Had piñada. I will have a separate post dedicated to food in Puerto Vallarta. But I need to say this. This was my first time drinking piñada and I think I finally found my juice replacement. The meal was satisfying, be it the food itself, be it the drinks, or the sunset view, or people's watching. On the way to our Airbnb, we had maracuya drink from a street vendor. It was refreshing.
Day Two
Day two was the adventure day for us. We first walked to Zona Romantica to the corner of Basilio Badillo and Constitución to catch a bus to Boca de Tomatlan. The bus leaves right in front of Oxxo. The bus ride was about 30 mins, maybe a little bit more. We got off at Boca. Then we caught the next water taxi to Yelapa.
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| Yelapa Village |
Yelapa is a remote fishing village and there is a no car road connecting Yelapa to the rest of the civilization. The best way to reach there is to use water taxies from Boca.
We took the water taxi to Yelapa. It is quite a bit of a ride, loud and fast, but definitely worth it. At Yelapa village, other than enjoying the beach we wanted to walk on the narrow streets of the village and visit the waterfall.
We first headed to the waterfall. The main alley lead us to the waterfall after a short walk. There was a fork at some point so make sure to pay attention to the signs. I honestly enjoyed this short walk a lot. It was because of being surrounded by friendly local people.
The waterfall is small but it was the highlight of our day. In that hot weather, that waterfall felt like being in heaven. We did not go to the waterfall with the intention of spending a lot of time there, but we ended up spending quite some time. The natural pool was shaded, and the water was rejuvenating. Once we were done with the fresh water, we headed back to the beach. After some time spent on the beach, we took the next water taxi to back to Boca de Tomatlan.
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| Yelapa Village |
At Boca, we enjoyed the beach again and ate some tacos and tostielotes before taking the local bus back to Puerto Vallarta.
Day Three
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| Old town Puerto Vallarta |
The mercado was the real deal. It is a little bit further than the flea market and it is actually where you see locals shop for food and goods. The best part for me was that we got this drink from a street vendor which is my favorite Mexican drink now. It is called Tejuíno. It is a fermented corn drink, with a hint of lemon and salt. Somehow it reminded me of turkish boza, definitely not the same, but the fermentation reminded me of that.
Walking to the mercado turned out to be a good decision, mainly because it exposed us to more local streets. We found this tiny hole-in-the-wall place for homemade food. Ate some quesadillas and sopes with cactus (nopales). The place is called Quakes and you can watch your food being prepared fresh by friendly people.
Day Four
We took a boat tour to Islas Marietas for snorkeling. First of all, this wasn't what we signed up for but what is the difference. We actually signed up for seeing Playa Escondida and snorkeling. Due to some "mix up" which deserves its own post, we ended up taking the Islas Marietas ecotour. On the hindsight, the eco tour was more adventurous. It included a decent lunch. Also included a trip to private beach of Playa Majahuitas. If we ignore the fact that I got sea sick, it was a great trip overall. The crew was extremely helpful and did anything and everything to make the guests feel comfortable and to have fun.
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| Islas Marietas |
Day Five
This is the day I had one of those once in a lifetime experiences but at the same time that experience can be seen as controversial. I have joined a dolphin experience. The program I picked had an emphasis on the training and spending time with dolphins and sea lions - very similar to their training and playing time. The reason I say it might be controversial is because dolphins are breed at the dolphin center and this can be quite depressing if you compare them to their free counterparts in the ocean.
On a positive note, they are being treated very well, they are trained in humane conditions. Their time with guests are limited to two hours a day and they spend the rest of their time within each other playing. I wanted to write both sides to the situation so everyone be aware of it and understand the concern and research more and decide themselves if this is something they are ok with or not.
In terms of the joy, there is no comparison to it. Hugging the dolphins and sea lions were amazingly satisfying. I could have been more happy seeing them free in the ocean, but as said before most of them cannot be released back to the wild anymore.
[To clarify, most of the dolphins were breed at the center so they cannot be released back to the wild. There are also some, who were rescued hence they cannot survive in the wild anymore. In addition, there is a small amount that was purchased back in the days when it was legal. Hearing this is hurtful but it is relieving to know that the dolphin trade is now illegal for quite some time. So the remaining controversy is if it is ok to breed a wild animal and keep it in captivity even if it is a significantly large pool.]
Day Six
We took a walking tour of Puerto Vallarta. Stopped by the flea market to see local art work, and tasted some local candy. Tamarind candy was interesting, but my favorites were the fruit ones, mango, pineapple, papaya. I like the soft texture and sweet and sour taste at the same time. It is like eating fruity sour patch.
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| Lady Guadalupe, Puerto Vallarta |
We had our brunch at El Campanario near Guadalupe. We had sopes and huevos a la mexicana. The food was tasty and was in big portions. We have spent the rest of the day at the beach. I got ceviche de pescado from a street vendor. I did not have much expectations buying raw meat from a street vendor. My definition of success was not to get sick, but it was surprisingly pretty good and I did not get sick.
For dinner, we ate at Fajita Republic. The name of the restaurant sound very cheese but the food was good. Veggie fajitas were served with a flaming show. Fish Banderas is tasty. Spicy mimosa is definitely worth the try.
Day Seven
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| Danza de los Voladores, Puerto Vallarta |
We had half a day on our last day. Got tortas and licuados from El Campanario, enjoyed the beach one last time at Playa Los Muertos. We also watched the flying dancer one last time. Yes, let's talk about them: Danza de los Voladores or Palo Volador. I do not know the best translation, but flying dancers should be pretty close. This is a dying tradition from Mesoamerica. 4-5 people climb to a high pole, one plays a flute, others hang themselves from the pole, start lowering themselves down while dancing or simply hanging and rotating around the pole. This wasn't something I expected to see on the street at Malecon. Safety-wise I wouldn't expect to see this anywhere except at a Cirque du Soleil show. These guys were performing several times a day. It was part of our daily routine to go watch them at the end of the day. On the last day we had to watch them and listen to their unique music one last time. It was a great way to end our wonderful stay at Puerto Vallarta.
Summary of our itinerary at Puerto Vallarta
- Day 1: Playa Los Muertos
- Day 2: Yelapa, Boca de Tomatlan
- Day 3: Cuale Island Flea Market, Mercado Emiliano Zapata
- Day 4: Islas Marietas Ecotour
- Day 5: Dolphin training program
- Day 6: Walking tour of Puerto Vallarta, Playa Los Muertos
- Day 7: Playa Los Muertos
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