Winter in Puerto Vallarta

For this year’s holiday season, I left a fall-like Rome and headed to blistery cold Detroit to be with family. Having not spent a winter in Detroit in five years, I have quite the aversion to the cold temps so a companion and I settled on Puerto Vallarta to get our fix of summer temps and long days on the beach. The trip was perfectly planned as we returned to Detroit as the polar vortex was loosening its grip.

In total we spent 10 days in Puerto Vallarta and the sun only went into hiding for three of the days so our plan was a success. While I have been to Mexico before, I haven’t been in six years and I’ve never been to PV. One thing I will say is that Mexicans are very very nice people. Because my previous trips to Mexico were spent in Cancun on resorts I never really interacted with a lot of people but this trip offered the opportunity to interact with a lot of locals and I could not be more pleased.

One surprising thing was the apparent lack of interaction with black people. While we were watching the sunset downtown, a group of people (presumably Mexicans) came up to us and asked to take a picture with us. Shortly after a Mexican woman came over and asked very nicely if she and her family could take a picture with us. We obliged. After that incident occurred we did realize that we too had only seen three black people during our entire time there.

Lodging. 

If you are unfamiliar with Air BNB, get familiar. The apartment that we rented was reasonably priced for a great location, lots of amenities and a modern space. Our host Alex was nice, accessible and easygoing. The apartment was in ICON Vallarta which is a luxury condo building right on the beach. It had a pool, gym, bar and restaurant. Most importantly, it had direct beach access and great views from the balcony. If you are going to PV I suggest you check out this apartment.

Activities. 

Most of my time was spent laying in the sun, reading Americanah (I HIGHLY recommend it) and drinking margaritas and Coronas. Who needs anything else when you’ve got the beach?

giant margarita

yoga on the beach

We ventured outside of the condo a few times and discovered some great places. If you are interested in shopping for souvenirs, head into downtown to the Municipal Market. If you ask any taxi driver to take you to the big market (mercado) you will find it quite easily.

near the market downtown.

We also explored two different beaches. In an attempt to find Las Gemelas which was recommended by a friend of mine we ended up at Mismaloya, a white sand beach with clear blue waters and several restaurants on the beach. We went to the first restaurant where you enter and I had THE MOST AMAZING FISH TACOS to ever grace my palette. Unfortunately I do not know the name of the restaurant, but it should be pretty easy to find. Let me know if you try it.

track down these tacos and eat them!

white sand and clear water.

We also took a day trip to Bucerias which was a place that I heard a lot about. It was about 30 minutes west of the airport and was much less crowded than PV. They also had a market and a number of restaurants on the beach to choose from.

For the second time in my life, I had the chance to go zip lining and I was reminded why I love it so much!! FUN FUN FUN. We swung high above the forest on 12 lines with some over 500 meters high. I had a hard time breaking and may have suffered whiplash from flying in too fast but I would do it over and over again. Some people were concerned about the safety of it all, but I was quite comfortable and trusting of the experts. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of me zip lining because they do not let you take your phone or camera with you. Why you ask??!! Because at the end they will attempt to sell you a USD 48 CD with your pictures on it. NO THANK YOU. I did get this one selfie though!

they put paint on our faces.

i caught this picture of another zipliner.

Tequila tasting. 

I was quite keen to do some tequila tasting even though I am not really a tequila drinker. The smell of Jose Cuervo makes my stomach turn. While exploring downtown we walked into a random tequila shop after being lured by free shots. We ended up staying for quite some time because our salesman Samuel was very nice and taught us loads about tequila. I feel like an expert! I also feel like I can actually drink tequila, as long as it is añejo or extra añejo. I bought a bottle to add to my bar at home.

this is the plant that tequila is made from.

Overall I had a great time in PV. I personally would not return but I think that it is a great winter break trip which is reasonably priced and allows for sunbathing, beautiful sunsets and all the tequila you can drink. 

sunrise over the mountains, viewed from our balcony.