Puerto Vallarta trip report and AMA for traveling with small
We loved Puerto Vallarta. It felt more authentic than some other destinations (eg. Cabo) You will see the many many pros listed below. However I would like to highlight some sad things first. One of the biggest issues is how beaches are being abused and handed over carte Blanche to developers. To think that most of the public would never access the beaches of Nuevo Vallarta or that resorts have encroached even the beautiful mismaloya is at best a travesty. As a tourist I wish we would stop demanding private beaches and 'extreme' beachfront with construction right up to the high tide line.
Second issue is the total lack of respect for natural resources. Particularly disconcerting is the practice of feeding the fish during snorkeling trips. This leads to coral deserts (even hanauma bay and other places in Hawaii have succumbed to this and lost their diversity). Los arcos is not a trip I would recommend on most days(especially outside nov-mar when there could be pelagic sightings) with poor visibility and not much life. When we went there was a puffer fish puffed up and floating in the water possibly dead. That sad sight ruined it for me. Second is of course littering in the beaches and river mouths. Please demand eco conscious trips with no feeding and no handling of coral or sea life. I have been to enough places to know the difference between a healthy reef and a money swindling snorkeling tourist trap. We have too few of the former.
The biggest plus of Puerto Vallarta is its diversity in everything - culturally rich, shopping still includes things not made in China, beaches to suit every taste if you can access them, and a foodies paradise.
Even though we had kids, we avoided attractions with captive wildlife and birds and still had a great time.
The food was excellent and we only skimmed the surface. This is the first Mexican destination I visited that still has interesting but affordable and local shopping.
My biggest concern about visiting Puerto Vallarta was finding good beaches for little kids. We traveled with a 5 year old and 9 month old. But all the beaches mentioned below are beautiful and and not many waves. Playa mismaloya and playa las animas are particularly perfect.
Costa sur also seemed to have a nice beach but they demanded we spend a good amount of money in their restaurant to access their beach. So we skipped as we had already had lunch.
Restaurants from a vegetarian perspective
Tucan *****- awesome breakfast
Pancho takos ***** - ate twice. Loved the sauces and poblano y queso tacos.
LA palapa restaurant - loved avocado brushchetta
Playa destiladera - fajitas
Playa las animas - fajitas the only veg option
Playa mismaloya - fajitas :)
Planets vegetariana *****- top notch soups, juices and everything else. We happened to go at a time where they were transitioning from breakfast to lunch. Lunch is definitely better but breakfast is interesting as well.
Yucateco - nothing vegetarian. Had their papaya dessert which was different but not something I would but again.
No way Jose *** - their vegetarian relleno nogada was to die for. Enchilada was just okay. Fanciest place we went to.
Many creperias.
Cajeta - jackfruit/pineapple jam
Will add as I remember more restaurants.
Beaches
Sayulita- fruit stands on the way with 'dulce' non fibrous jackfruits. The beach is shallow for a long distance with some waves that you can wade past. Shimmery green golden sands but a party beach.
Mismaloya - i enjoyed mango with chamoi sauce. Be on the lookout for these vendors or braid artists as they come and go and you could easily miss them. This is where I felt terrible at the way barcelo is built in a beach which is clearly the locals favorite and has been for a long time. The river mouth is also an excellent place to play and see different water creatures. Please don't let your kids 'collect' tadpoles or fish only to have them perish minutes later. Sand is also beautiful and no waves or rocks. More tourist oriented boats depart here to los arcos (not recommended for snorkeling but good for bird watching), cabo Corrientes, (short hike to waterfall), yelapa, mahahuitas, playa las animas. Since we had small kids we only went to Los arcos. Definitely haggle boat prices. We got ripped off since we didn't.
Destiladera - busy beach with waves getting stronger through the day. Good boogie boarding. The prices for rental were exorbitant there. Find a good rental and have your board for the week.
Playa las animas -we took a local boat from Boca de tomatlan . Arrange for return trip by mentioning time and place as well. Boats doing their own return seems the norm. My daughter got her hair braided by a very good artist. It held for a long time after.
Los Muertos - this is where we stayed in vista Del Sol. The beach is very rocky with some waves. But happening beach with everything right there. Beautiful sunsets.
The Malecon is the pulsing heart of the action. My kids enjoyed the live performances there.
Renting a car made our trip so much better. Gecko car rental is the best. We did walk a lot in town and used car for excursions. Parking is hard but we always found a good spot.
When we return and the kids are older, we would like to do more boogie boarding in beaches with waves and visit isla marietas, cabo Corrientes, stay in sayulita or even beyond like rincon de guayabitos. And of course sample many many more restaurants. Thanks for your help in the forums and Ask Me Anything about traveling with a young family or being vegetarian or just about PV!P
