Puerto Vallarta Botanical Gardens

[subbuteo14]

I'm on Eurodam calling into Puerto Vallarta in late April.  None of the ship tours appeal so I'm thinking of going to the BG.  Has anyone been there?  Worthwhile?  How did you travel, bus or taxi?  Were they reliable?

 

Many thanks

 

Rob

Edited February 7, 2023 by subbuteo14

[pppiglet]

I highly recommend the Botanical Gardens.  So many beautiful flowers, trees, hiking trails down to a river area.  Also the restaurant on site has excellent food and drinks and you can feed the hummingbirds right from your table.  They have a shopping area for souvenirs. It's very humid hiking through the trails.  We were dripping.  We loved it though. 

 

We weren't off a cruise ship, we were staying in the marina area and just took a cab.  This was about 4 years ago and it was aprx. $500 pesos. I'm sure it's gone up though since then.  It's a nice scenic drive once you get through the city and Malecon area. I want to say about 45 minutes to one hour if traffic in the Malecon area.  The reception area called a taxi for us for the trip back.

I'd do it again.  

[Hlitner]

It is a relatively long ride from the Marina/Cruise port.  While it can be done on the public buses, you would need to take a bus into town to the Romantic Zone/Old Town and probably need to walk a few blocks before catching a 2nd bus that would get you out to the entrance road of the Botanical Gardens.  We DO NOT recommend cruisers use this bus route because it is very time consuming and you can find yourself waiting for a good half hour just to catch that 2nd bus from the Romantic Zone.

 

Your best bet is to walk outside of the port area and either negotiate a deal with one of the regular local taxis (different from the so-called federal taxis inside the port) or use Uber (for this you do need the app, a working phone, and account).   As to the price, from outside the port you will likely pay about $600 Pesos (one-way).  Uber now uses very aggressive surge pricing so the cost can really vary (from less to a taxi to a lot more).  Also be advised that, lately, I have noticed that many Uber rides get cancelled by the driver...which is annoying when you are in a hurry.   An Uber driver may not want to go all the way out to the Botanical Gardens out of fear that they will not get a return customer.

 

You can try to arrange for the driver later return and pick you up, or simply ask the folks at the garden to call you a taxi (it will not be a problem).

 

Most here would say the Botanical Gardens are worth it, for those that like that kind of thing.

 

Hank

 

 

[Mike45LC]

Because it is so far away from the cruise port, I have not been to the Gardens, but everything I have heard/read (mostly in articles in the PV Mirror newspaper) makes the Gardens sound wonderful.  It is on my "someday" list.