• Hi Guest - Come check out all of the new CP Merch Shop! Now you can support CigarPass buy purchasing hats, apparel, and more...
    Click here to visit! here...

Nuevo Vallarta

jacks

New Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2007
Messages
336
Location
Burbank, California
Hey guys,

I am planning my first family trip. Since I have a relatively young family (6 and 4 year olds), travel time is
a big factor. So I decided on Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta to be precise. I am shooting for March 2008.
Could anyone recommend an all-inclusive resort? Thanks in advance.

Jack
 
Hey guys,

I am planning my first family trip. Since I have a relatively young family (6 and 4 year olds), travel time is
a big factor. So I decided on Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta to be precise. I am shooting for March 2008.
Could anyone recommend an all-inclusive resort? Thanks in advance.

Jack

I was there about a year ago for my honeymoon, but my in-laws have had a time share down there for several years and spend 3-4 weeks at a time down there. We didn't stay at an all-inclusive, but PM me if you have any questions about restaurants and night life. I will talk to my wife and the in-laws and see if we can't come up with the names of some of the places we really enjoyed. Good luck with trip planning, and enjoy yourself!

Matt
 
Hey guys,

I am planning my first family trip. Since I have a relatively young family (6 and 4 year olds), travel time is
a big factor. So I decided on Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta to be precise. I am shooting for March 2008.
Could anyone recommend an all-inclusive resort? Thanks in advance.

Jack

I was there about a year ago for my honeymoon, but my in-laws have had a time share down there for several years and spend 3-4 weeks at a time down there. We didn't stay at an all-inclusive, but PM me if you have any questions about restaurants and night life. I will talk to my wife and the in-laws and see if we can't come up with the names of some of the places we really enjoyed. Good luck with trip planning, and enjoy yourself!

Matt

Thanks Matt. I really appreciate it.
 
Never actually stayed there - always hit it and moved on (damn, that rings true for so many things).

But, while you're there, you'll definitely want to hit the jungle tour where Predator was filmed. Great, great tour amidst the jungle and there's also an absoultely excellent restaurant there, with a little waterfall, freshwater river and waterfall-basin that makes for some excellent swimming. Been a few years since I've been there, but I'm sure it's held up well.
 
Never actually stayed there - always hit it and moved on (damn, that rings true for so many things).

But, while you're there, you'll definitely want to hit the jungle tour where Predator was filmed. Great, great tour amidst the jungle and there's also an absoultely excellent restaurant there, with a little waterfall, freshwater river and waterfall-basin that makes for some excellent swimming. Been a few years since I've been there, but I'm sure it's held up well.


We went on that tour...got it for $6 (USD) a piece through a friend who owns a shop down there. It was definitely some neat scenery, but the tour left a lot to be desired in my opinion, even for only 6 bucks! Maybe it was just me, but I tend to not enjoy "tourist traps" all that much, and that's what the tour was. First we got a "tour" of downtown PV. They told us about a tribe that lived up in the hills while they took us to a shop that sold souveniers (sp?) from that tribe. Then we got to see city hall, and an old church (the only two genuine stops on the trip). Then we went tequilla "tasting." It literally consisted of pulling the whole tour bus off at a large silver jewelry shop in the middle of an old town. While we were "tasting" (there were only 2 or 3 different tequillas to sample and some coronas for everyone, we were encouraged (read: badgered by the staff there) to "browse" try all sorts of things on for size. (My wife and I went outside and waited on the sidewalk for 90 minutes and watched the comings and goings of some of the locals. Then we went across the street to a tequilla factory. It was somewhat interesting to see the process, but it was basically another sales pitch, but not as pushy as the others were on the trip. Then we went to the Predator site. The bus ride up was SCARY!!! Some of the steepest windiest roads I've ever been on, no less in a tour bus! I gotta give it to those bus drivers, I couldn't have done that! If nothing else, the ride up and down to the site will give you a thrill! Lastly, we ended up at the Predator site. Really neat to see the jungle, but be prepared to spend big bucks for food and drinks. While up there, they have some places where you can put on your bathing suit and swing on a rope into the river, and as part of another tour, you can do the jungle canopy ropes tour. It looked like fun, but we didn't spend the money for it. The tour guide was nice, but I honestly didn't enjoy the tour. It was painfully obvious that shops paid a fee to the tour company to bring bus loads of tourists to each of their shops.

If that doesn't sound like fun to you, steer clear of those types of tours, of which there are a plethora down there. If you are interested in the Predator set, see if you can find a cab to take you up there without having to spend an entire day looking at various shops and having no way out without walking through the jungle back to town. I can't imagine going on the tour we went on with children either.

Like I said, the predator set was interesting, but be careful if you pick a "tour" that leads you up there.

Have fun.

Matt
 
Never actually stayed there - always hit it and moved on (damn, that rings true for so many things).

But, while you're there, you'll definitely want to hit the jungle tour where Predator was filmed. Great, great tour amidst the jungle and there's also an absoultely excellent restaurant there, with a little waterfall, freshwater river and waterfall-basin that makes for some excellent swimming. Been a few years since I've been there, but I'm sure it's held up well.


