las caletas puerto vallarta

[cruisealot54]

I saw it offered and checked it our on line and it looks pretty and the beaches looked clean and calm. Thought is could be fun snorkling, walking and kayaking.

 

Has anyone taken this tour while in Mexico and if so what are your thoughts.

[cruisealot54]

After posting the request, I did a search of the site (should have done that first) and I see if is certainly worth our time. It looks beautiful and most who took the tour enjoyed the tour. Thank you Paul & Marilyn for all the information and the terrific pictures - it was the next best thing to being there.

[Alaskalovers]

We were there March 2007 and loved it so much that we booked for this October on the Saphire and the one excursion we have confirmed is Las Caletas. We trully enjoyed the beach, the food is OK. We are going to try the spa for massages and facials. All prices for the spa is $25-50. we did the Swim with the Sea Lions and have wonderful memories of this trip. You will definately enjoy this excursion.:p

[Alaskalovers]

Forgot to add that there is great snorkeling and Scuba diving. You can also do some hiking as well.

[misika]

We were just there the week of July 5th. We were on the Mariner of the Seas, and took a ship sponsored excursion to Las Caletas to do the Sea Lion adventure.

 

It was nice, the food was ok - but I feel I must put out a warning. There are microscopic jelly fish in the water. Apparently they come and go, and are worse sometimes than others.

 

They were bad when we were there. We were offered wetsuits for the Sea Lion swim (but were told we had to give them back to do any other snorkeling - so I don't imagine you could get them for just snorkeling), but as they offered them, they sort of discouraged using them and said it wasnt really needed. The staff referred to the jellyfish as "mosquitoes" and said they were no big deal and if we did happen to get bit, it would only itch for a few hours - a day at most.

 

My DH declined the wetsuit, and was stung MANY times. This was on Thursday. We returned home on Sunday. He looked like he had the chicken pox. On Tuesday night, he had a severe allergic reaction to the bites (FIVE days after the stings occured). He has been put on Prednisone and a prescription anti-itch pill. The itching has subsided, but he still looks like he has the chicken pox. It was a VERY uncomfortable experience for him.

 

My kids and I wore the wetsuits, but were still stung on our hands and ankles. The day after my husband's allergic reaction, all of our ankles swelled up with hives the same way his whole body had. We just had a much smaller amount of stings, so it didn't affect us the way it had him.

 

SO - my take on Las Caletas is, it was nice and I would be willing to go again, but I would not want to snorkel there, and would only enter the water with a wetsuit to protect me. We had to do our Sea Lion swim right away, while the rest of the group that came with us went for lunch. So we ate lunch afterwards. Then we wanted to go look at the monkeys and it was closed. Many of the activities are only open certain times.

 

I have been told that sometimes there is hardly any of these jellyfish larve there, and other times (like when we were in the water) they are everywhere. If you are considering going, for your own safety, please research this issue of these jelly fish prior to booking.

 

While we very much enjoyed the Sea Lion swim, personally, I would not spend the money (it costs $98 per person without the Sea Lion swim) to just go spend the day at Las Caletas just for the beach or the snorkeling. But thats just my opinion.

[gambler]

We were on this same tour. It was actually fire coral that had broken away from the bad storm that was there 2 days before us. It did make for an unpleasant exprerience for a lot of people. We were ok, found a spot to cool off. The snorkling was not good either. The boat trip over and back was fun, got to see the coast line, lots of drinks and the crew was great. The lunch was ok and there were drinks all day on the beach. It was a nice day but probably would not do it again.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

This is the tour I was considering in PV, but have heard just enough similar reports to possibly reconsider. It does seem the jellyfish/coral problem comes and goes, along with the water quality. It must be the luck of the draw! Thank you all for your honest input. I would like to hear a few more reviews before making any decisions.

[neverpar]

We were there in October of 2007, not a problem with jellyfish or anything else while there.

We booked through Johann & Sandra, much cheaper than through the ship and it's the same exact trip..

Snorkeling was good, swimming was good, food was wonderful! And of course the drinks were very good!!

Go do the tour, enjoy....we did!!

[arubacassie]

How long all together for this excursion. The cruise ship says 5 1/2 hours, is this correct?

Thank you.

[neverpar]

How long all together for this excursion. The cruise ship says 5 1/2 hours, is this correct?

