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How many pesos should we bring?


PJWisconsin

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One of our port days in February is in PV. We want to just explore the area on our own. Our local bank is going to give us a deal on pesos, so we want to take advantage of that before we leave on the cruise.

 

My question is, how many pesos do you think we should have for one day in PV? We don't drink alcohol, so we won't be buying any of that. We do want to eat at a local restaurant, and we will probably buy a few doodads here and there, but nothing really expensive. We plan on using the bus system.

 

While I'm asking, if we are taking ship-sponsored excursions in Mazatlan and Cabo, do you think we will need any pesos?

 

Thanks so much for the advice! We are really looking forward to escaping this Wisconsin cold in just a few weeks!!

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One of our port days in February is in PV. We want to just explore the area on our own. Our local bank is going to give us a deal on pesos, so we want to take advantage of that before we leave on the cruise.

 

My question is, how many pesos do you think we should have for one day in PV? We don't drink alcohol, so we won't be buying any of that. We do want to eat at a local restaurant, and we will probably buy a few doodads here and there, but nothing really expensive. We plan on using the bus system.

 

While I'm asking, if we are taking ship-sponsored excursions in Mazatlan and Cabo, do you think we will need any pesos?

 

Thanks so much for the advice! We are really looking forward to escaping this Wisconsin cold in just a few weeks!!

 

Zero, Nada, None.:D:D:D

 

Your American dollars are most welcome in all the Mexican ports. In fact most of the prices in the Souvenir shops are posted in dollars.

 

In the flea market area (t-shirts, hats, etc.) they will give you great deals for your dollar. Take smaller bills, because sometimes they will give change in pesos

 

Point of reference, the exchange rate is about 10 to 1

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Zero, Nada, None.:D:D:D

 

Your American dollars are most welcome in all the Mexican ports. In fact most of the prices in the Souvenir shops are posted in dollars.

 

In the flea market area (t-shirts, hats, etc.) they will give you great deals for your dollar. Take smaller bills, because sometimes they will give change in pesos

 

Point of reference, the exchange rate is about 10 to 1

 

The 10/1 exchange rate is what you will get paying in US dollars when in fact it is closer to 13/1. That is why you will get a much better deal paying in pesos. However unless you are spending quite a bit, the hassel of getting pesos may be more trouble than just using US and taking the loss. If something costs $50 and they are offering 10/1 exchange- that would be $500 in pesos. But if you buy $500 worth of pesos and use them, that same $500 would only cost $38 US. It is up to you if you are going to spend enough to make it worth it.

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Zero, Nada, None.:D:D:D

 

Your American dollars are most welcome in all the Mexican ports. In fact most of the prices in the Souvenir shops are posted in dollars.

 

In the flea market area (t-shirts, hats, etc.) they will give you great deals for your dollar. Take smaller bills, because sometimes they will give change in pesos

 

Point of reference, the exchange rate is about 10 to 1

 

Ummmm....when was the last time you spent ANY time down in PV??

 

In PV USD are NOT welcome hardly at all......Maybe check up on the new laws passed by the Mexican government limiting the amount of USD that a tourist can exchange or a national can exchange (provided they have a bank account), any purchase over $100 can not be done with USD.

 

Exchange rate is usually 10-1 which means you lose anywhere from 20-30 % on the USD.....which, quite frankly, is only right if you are going to insist on using foreign currancy, the vendors can not sell USD (exchange to pesos) for what you want to sell it to them for so it is only right they charge a higher exchange rate.

 

Please don't post USD are most welcome that is so far from the truth.

 

We have always preferred to get pesos out of an ATM machine OR as in the case of our vist last week, we exchanged USD (came from Vegas to Mexico) at the HSBC bank.....we got almost 12% exchange 11.90 - $1.00 USD.

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Ummmm....when was the last time you spent ANY time down in PV??

 

In PV USD are NOT welcome hardly at all......Maybe check up on the new laws passed by the Mexican government limiting the amount of USD that a tourist can exchange or a national can exchange (provided they have a bank account), any purchase over $100 can not be done with USD.

 

Exchange rate is usually 10-1 which means you lose anywhere from 20-30 % on the USD.....which, quite frankly, is only right if you are going to insist on using foreign currancy, the vendors can not sell USD (exchange to pesos) for what you want to sell it to them for so it is only right they charge a higher exchange rate.

 

Please don't post USD are most welcome that is so far from the truth.

 

We have always preferred to get pesos out of an ATM machine OR as in the case of our vist last week, we exchanged USD (came from Vegas to Mexico) at the HSBC bank.....we got almost 12% exchange 11.90 - $1.00 USD.