We went on that tour...got it for $6 (USD) a piece through a friend who owns a shop down there. It was definitely some neat scenery, but the tour left a lot to be desired in my opinion, even for only 6 bucks! Maybe it was just me, but I tend to not enjoy "tourist traps" all that much, and that's what the tour was. First we got a "tour" of downtown PV. They told us about a tribe that lived up in the hills while they took us to a shop that sold souveniers (sp?) from that tribe. Then we got to see city hall, and an old church (the only two genuine stops on the trip). Then we went tequilla "tasting." It literally consisted of pulling the whole tour bus off at a large silver jewelry shop in the middle of an old town. While we were "tasting" (there were only 2 or 3 different tequillas to sample and some coronas for everyone, we were encouraged (read: badgered by the staff there) to "browse" try all sorts of things on for size. (My wife and I went outside and waited on the sidewalk for 90 minutes and watched the comings and goings of some of the locals. Then we went across the street to a tequilla factory. It was somewhat interesting to see the process, but it was basically another sales pitch, but not as pushy as the others were on the trip. Then we went to the Predator site. The bus ride up was SCARY!!! Some of the steepest windiest roads I've ever been on, no less in a tour bus! I gotta give it to those bus drivers, I couldn't have done that! If nothing else, the ride up and down to the site will give you a thrill! Lastly, we ended up at the Predator site. Really neat to see the jungle, but be prepared to spend big bucks for food and drinks. While up there, they have some places where you can put on your bathing suit and swing on a rope into the river, and as part of another tour, you can do the jungle canopy ropes tour. It looked like fun, but we didn't spend the money for it. The tour guide was nice, but I honestly didn't enjoy the tour. It was painfully obvious that shops paid a fee to the tour company to bring bus loads of tourists to each of their shops.

If that doesn't sound like fun to you, steer clear of those types of tours, of which there are a plethora down there. If you are interested in the Predator set, see if you can find a cab to take you up there without having to spend an entire day looking at various shops and having no way out without walking through the jungle back to town. I can't imagine going on the tour we went on with children either.

Like I said, the predator set was interesting, but be careful if you pick a "tour" that leads you up there.

Have fun.

Matt

I avoid anything mainstream and touristy at all costs, wherever and whenever I travel. Years ago, the Predator tour was not as touristy as it sounds like it has become. We went on a tour bus up there - and yes, those roads and driving was absoultely insane. But we were just taken there and then back down to the main drag and dropped off - we stopped nowhere and at no "shopping" stands/places. The tour was very cheap and took us all through the jungle, with the guide pointing out all types of great info. The restaurant at the base was insanely cheap. Then anyway. Our tour did nothing of the things you mentioned, so just shop around for the many tours offered and you can find much less b.s. types of tours that do nothing other than shuffle you from one trap to another. The one I went on was nothing like the one Matt recites.

The rule anywhere in the world you go - just be careful and use common sense. That will take you far. You'll find some great tour guides who take you far off the beaten path and really care about (and love) their hometown area. I'm certain with some effort you can still find some of those and that will give you a good showing of the area - without the tourist trappings.
 
I avoid anything mainstream and touristy at all costs, wherever and whenever I travel. Years ago, the Predator tour was not as touristy as it sounds like it has become. We went on a tour bus up there - and yes, those roads and driving was absoultely insane. But we were just taken there and then back down to the main drag and dropped off - we stopped nowhere and at no "shopping" stands/places. The tour was very cheap and took us all through the jungle, with the guide pointing out all types of great info. The restaurant at the base was insanely cheap. Then anyway. Our tour did nothing of the things you mentioned, so just shop around for the many tours offered and you can find much less b.s. types of tours that do nothing other than shuffle you from one trap to another. The one I went on was nothing like the one Matt recites.

The rule anywhere in the world you go - just be careful and use common sense. That will take you far. You'll find some great tour guides who take you far off the beaten path and really care about (and love) their hometown area. I'm certain with some effort you can still find some of those and that will give you a good showing of the area - without the tourist trappings.

Yeah, I definitely let my guard down for that tour. Other than that mistake, we kinda found our own way around town and ended up stumbling upon some cool restaurants. I hope I didn't come across as being sour about the whole thing. That wasn't my intent. Predator was definitely a cool place to go. I guess it was more of a warning about don't make the same mistake I did. I don't know about the restaurant at the base, but it's very possible that our "tour" just didn't take us there.

One other thing my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed was going down to the Malacon (sp?) on Sunday night. We ended up there somehow by chance that night and it turns out that's when all the locals make their way to town. It's kinda like a big street fair. Lots of dancing and food stands. Very, very minimal touristy things set up. It was the one time we went out that no one was bugging you to come into their store, or to buy something for the most part. Just the locals out on the town. We were watching some people dancing in the square, and I only saw 1 other American couple there. We kinda stood out, but felt very welcome. Got to talk to lots of people and see some pretty neat cultural foods and traditions without feeling like I was on a tour. It was the most fun we had while we were down there. Check it out on a Sunday night if you get the chance!
 
Top