Thank you.

 

Yes it was about that long...it's a good 45 minute to a hour trip to Caletas...and then you have lunch, and then the time is yours..to do whatever you want. Of course the trip back is faster, not site-seeing on the way back..LOL

When we got back, we changed our clothes on the ship and went to the Cathedral and the boardwalk and shopped a bit.

[B+S]

We neither saw nor heard anything about stinging jellyfish or coral when we were there in late March 2009. The trip down the coast line and back was excellent. It is a beautiful beach. I am concerned that some of their waste water drains directly into the ocean, and so while we had a great time we likely wont be back.

[bzy1]

Las Caletas, like most areas not hooked up directly to SEAPAL (our sewage and water processing company/plants) all have their own septic systems like so many areas/homes do in more rural area of the States and Canada.

Many of the multi-million dollar homes here in Conchas Chinas also have individual septic systems.

No worries, there are no pipes draining sewage into the ocean at Las Caletas.

[B+S]

Las Caletas, like most areas not hooked up directly to SEAPAL (our sewage and water processing company/plants) all have their own septic systems like so many areas/homes do in more rural area of the States and Canada.

Many of the multi-million dollar homes here in Conchas Chinas also have individual septic systems.

No worries, there are no pipes draining sewage into the ocean at Las Caletas.

 

There ARE pipes draining untreated waste water that go directly into the ocean at Las Caletas.

 

I was there when they washed the floor of the kitchen up the hill with pomegranate juice one day. It was if Jaws had swallowed someone down by the shore. The ocean became clouded and turned bright purple red for a few minutes right at the shoreline. I was much saddened by the experience. I did not appreciate swimming in whatever was cleaned off the floor, and the effluent certainly was drained directly into the ocean via a pipe. We can mince words about whether or not untreated waste water is sewage, but I'm here to tell you IT HAPPENED.

[bzy1]

Ok, no one would use pomegranate juice to wash a floor. Do you know how expensive that stuff is? Do you know how many pomegranates it takes to make a cup of juice? Maybe it was jamaica tea but not sure why they would wash a floor with it other than it is "green" and non-chemical. But pomegranate juice, no way.

 

Besides, that is a completely different story than "sewage" from a toilet.

 

That is gray water and you do realize that the cruise ship you were on or will be going on does the same thing all along the way.

http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/cruise_ships/

[B+S]

Ok, no one would use pomegranate juice to wash a floor. Do you know how expensive that stuff is? Do you know how many pomegranates it takes to make a cup of juice? Maybe it was jamaica tea but not sure why they would wash a floor with it other than it is "green" and non-chemical. But pomegranate juice, no way.

 

Besides, that is a completely different story than "sewage" from a toilet.

 

That is gray water and you do realize that the cruise ship you were on or will be going on does the same thing all along the way.

http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/cruise_ships/

 

I never said sewage from a toilet - I said waste water from a kitchen floor. Untreated waste water from a kitchen floor IS directly piped into the ocean at Las Caletas precisely where people swim. I could show you the exact spot.

 

Should untreated waste water from a commercial kitchen be piped directly into the ocean precisely where people come to swim? I don't think so, but if you feel that is ok, well, that's your opinion. As for finger pointing at the cruise industry - that is not the issue that I am reporting on here as an eye witness. As for the type of juice; when I asked as to the product they were using to clean the floor I was told it was Pomegranate Juice. Perhaps, and more probably it was a lack of effective translation. Perhaps it was chicken blood - I wouldn't know.

[bzy1]

Pomegranates are over 50 Pesos a kilo here and they are called granadas.

They do not use them nor chicken blood (I hope you were joking) to clean the floor.. nor does your story make sense because no way would either of the sort look like "Jaws" killed someone in the ocean when washed down from that far away. That would take literally buckets of pure "juice" to even make a splash in the ocean.

Besides, any time it rains, plenty of run-off is going to travel downhill and into the ocean and all the beaches. This includes anything the rain comes in contact with.... so is that "waste" water as well? What about whale pee? Sea lion and dolphin poo? and let's not get started on kids and adults.....They produce waste far worse than some "pomegranate juice". :)

 

Besides, Angelica Huston and Danny spent a lot of time there growing up with their dad... they all lived. Well, except John.