renting jeep in Puerto Vallarta

[lost*at*sea]

can anyone provide any tips on the best way to go about doing this? Is there any way to reserve one in advance. What are good backup options if we don't get a jeep. We want to drive to jungle. Thank you.

[grandma bev]

A good option would be taking the "Canopy Tour" in the jungle. I plan to do that to celebrate my 70th birthday Christmas week!

Most ships offer that as a shore excursion. I plan to book it myself- cheaper.

There are several tour companies.

[lost*at*sea]

Greetings. Well I can provide my experience renting a Jeep in PV on a Thursday. We came in on Carnival Pride. We weren't the first to get off the ship, but we made an attempt to get off early, and at the terminal we were able to rent the last Jeep - $50 (includes insurance, 2 drivers..)



As we were tanking up at the near by fuel station, and collecting our bearings we were approached by a local Mexican man, promoting all the PV attractions. We expressed interest in the Canopy - and he made arrangements for us there using a local pay phone. We negotiated a price of $55pp. While getting driving instructions from this thin/mid age man *Jose Guadalupe* at the gas station (I speak basic Spanish and he spoke basic English), Jose offered to join us. He climbed into the back of the Jeep and navigated us to the Canopy attraction (set in the same Jungle used in "Predator" feature film). According to Jose this Canopy is one of three offered in PV, and was the most thrilling.. Sorry didn’t' get the name, however I do know it was MX owned, and not the same one the cruise ship offers... It was an adventure, very hot and humid though. The longest "Canopy" was 500 meters in length, and I can't tell you how high -- extremely high at some points. Also, at the Canopy they also had a Tequila manufacturing plant, and we sampled a lot of tequila..



Well that's the gist of our Jeep experience.. One note, had we not had Jose navigating would have been a pain. Getting to the canopy required traveling on a dirt unmarked road... Obviously there is some risk inviting strangers into your vehicle. We had two strong men and one women in the jeep. Jose is extremely slight in figure and appeared peaceful. Jose also took us into town and hooked us up with some souvenirs that can't be found in any of the local shops... We gave him $40 for his efforts..

Later in the day we were robbed (non violent) at an upscale resort. However security was able to intercept the perpetrator, and retrieveour bag... I.e., don't let your guard down.

Mazatlan:
We heeded the board's advice and did Randi's horseback riding. Everything you read on the board is true It was a wonderful experience and certainly a highlight of our vacation. On the day we went, my husband and myself were the only riders. The food at Victors was fabulous, and the boggie boarding was awesome. Oh yeah and the horses all seemed very happy!


:)

[pvpam]

I have heard, though not sure about it, that it is easier to rent a jeep prior to your arrival via the internet. If you don't do this, when you arrive and if there are no jeeps left, you can take a taxi to the airport which is not far from where you will be docked and rent a jeep there. I would be wary of meeting someone at the gas station, having them join your car and take you to the jungle. Don't get me wrong, in general, things are very, very safe here but would you do that at home? I am glad that it all worked out well though and you had a good time! There are three Canopy Tours here in Vallarta. The one through the ships is with Vallarta Adventures, a reputable company. This tour is to the northeast area. I prefer Canopy Tours Los Veranos, to the south and a bit more "jungley". The third, I cannot remember their name, but they are new, not too well known and honestly, have not heard that great of things about them. Whatever you do, have a great time!

[lstrong]

We had a rented jeep which broke down on way back to pier. Found a few helpful jeeps to push us for a while, but then had to abandon jeep and catch city bus to return to pier on time. Be careful.