Overseas Chinese Web Guide

Author: Ken Chan

  • Las Caletas

    Of all the tours offered by Vallarta Adventures, I enjoyed Las Caletas the most. Like the other tours, we started with breakfast at the Nuevo Vallarta center before boarding a catamaran. The ship proceeded to Marina Vallarta, where it picked up additional passengers, and then headed straight to Las Caletas. The ship traveled parallel to the coast and the journey was not rough at all, unlike the ride to Las Marietas.

    On the way to Las Caletas, we passed by Los Arcos, which are giant, arched rocks in Banderas Bay. We could see people snorkeling around the rocks in the morning.

    As we approach Las Caletas, we receive a wave and a warm welcome.

    Las Caletas has two beaches. The first one you pass is the quiet one. The catamaran that transported us to Las Caletas is in the background.

    Las Caletas is the perfect destination for young children. Vallarta Adventures has a program dedicated to kids (four and up) that includes face painting, a visit with ducks and monkeys, a ride aboard a burro to the hilltop, and a zipline ride back down the hill.

    During your stay at Las Caletas, drinks are complimentary, unless you want some fresh coconut juice.

    The most important sign at Las Caletas. The water sports end at 1:00 PM. So, after lunch, there is no returning to the beach for more kayaking or snorkeling.

    At the second beach, you can snorkel, kayaking, swim or float in an inner tube. The kids really loved the inner tube.

    Lunch is a delicious buffet that offers food both familiar and foreign. For Chinese kids who are not too experimental, you cannot go wrong with rice.

    I really liked the handmade tortillas, especially with the cactus.

    Good bye Las Caletas.

  • Las Marietas Eco Discovery

    The Las Marietas Eco Discovery tour starts with breakfast at Vallarta Adventures. And, depending on your susceptibility to motion sickness, this may or may not be a good idea. If you require dramamine, picking it up at a local pharmacy in the United States would be a good idea because shops are far and few between in Nuevo Vallarta.

    After breakfast, you depart from the Vallarta Adventures marina aboard a catamaran.

    On the way to Las Marietas, you might spot some pelicans looking for some hand-outs.

    Your captain might also take you to see some wild dolphin swimming in Banderas Bay. We spotted wild sea turtles during our adventure as well.

    For those that got seasick, a quick ride aboard a motorboat takes you to a secluded beach out in Las Marietas. The hardier guests can snorkel or kayak near the catamaran.

    After a few hours, the captain and crew collects all the guests for the return trip and lunch aboard the boat. Food choices included rolls, cold cuts, tuna salad, and pasta salad. You can also drink to your own delight at the open bar. The trip back was much smoother than the ride out.

  • Puerto Vallarta v. Nuevo Vallarta

    If you are not sure if you should stay in Puerto Vallarta v. Nuevo Vallarta, consider this Nuevo Vallarta panorama.

    A bit difficult to see, so I’ve added a scrollable version below. You can see construction cranes working on new developments, as well as large expanses of space between the different resorts. Don’t be fooled by the riviera moniker because Riviera Nayarit is nothing like the French Riviera. The region is not walkable or developed at all.

    Nuevo Vallarta can be nice, and I enjoyed my stay at Villa La Estancia. But, understand that while the food and transportation in Nuevo Vallarta can be American in price, the level of infrastructure and development is not commensurate with the cost.

  • San Sebastian del Oeste

    San Sebastián is a historic mining town located in the mountains almost two hours from Puerto Vallarta. I joined the bus tour that departed from Vallarta Adventures after breakfast. The road to San Sebastian passes through rural Mexico, where you will see abundant fruit trees, horses, cattle and the like.

    While Puerto Vallarta in June is quite hot and humid, San Sebastian was cool and comfortable in contrast.

    The first stop was at Hacienda Jalisco, the pre-revolutionary home of the mining bosses, as well as an escape for Hollywood luminaries in decades past. You can walk around the grounds looking at the historical documents, maps, artifacts, and celebrity memorabilia left behind.

