Berkeley Parents Network: Visiting Puerto Vallarta

Berkeley Parents Network

Visiting Puerto Vallarta

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > Places to Go > Visiting Puerto Vallarta

March 2005

We are planning to take a family vacation with our 3 year old son and our 6 month old infant and we want to go to an all- inclusive resort that is kid-friendly and family oriented in the WEST COAST of Mexico. Any suggestions of any good places to stay? mart

I was with my family last Fall at Meli Puerto Vallarta, and my 3 year-old really enjoyed it. It has a very nice swimming pool for smaller kids, playground, etc. It's also all inclusive. toni

Jan 2005

Re: Warm, cheap, hassle-free place in Mexico?

I go to Mexico frequently and like inexpensive, warm, hassle free vacations. The past two years I stayed at a wonderful place for kids in Puerto Vallarta. It has 3 properties with 3 pools, entertainment, and all food and drink are included which for me works better than dragging little kids around to restaurants all day. It is very inexpensive--worked out to about $700 per week per person including airfare, food and hotel. (Book with Suntrips for Plaza Pelicanos). As in all of Mexico, if you stay at a hotel, they have a roped-off section of the beach where vendors cannot enter to approach you on sales. If you leave this area, however, you will be approached--but the vendors are polite and not persistent if you just say no thank you. If you stop to look, however, others will come up. Personally, I like the vendors at times. The prices are cheaper than in the stores and overall the merchandise is fine, especially if bought on the beach near your hotel. Kay

Hello, My family and I just returned from outside of Puerto Vallarta; we stayed at a 4-Seasons, so I will not recommend that vis-a-vis your request for a reasonably-priced place, but I can tell you that Punta Mita, the area of the 4-Seasons, does have rentals that may be able to be Googled; the area tends to have a lovely (!) beach. I do know the West coast of Mexico fairly well. I would say that Puerto Vallarta proper is fairly expensive and touristy and over-developed. I would even venture to say that some of the better/best eating establishments in PV were on a par, cost-wise, with the cost of eating at the 4-Seasons resort. One of the nicest, least spoiled, and reasonably-priced places in Mexico is Zihuantanejo, more South of PV, on the coast. The only reason that we didn't go there is that at the time of booking, there were no jet flights (other than Alaska Air, which we don't fly) into Zihua. A few weeks ago, United instituted a non-stop, once-weekly flight from LA to Zihuantanejo. There are many reasonably-priced places that are trim, clean, and on the beach/water in Zihuantanejo. The places that I have stayed there are all high end, but I know that other lovely places to stay exist in Zihua. The best place to look at and compare accommodations in Zihua is tripadvisory.com. They have the wonderful feature of many, many evaluations of accommodations in many global locales. One hotel that I know of that may or may not be in your price range in Zihua is ''Brisas del Mar,'' which is supposed to be lovely and reasonably-priced (great food!) and very much evocative of a cultural experience--it is beautifully situated on the water, as well. I think that you can also try for a AAA discount, as well. Additionally, tripadvisory.com offers comparative pricing from the many Internet wholesalers--Orbitz, hotel.com, etc. Next to Zihua is Ixtapa--more developed and commercial; they are a ten minute cab ride from each other. The cost of everything in Zihua is cheaper than PV, and the beach is better. PV, in my opinion, is nothing more than Miami beach transplanted to the Mexican coast, and the food is mediocre to good, not great. Finally, the beach in PV, proper, is unuseable--rough and inhospitable because of all the rivers feeding into its bay. Buena Suerte!

July 2004

I'm going to Puerto Vallarta late July and am thinking of booking a family adventure trip before I go w/ a company called Puerto Vallarta vacations, they have various excursions where you can go out on a boat and see various sites, go snorkeling, eat on board, etc. It costs $40 for adults, $20 for kids. Has anyone booked w/ them or another company and if so, what did you think about it? Is it worth the money or should I wait til I get there to book anything? Thanks. Susan
[no replies received]

June 2004

We will be traveling to Puerta Vallarta this fall with a large family group and are thinking of extending our week-long stay and spending another week somewhere nearby, yet off the beaten track. Has anyone visited Yelapa (or any other nearby villages/towns) with kids? Any advice/recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks. jessica

A great place to stay with kids is Costa Azul Adventure Resort, about an hour north of PV in the town of San Francisco and walking distance to Sayulita -- a big surfing spot. The towns are very quaint and right on the water. Our extended family of 15 (kids ages 4 mos, 6-, 8-, 10- and 12-yos) spent a week there before Christmastime and had a blast. You can choose a package rate whereby meals and a daily adventure (surfing lessons, wildlife/river tour, snorkeling) are included. Each day we all picked different things to do and came together for meals. See www.costaazul.com for their website.

