Hola Amigos! Como estas? My July trip to Puerto Vallarta Mexico was pretty hectic but I really adored this beach city so I thought I’d put together the top 5 must do activities while visiting! Here it goes,
1. Sayulita
The colorful town of Sayulita was pretty much unheard of from most people I asked prior to my trip who had visited PV before. During my 6 day stay I had one driver (Marcos). I told him I really wanted to go to a market for some shopping and he assured me I would love this town Sayulita. He called it a “hippy town”. The drive wasn’t too bad, about 45 minutes from where I was staying, and if you think that’s long it is 1000% worth it. So just go! Sayulita is a beach town that is thriving with good energy and people. (Wasn’t overcrowded either). The many streets are literally filled with an abundance of food, indoor and street food included. Shop till you drop is the perfect expression for this beach town. There are shops everywhere! The whole town is the definition of artsy with almost everything being hand-made by locals. Their “Hippy Market” had the most exceptional hand made goods with better prices. By the way you can almost always bargain especially if you’re buying more than one item from the seller. Â Some of the things I purchased was a serape (Mexican blanket), wood carved kitchen accessories and a lace bikini cover up. Sayulitas was my favorite part of the entire trip.
Took us this long to find good street food but it was the BEST!
2. Caletas Island
I usually don’t do large tourist activities on vacations but the sunset cruise to Rhythms of the Night seemed way too amazing to pass up. The cruise is around an hour-long and starts in the evening right before sunset. The only way to get to Caletas Island is by boat. No one actually lives there and there is no electricity so the island is lit by over 3,000 candles. Really cool! After watching the full sunset from the boat, you arrive at Caletas to be greeted by the village people and led to the Rhythms of the Night. My Spanish isn’t advanced enough to entirely know what was going on during the show but it’s fairly easy to understand the story and the acrobatics are insanely talented! (comparable to Las Vegas cirque shows). After the show we went for a dinner on another part of the island that is made tiki like style. While boarding the boat to head back home I was deep into my nerves because it had started raining and thundering (which is normal this year in PV). The crew zipped up the boats openings to where no one got wet and the show wasn’t over! All of the crew members put on different acts including Elvis, Prince and even Frank Sinatra. They were extremely entertaining and made the 45 minute boat ride in the rain seem like a walk in the park!
3. Yacht Time
If you’re on a vacation with a group like I was, or just have the budget to spend then I highly recommend renting your own yacht for the day. It’s very different and private. We rented a smaller sized yacht (2 bedroom) that included staff of one chef and one bartender. We sailed off to a small island and parked the boat for the day to do water activities. Â Basically my whole group of friends aside from myself did the jet pack and I had fun watching them it’s really an epic thing to do!! But I’ll pass on the salt water nose dives and constant burn in my eyes lol. The banana boat was more my speed and the constant unknowing of when the driver is going to turn and flip you all over is what gets me going. The yacht day was my most relaxing day, filled with tanning, swimming, sports and fresh hand rolled sushi. Side note- our chef put plantain into some of our rolls and it was surprisingly the most delicious thing ever!
4. Fiesta Fiesta Fiesta
I typically don’t care for clubs but Mexico’s hospitality has to be some of the best in world hands down. The first night we went to Bar Morelos and it was one of the most fun club experiences I’ve ever had! When they brought out our bottles and hookah the staff dressed up differently every time and came out with whistles and sparklers. Every lounge we went to had unique cocktails that you couldn’t quite try anywhere else like the star fruit margaritas! Everyone always made sure you had the time of your life each night and every need was catered to. #princessa.
5. Sunsets & Food
Puerto Vallarta has the some of the most breathtaking sunsets. Bright pink rays always tend to light up the Mexican sky. While visiting PV you should make it a point to always go outside around the time of sunset. Some views are better than others, like the first restaurant we had dinner at La Palapa. PV is very easy to stick to your vegan or pescetarian lifestyle. Every morning I would have a fresh dragon fruit acia bowl down the street and at night I would load up on all of the fresh delicious seafood and Mexican cuisine. Every meal I had here was mouth-watering even the street food I had the chance to try. When you visit Puerto Vallarta you are going to stuff your face!! With that said, having traveled to Cabo San Lucas once before, Puerto Vallarta takes the win!!
Adios!
Carmen xo,
