Puerto Vallarta - doable on your own??

[outandabout]

We're still undecided whether on not we will do P.V. on our own. If anyone out there has done this before, could you please give us a clue? What did you see and where? I'm talking about non-beach activities and sights. What is there to sightsee?

 

I came across a tour guide who will take us on a city tour for $25/p.p. Not knowing what to see, it's really difficult to know if we are getting our money's worth.

 

Your advise - with a tour guide or do on your own. Thank you!

[pvfunlover]

I've stayed in Puerto Vallarta a number of times. There is a lot to do there. Here is a web site that I got most of my info from for my trips

www.vallartainfo.com If you are not doing an organized tour make sure you visit the Malecon.

[Janie1111]

We did a tour for $25 a person in a airconditioned van two years ago. We went to a fancy hotel just to look around then to the old town and a church. Then to a silver store then up in the mountains with beautiful views of the bay and to a tequila factory with samples and local crafts people near the road. Got a pretty platter and bowl for $20. Lots of beautiful scenery. Worth the money. Only negative was they said it would be 3 hours and it was closer to 5. When you get off the ship people approach you about these tours. The tour guide was very nice.

[Fblack]

When you get off the ship, there will be lots of vendors selling tours. Most have the same rates. They all want to take you on a 3 or 4 hour tour to town, Mismaloya Beach, Gringo Gulch, the Marina, Liz Taylors old house etc. They will stop at pre-arranged spots to try to get you to shop. I assume they get a cut.

 

Or just take a taxi to town and walk around. They have fixed rates and fill vans going out. Then just take a private taxi back to the ship later.

[nho9504]

There are actually Buses going to downtown of PV, with the bus stop just outside the cruiseship terminal. You would not miss it as many crew members would use the same buses. Last time we rode it, it was like $1 or $1.50 to go all the way. The old town is just a little bit walk along the Oceanfront.

 

On way back, flip down the bus that either labelled WalMart (right accross street from cruiseship terminal) or Marina (further down from terminal) and ride it back.

 

You should go to the Port Guide of this website to get some idea of what to see and decide what interest you.

[outandabout]

We did a tour for $25 a person in a airconditioned van two years ago. We went to a fancy hotel just to look around then to the old town and a church. Then to a silver store then up in the mountains with beautiful views of the bay and to a tequila factory with samples and local crafts people near the road. Got a pretty platter and bowl for $20. Lots of beautiful scenery. Worth the money. Only negative was they said it would be 3 hours and it was closer to 5. When you get off the ship people approach you about these tours. The tour guide was very nice.

 

I think this is an ideal tour. And I'm not very concerned about the number of hours it take because we have a long day...the ship won't depart until 10pm. My friend has some difficulty standing and walking for a long time so I guess being in a van while sightseeing is ideal.

 

Thanks for your input.

[iTinKso]

We took a taxi to Downtown PV for $10 for the two of us and walked around the area for a couple of hours and then returned by taxi - only $8 for our return. We then walked to Krystal resort for massages, ate at the beachside bar/restaurant and walked back along the beach.

[outandabout]

There are actually Buses going to downtown of PV, with the bus stop just outside the cruiseship terminal. You would not miss it as many crew members would use the same buses. Last time we rode it, it was like $1 or $1.50 to go all the way. The old town is just a little bit walk along the Oceanfront.

 

On way back, flip down the bus that either labelled WalMart (right accross street from cruiseship terminal) or Marina (further down from terminal) and ride it back.

 

You should go to the Port Guide of this website to get some idea of what to see and decide what interest you.

 

Thank you for your input. I did read the Port Guide - I find it very helpful. I haven't really navigated this website - now I know.

Happy travels!

[Nancyquilts]

We usually take the local bus down town, getting pesos at the exchange place on the way out to the street. You want the one that says "Centro". We get off at the church, walk over to the river and go along the stalls to the next street where we can take a bus back to the ship. Once we got a taxi to go up to Elizabeth Taylor's House and walked back down. Sometimes the bus back says "aeroporto" and that works too.

[quincytoo]

Here is a link from a thread at the Puerto Vallarta forum at Trip Advisor. It was written by a regular poster Suze2you who has had her posts find their way into many travel books including Fodors. I asked her if it would alright to do this and she agreed.

 

We did this day on our cruise in 2006 and through we do go PV quite a lot I was glad to have had this as print out.

 

Scroll down till you see Suze2you's post.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g150793-i46-k2441683-l15284376-In_PV_for_one_day_on_a_cruise_stop_What_to_do-Puerto_Vallarta_Pacific_Coast.html