    After the Hacienda Jalisco tour, we head back to the bus and ride into town. The next stop is a small coffee plantation, where you can sample and purchase the local coffee. The farm also featured many fruit trees scattered throughout. We then proceeded to walk down the street to lunch, followed with a walking tour of San Sebastian.

    You can visit the local church and learn about Saint Sebastian.

    The other stop is the home / museum of Doña Conchita Encarnación, where you can view historial photographs of San Sebastian and learn about the three families whose history are intertwined throughout the fabric of San Sebastian.

    On the way out of San Sebastian, the bus stops at the tequila distillery where you can sample various tequilas and mixed drinks. The tequila almendrado, or almond flavored tequila, might appeal to those with a sweet tooth.

  • Vallarta Adventures Breakfast

    When I arrived in Puerto Vallarta, I headed to the MEGA to shop for breakfast for the upcoming week. However, I did not anticipate that Vallarta Adventures would provide a wonderful breakfast before their tours. So, if you are joining a number of tours, plan accordingly or else you will end up with too much cereal and milk at the end of your stay.

    After you check-in, head to the back for the breakfast spread.

    I preferred a simple bowl of granola and yogurt to start the morning.

    You can also create your own fresh fruit plate.

    For the kids, the breakfast table offers an assortment of sugary cereals, including Fruit Loops, Cocoa Puffs and Zucaritas, with a much angrier looking Tony the Tiger.

    Here’s the full spread with your pick of milk, orange juice, tea or coffee, fruit, cereal, pastries, yogurt and granola.

  • Puerto Vallarta

    Puerto Vallarta was much larger in life than I envisioned. I wanted to get a flavor of old Puerto Vallarta, so we ended up in the part of town with narrow streets paved with cobblestone. So, the first stop was La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

    Earlier on, I recognized that I was in trouble when the trip from the Marina Vallarta to La Iglesia took much longer than I had imagined. There would be no walking back along the Malecon that day. But, at the end of the long ride, I was rewarded with a rich bowl of lentil soup at El Campanario, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant just across Calle Hidalgo from La Iglesia. I was only able to locate the restaurant by the address. Did not spot the restaurant name anywhere on the wall.

    Besides the lentil soup, the 55 pesos prix fixed lunch included a selection of shrimp, fish, steak or enchilada. The shrimp and fish were both outstanding, and this was the cheapest meal we enjoyed in Puerto Vallarta.

    On the trek back, the Malecon was under construction, so there was no seaside walk to enjoy.

  • Nuevo Vallarta Mega Store

    On a map, the MEGA looks so close to Villa La Estancia. You can even see it from the upper floors of the resort, just beyond that large stretch of undeveloped land. But, I was not that interested in walking along deserted sidewalks in an unfamiliar location, so I told a taxi to the store for I believe about 60 pesos.

    If you are not on an all-inclusive plan, picking up some basic staples at the MEGA can be a good, money-saving option. The MEGA store offers a selection of fruits and vegetables, though not the freshest by American standards. You can also find breads, milk, jam, cereal, yogurt, and just about anything else to get you started in the morning for a lot less than the $15 per head all-you-can-east breakfast buffet at the resort. Interestingly, the MEGA store also carried an assortment of Kirkland branded goods.

    After you checkout, the greeter at the door will help you call a taxi. Transportation back-and-forth was not a problem.

  • Nuevo Vallarta Taxi

    For some reason, I was expecting Nuevo Vallarta to be like Waikiki. It wasn’t. Instead of a dense and compact tourist destination, I saw large resorts scattered along the coast, sometimes with large gaps between them. Even if you want to take an evening walk, there was no place to go. Seems incredible that large resorts can exist without tourist shops and restaurants nearby, but that was definitely my experience. You can see for yourself on Google Maps.