 

As recently as yesterday in Huatulco, we saw shop owners asking cruise ship passengers to go to the ATM and pay in pesos, and were asking people not to pay for purchases in US dollars. It's difficult to exchange them here...

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Can someone give an idea how much a coffee & a sweet treat ( for DH) would cost in pesos?

A rough idea so we know how much to budget for

 

I will get pesos before we leave home

 

In PV's Southside a coffee and sweet roll will cost you about 30 pesos YUM

 

We use our HSBC debit card and get pesos out of the many HSBC machines down here.....super easy and best exchange rate :)

 

There is a GREAT little bakery right next to Joe Jack's Fish shack (alos very yummy) that I get pastries each morning when I am there, they cost about 6-9 pesos each then I get a huge cup of great coffee from Page in The Sun cafe located around the corner for about 15 pesos. Lovely way to start a morning:)

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In PV's Southside a coffee and sweet roll will cost you about 30 pesos YUM

 

We use our HSBC debit card and get pesos out of the many HSBC machines down here.....super easy and best exchange rate :)

 

There is a GREAT little bakery right next to Joe Jack's Fish shack (alos very yummy) that I get pastries each morning when I am there, they cost about 6-9 pesos each then I get a huge cup of great coffee from Page in The Sun cafe located around the corner for about 15 pesos. Lovely way to start a morning:)

Thanks

Gives me an idea of how many pesos things cost & how much to take with us

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Thanks

Gives me an idea of how many pesos things cost & how much to take with us

As Quincytoo states, Page in the Sun is good for coffee and just up the street from that place (on Olas Altas Street) there is another coffee shop on the corner that has good chocolate cake and cheesecake - coffee and cappucino are good there too. Can't remember the names or exact prices but 100 pesos would be enough for two of you. Bus fare from the ship into town only costs 6.5 pesos each. Look for a sign in the bus window that says Centro and ask the driver to tell you when you get close to Olas Altas.

 

Wendy

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So I talked to my Mexican friends about the new laws, and people are starting to reject USDs. He lives in La Paz in the Summer and DF in the Winter. Anyway, he says the problem isn't about the limit on how big a purchase you can make, but the limit on how much a Mexican can exchange. This is to crack down on the money laundering and the drug trade in Mexico.

 

That being said, a lot of small vendors will still take USDs. They usually stay well under the exchange limit per day so they do well. A busy restaurant may only take pesos.

 

One issue you may find is the finickiness about the bills they accept. You don't want worn bills, but you also don't want crisp new bills.

 

I personally picked up $50 in pesos. It came out to about $MX590. So at the 10:1 standard I've already made a bit of money. If I need more I'll hit an ATM which will typically give you a decent exchange rate.

 

Anyway, have fun.

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So, how many pesos would it cost to get a good authentic Mexican lunch, without alcoholic beverages?

 

And how many pesos to buy something like a necklace or something for the grandkids from a vendor?

 

First off ... there is no such thing as an "authentic" Mexican lunch. Mexico is very much like the US in that it's a big country and every region cooks differently. Most shrimp and warm water lobster is caught off Mazatlan so you will get outstanding shrimp meals in Mazatlan. Vallarta is known for the various species of tuna (dorado & ahi ahi) and other deep water fish.

 

The every popular "people's food" that most Wisconsinites think of as Mexican food is found in just about every food joint in Vallarta. Vallarta is a foody's paradise and is home to an annual international gourmet festival. We spend most of our time in Vallarta at the various restaurants on Los Muertos Beach on Vallarta's south side. Many other good restaurants can be found along the Malecon.

 

My guess is that you could do, eat and buy the stuff you are looking to do for under $1,000 pesos ($75-$80 USD). Mexico uses the "$" sign just like the US. Most items are priced in Pesos unless they specifically have "USD" listed. A $15 beer is in pesos and is the equivalent of $1.17 USD at today's exchange rate.

 

The price of trinkets is dependent on the quality of the item you buy. You can get three cheap T-shirts for $10 USD's or you can get a quality polo shirt with double stitched seams and embossed logo for $30 USD's. I guess little kids jewelry goes for a couple bucks (USD) ... the stuff my little wife gets always costs me a couple thousand pesos.

 

Do a google search for PUERTO VALLARTA RESTAURANTS Many of the restaurant sites that come up will have menues available for you to look at.

 

You don't say what ship you'll be on or if Vallarta is your first or last stop. If it is your first, any extra pesos you have will work just fine as tips on your ship's excursions. If Vallarta is your last stop, bring `em home. I'm in the Milwaukee & Madison metro area and I'll buy them from you. We're in Vallarta most of November every year.

 

Enjoy!

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Ummmm....when was the last time you spent ANY time down in PV??

