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After spending a week in captivity on the resort, maybe you are now ready to experience a bit more of real Mexico for your next trip! Ok, so you're not ready for a cross-country driving tour yet.
Don't worry, you can still stay on a nice resort, but if you skip the all-inclusive, you have many more options available.
Let's use the Puerto Vallarta area as an example.
Choose a resort in the tourist area of Nuevo Vallarta.
After a day of relaxing by the pool with a margarita or a pina colada, you will be ready to go.
This article will give you enough ideas for 10 days or 2 weeks, so if you are going for a week, you will need to pick and choose.
Make sure you allow for a relaxing day every 2 or 3 days.
You can rent a car or you can use busses and cabs.
Zip Lines We highly recommend working up your courage and doing one of the zip lines.
We have personally tried the Los Veranos and the Rio Cuale (also called the River Canopy).
They both require a moderate amount of uphill walking, and have lines stretched across a river gorge.
Los Veranos has a small collection of zoo animals including a large python that will pose with you for a picture.
The River Canopy boasts 400 feet at the highest point and they let me hang upside down!!! The upside down part is totally optional.
The employees of both places have that amazing Mexican availability to make you laugh and feel welcome.
Both are well-organized and will pick you up at your resort.
Plan on a bit of a bus ride for either one of these.
The River Canopy says its minutes away, but...
it's more.
Luxury Sailing We haven't done it ourselves, but friends tell us that the Vallarta Adventures luxury sail is a great day on the bay.
They take small numbers, you get to snorkel, sail, see dolphins and whales and breakfast, lunch and open bar are provided.
Of course, the word luxury adds to the price tag.
The cost is right around $100 per person.
We plan to try it next spring, so we will let you know if it is worth it.
Whale watching If you are there between November and March, the humpback whales will be partying in Banderas bay.
We have done both Vallarta Adventures and Ecotours.
Vallarta adventures has larger inflatable zodiacs and pack more people in.
However, it really didn't hamper the experience much and the guides are very entertaining.
Ecotours (ecotoursvallarta.
com) has smaller boats and less touristy feel.
They are also a bit less organized and figuring out where to get picked up and dropped off was a little more complicated.
Overall, choosing one or the other is a coin toss of advantages and disadvantages.
In either case, it was a fabulous experience getting up close and personal with these amazing mammals.
Snorkeling We had been avoiding snorkeling on the Pacific side of Mexico for a several years; mostly because we suspected the visibility was not great.
However, my motto has always been that a bad day snorkeling is better than a good day doing almost anything else.
So, I started by calling Vallarta adventures and asking how many people they took on their snorkel boats.
The SMALLER boat was 65 people!! OK, I said, let's try Ecotours.
We had only 10 of us in their Zodiac which is much more reasonable.
We opted for a trip to the Marietas islands.
There is not only a variety of marine life, but lots of birds including frigate birds and the notorious blue footed booby.
Really! They really have blue feet! Take note, tour companies like to show pictures of Los Arcos cool arch when advertising Marietas trips.
Los Arcos is actually over near Yelapa on the other side of the bay and you don't go anywhere near it.
Actually, it turned out the visibility ranges 10 to 20 feet.
Good enough to see a variety of tropical fish and enjoy the rock formations around the islands.
Salyulita Day Trip You will need to rent a car for the day or do some information gathering to make sure you get the correct bus, but a day in Salyulita is a great experience.
Head up the main road north out of Nuevo Vallarta.
As you go a across the bridge coming into little town, the two taquerias (small local taco restaurant) on the left are worth a stop.
They came recommended by the lady at the car rental place.
They have salsas like I have never tasted and nice fish tacos.
I don't want to scare you off, but one of the salsas was dark and thick and had a hint of coffee taste hidden among the spices.
Actually, it was pretty fabulous.
When I asked for the bill, the waiter wrote "150" on a scrap of paper.
That translated to about $12 U.
S for all 5 of us!! Salyulita is a surf town.
You can rent a chair to enjoy the beach, but you really should find Patricia's surf school right there on the beach and take a surfing lesson.
The break here is perfect for the beginner.
You will only be sore for a day or two.
If you go on Sunday there is a street market to add to the local color.
On the way back to town, you will pass Bucerias.
Ask where Mark's restaurant is for a remarkable dining experience.
And ladies, just tie your hair up and stop saying "But we aren't dressed to go out to dinner"! Old Town Puerto Vallarta The main tourist area of Puerto Vallarta is the Malecon along the beach.
As you head south and cross the river, you will be in Old Town.
Make sure to get to Jo Jack's Fish Shack before 4 PM and try their 2 for 1 Mojitos.
They are the best I have ever had at any price.
There are lots of good restaurant options for dinner nearby, including Jo Jack's.
For an even more interesting dining experience, wait around until the outdoor taco stands open around 7 PM.
They are cheap and good with 5 or 6 different salsa options.
Final Thoughts Hopefully we have piqued your interest in experiencing Mexico.
There are many options for nice hotels and resorts.
We recommend against the all-inclusive resorts, because you end up staying there all week to get your monies worth.
That means you will miss seeing Mexico.
If you are going with kids, the places with suites work out best.
We hope to see you on one of the activities we have described.
Maybe next time you'll be up for that cross-country driving tour.
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