    I thought I would be able to walk from Villa La Estancia to something nearby, but I didn’t see anything within walking distance outside of other resorts. I went to Puerto Vallarta once, but most of the time, I travelled back-and-forth between the hotel and Vallarta Adventures.

    Where Should I Stay in Nuevo Vallarta

    If you are staying at an all-inclusive resort and do not plan to leave the premises, then location should not make a big difference. However, if you want to take advantage of several of the journeys offered by Vallarta Adventures, then the cost of transportation may be a factor.

    As you can see, a trip from Vallarta Adventures to Villa Del Palmar (which is next to Villa La Estancia) costs $110 for 1-4 passengers and $220 for 5-8 passengers. After a couple of trips, that taxi fare starts adding up quickly, so let this Nuevo Vallarta taxi rate sign be your guide. If you plan on joining some Vallarta Adventure tours, it would be smart to stay somewhere closer to them than at the northern end of Nuevo Vallarta, or even further away.

  • Bucerias

    From Villa La Estancia at the northern end of Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerias appears just a few steps away. However, in the June heat and humidity, a short taxi ride sounded much more practical than a jaunt along the sunny beach.

    From Nuevo Vallarta, I took a taxi to the Bucerias flea market. Not large in size, but full of colorful wares and personalities. As I exited the taxi, I was immediately greeted by vendors selling t-shirts and other tourist souvenirs, as well as competing marketers offering me a business card for their beachside restaurant.

    Since it was still quite early, I trekked around town expecting something remotely resembling small town charm. But, Carmel this was not. Outside of a few shops and a lot of small restaurants, I didn’t see anything that matched the art of the street signs. And, cobblestone roads are bumpy and way overrated.

    Av. del Pacifico is the street that runs along the coast, and appears the most tourist oriented. The beach side features restaurants sitting on the sand. The other side of the street is pretty non-descript.

    For lunch, we stopped at El Brujo, which is roughly at the northern end of Av. del Pacifico. This recommendation from Fodor’s was solid, with the best dish being the molcajete. I should have taken a picture of the small black cauldron that featured a delicious mix of steak strips and onions. Good stuff when wrapped in a soft, flour tortilla. The roasted, whole red snapper was also delicious. I was not as enamored with the shrimp fajitas, in that this was the only restaurant in Mexico that I visited that did not devein the shrimp. The meal came to about $15 per person including drinks, which is much less than what the resorts were charging.

    You can dine in the patio above, or beneath the palapas on the beach.

  • Villa La Estancia, Nuevo Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit

    I recently stayed at Villa La Estancia Beach Resort & Spa, located at Paseo de Cocoteros 700 Sur, Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit 63732, Mexico. I had booked the reservations through Costco Travel, which is currently offering a stay four nights for the price of three nights promotion at $279 per person, with a $300 resort credit included, which runs to $1,674. The credit could be applied to food, beverages and other services, excluding tips. While at the resort, I had encountered another guest that had booked their travel through a LivingSocial deal that included all meals, beverages, and unlimited massages for $1,630. Despite, the $300 credit, the $1,630 promotion is a better deal if you plan on taking all your meals on the premises. I had never thought about booking travel through a group buying website, so that was an eye-opener.

    The resort itself is spectacular. Located on the beach, the facility looks and feels new. Based on the layout of the buildings, all rooms should provide at least a partial ocean view from the patio. The resort’s palette featured an abundance of warm, earth tones.

    Housekeeping even provides a daily supply of L’Occitane Verbena Products, which like most items from France, is quite pricey.

    For dining options, the resort has an outside swim-up bar by the pool, as well as a steak house just off the resort lobby.

    I has one dinner at La Casona. While the service and ambience was refined, the food did not exactly knock me out of my socks. More on that later.

    The best meal I had at the resort was at the Bella Vista restaurant located at the sister property–Villa del Palmar Flamingos–next door. The savory shrimp fajitas were absolutely delicious.