 

In PV USD are NOT welcome hardly at all......Maybe check up on the new laws passed by the Mexican government limiting the amount of USD that a tourist can exchange or a national can exchange (provided they have a bank account), any purchase over $100 can not be done with USD.

 

Exchange rate is usually 10-1 which means you lose anywhere from 20-30 % on the USD.....which, quite frankly, is only right if you are going to insist on using foreign currancy, the vendors can not sell USD (exchange to pesos) for what you want to sell it to them for so it is only right they charge a higher exchange rate.

 

Please don't post USD are most welcome that is so far from the truth.

 

We have always preferred to get pesos out of an ATM machine OR as in the case of our vist last week, we exchanged USD (came from Vegas to Mexico) at the HSBC bank.....we got almost 12% exchange 11.90 - $1.00 USD.

 

Great advice. Can you tell me where the ATM machines are in Cabo, PV and MaZ? Info greatly appreciated.

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We just got back from a ten day cruise to six ports. All but one took american dollars - including PV - stores and street vendors.

 

However, if you or anyone you know is stopping at Los Murchois (port being Topolobambo) - they do NOT take american dollars. We tried several places to buy food and NOT ONE would take american dollars. We tried to exchange our money at HSBC but because we had not brought passports with us were not able to. In the end we did use the ATM and manged to get pesos. I really think HAL dropped the ball by not informing cruisers of this issue.

 

Have a great holiday. PS- I know you said you don't drink but PV has an awesome bar called the cheeky monkey- on the malecon, second floor. Margaritas and beers are 1 dollar. You could do a virgin drink - it's a really fun place!

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We are going to 4 ports in April (well 3 now, Cabo is twice) I would like to pull out about $100 US at the HSBC atm in PV. I am assuming that atm is going to ask how much I want to pull out in Pesos right? Also, I read somewhere that the atm's in Mexico only accept 4 digit PIN numbers, is that right?

 

In Manzanillo we are planning on going to the Tesoro Resort and getting day passes, $41 adult, $21 child--should we plan on paying this with Pesos or would be using a CC at a resort be okay?

 

Thanks for the help.

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We are going to 4 ports in April (well 3 now, Cabo is twice) I would like to pull out about $100 US at the HSBC atm in PV. I am assuming that atm is going to ask how much I want to pull out in Pesos right? Also, I read somewhere that the atm's in Mexico only accept 4 digit PIN numbers, is that right?

 

In Manzanillo we are planning on going to the Tesoro Resort and getting day passes, $41 adult, $21 child--should we plan on paying this with Pesos or would be using a CC at a resort be okay?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

As we have stated above, even the places that still accept US dollars will not give you the actual exchange rate. So if you are happy with losing 15-20% on each transaction then use US. The current exchange rate is about 11.5/1. So go to the ATM and pull out $1150.00 pesos and it should be close. This will give you an extra $150 pesos or $15US than if you were to use US dollars to start with!

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As we have stated above, even the places that still accept US dollars will not give you the actual exchange rate. So if you are happy with losing 15-20% on each transaction then use US. The current exchange rate is about 11.5/1. So go to the ATM and pull out $1150.00 pesos and it should be close. This will give you an extra $150 pesos or $15US than if you were to use US dollars to start with!

 

To clarify, I was not asking about using US dollars, I will be using pesos on our trip. I was just curious how the atm's worked. I found a converter online and it looks like 1300 pesos would be a little over $100.

 

Do people feel safe using a credit card at resorts, or should I plan on using all pesos for our resort day?

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To clarify, I was not asking about using US dollars, I will be using pesos on our trip. I was just curious how the atm's worked. I found a converter online and it looks like 1300 pesos would be a little over $100.

 

Do people feel safe using a credit card at resorts, or should I plan on using all pesos for our resort day?

 

I haven't pulled pesos from an ATM but with all other currencies, you select how much of the foreign currency you want.....say 10,000 pesos which you will recieve. The bank will convert that into USDs on your statement. So if you take 10,000 at 130 / USD the bank / CC will charge you 10,000 / 130 = 76.92 USD

 

Find out from your bank or CC what their exchange rate is and it will vary day by day and see what their service charge is as it may be a couple of percentage point.

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We just got back from the January 2011 Mexican Riviera cruise on HAL Zaandam. Every port took dollars but we did get some pesos out of an ATM. Souvenirs, drinks, and food were cheaper using the peso. One funny episode was in one of our ports (Huatulco), we took a private tour and tried to pay in pesos - the tour guide refused them and just wanted dollars.

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We just got back from a cruise to Cabo, PV, and Mazatlan a month ago. Everywhere took our dollars. We did not need pesos, and never have, but if they really are cracking down on the dollar issue I would bring some just in case. I'm sure you can get some exchanged on the ship too.

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