One of the adventure/day trips we did from Costa Azul was a boat ride and guided hike to waterfalls in Yelapa. Yelapa is absolutely charming with a beautiful beach and thatched huts along the water, but I had a hard time envisioning being able to spend more than three days there before running out of things to see/do, unless extreme beach lounging/relaxation is your thing. Noreen

I wouldn't recommend Yelapa for kids-its more of a drinking spot for adult vacations. There ia a town north of PV called Sayulita-small town, great beach for swimming, nice places to stay, good food. I have stayed there a few times-I really like it. You can rent houses in town or there are a couple hotels. This is a great place to enjoy the beach, take surf lessons, go out on a fishing boat, hang out in the town square. Local buses run up there during the day-its about 25-35 pesos. Chelle

Sept 2003

My mother in law is taking us (myself, my husband and our just-turned-3 year old son) to Puerto Vallarta for two weeks (!) over the Christmas holidays. I'm a little worried about the vast amount of time we'll be there and am wondering if anybody has any recommendations/suggestions about things to do (TWO WEEKS!), things to take or not take, general Mexico advice, etc. We'll be staying in a condo near Playa de Muertos. (I didn't see anything specifically about Puerto Vallarta in the archives.) Thanks. Isabel
[no replies received]

August 2003

We are planning a vacation (w/4 children ranging from 11-17) to either Cabo San Lucas area or Puerto Vallarta area this December. We need to rent a condo (obviously) and would like to be in a place with lots of fun things for kids to do--swimming pools, beach, etc. Has anyone stayed at Casa del Mar in Cabo, or at Paradise Beach Resort near Puerto Vallarta? Or does anyone have any other suggestions of places we might stay? Thanks! Lori
[no replies received]

June 2003

Hi, I'm looking for positive and negative experiences with travelling in Puerta Vallarta with kids. Any good all-inclusive options? Has anyone heard of or stayed in La Jolla de Mesmalolla? Thank you. paula
[no replies received]

May 2003

We are going to visit the Puerto Vallarta area this summer and would love recomendations for places to stay, not the big resorts, an apartament or bungalow close to the beach,we speak spanish so there is no problem with us calling and arranging, for a family of 4. Gracias anyone? Valeria
[no replies received]

July 2002

Hello, We're trying to plan a vacation in either Acapulco or Puerto Vallerta - if you have experience in either place, which would you recommend? We're looking for recommendations for places to stay with our 4-year old son so if you know of a great resort, rental property, or hotel, we'd love to hear from you. Thanks! Aimee

Our extended family of 15 vacationed last December at Costa Azul resort about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta. Our group included 5 kids -- our 4 mo. old and 6-, 8-, 10- and 12- yr olds. Each family got a room or rooms overlooking the swimming pool and beach, with all activities and meals included. The beaches were quite clean, although the surf directly in front of the resort was a bit rough -- though an easy 10-minute walk south to a calmer area, and the nearby town. There were several activities each day, including trips to view wildlife, hike up to waterfalls, go snorkeling, take surf lessons, shop in PV, etc. -- we could choose a morning and/or afternoon activity. The flexibility and all-inclusive setup was great! Staff was super-friendly and helped arrange in-room massage and even babysitting when there was one snorkeling expedition that we all wanted to go on (thus no family members to babysit the infant). They have a web site -- www.costaazul.com -- and have special programs for kids, too. Noreen

My husband and I purchased a 2 bedroom/ocean-view piece of Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta (right next to the turtle egg sanctuary) because we wanted a place where our child and her grandparents would be comfortable. It certainly has lots of amenities, activities and we really enjoy the 'European-style' spa and back massages under the waterfall. You could either stay in our place which has no week restrictions, or follow up on some of those package deals offered by Sandals or SunTrips. Either way, it's a nice place to be! Deirdre

The opinions and statements expressed on this website are those of parents who subscribe to the Berkeley Parents Network. Please see Disclaimer & Usage for information about using content on this website.