    1. Location. The resort is located at the northern end of Nuevo Vallarta, and quite distant from any outside shops, restaurants or other amenities. If you have an all-inclusive deal and you plan on spending your entire time lounging around the pool, this should not present any problems. However, if you want to get around the Puerto Vallarta and the other cities along the Bahía de Banderas, the transportation costs could add up quickly. Relied on the taxi service during the entire week. I did see numerous Turibus stops along the main Nuevo Vallarta drag, but I only saw that bus once. That Turibus does not operate with as much frequency as you would think.
    2. Beach/Pool. While the resort is located on the beach, I didn’t see too many people in the water. The waves can get quite rough, particularly in the afternoon when the winds pick-up. The pool itself is not that deep. I would guess that it is about four feet deep at most. The pool has an extremely shallow wading section for toddlers where the water cannot be more than a few inches deep.
    3. Internet Access. Wi-Fi available for free in the lobby. I could also access the Wi-Fi connection from the corner of the patio closest to the lobby. The room had an ethernet cable and port, but the AirPort Express that I had brought along was not configured correctly to create my own personal wireless access point. I either need the AirPort Express to be configured correctly before I leave home, or I need a way to reconfigure that device from an iPad. So close, yet so far away.
    4. Kitchen. I liked the ResortQuest Waikiki Beach Tower better. Absolutely inefficient to make short-term guests purchase their own cleaning supplies, as well as some ingredients that are almost always sold in bulk, like sugar and salt.
    5. Laundry. I am absolutely sold on the in-suite washer and dryer. However, like above, ResortQuest provided a daily box of laundry detergent, but Villa La Estancia did not. So, I had to buy a month’s worth of detergent at the supermarket to use for the week that I was there.
    6. Timeshare Salesmen. No one at Villa La Estancia pitched me on purchasing a timeshare. However, the salesmen at the adjoining property were quite assertive, though not in an overly aggressive manner. Basically, the routine would be to strike up a conversation, offer a few helpful tips, and then begin their sales pitch. So long as you know it is coming and remain persistent in dodging their offers (that is if you are not interested), you will be fine.
    7. Food. The food quality and quantity was uneven. Food pricing was even–evenly expensive. I get that at a remote resort, the seller has a near monopoly power to ratchet up prices. To be more expensive than local Mexican restaurants is expected. To be more expensive than restaurants in the United States, well, I did not see that one coming. That credit evaporates quite rapidly when fruit punch for the kids goes for $6 a cup. Not pesos, but US dollars. I dined at Bella Vista twice–once for dinner and another time for breakfast. Both times it was an all-you-can-eat buffet of decent quality. At US $20 for breakfast and $30 for dinner, I thought the cost was about double when I would pay in the states, but both meals were satisfying. I ate at the Villa del Palmar Flamingos outdoor restaurant once. Seriously, I’ve made better pizza in my life. And, the fish tacos were a bit shy on the fish. The big disappointment was the La Casona restaurant, home of the $6 fruit punch mentioned above. Between the extremely dry chicken breast in the shish kebab and the overly salty Portabello mushrooms, the meal had disappointment written all over it. The crisp calamari appetizers were good through–breaded and fried with three different accompanying sauces. Just did not realize that we had hit the high note so early on in the meal.
    8. Atmosphere. While Villa del Palmar Flamingos and Villa La Estancia are neighboring properties, the vibe of each location was different. Villa del Palmar Flamingos offered more activities, had more people in the pool, and provided better dining options. Villa La Estancia focused secluded tranquility. Despite the size of the premises, I didn’t see that many people around the resort or in the pool. You have the resort pretty much to yourself.
    9. Market. If you are looking to prepare some of your meals in your own suite, the Palmita Market at the Villa del Palmar Flamingos offers some basic provisions. A larger supermarket is nearby, just off the highway. The vegetables were not the freshest, but no worse than what I’ve seen at other markets in Bucerias and Puerto Vallarta.

    So, I loved the resort overall, despite the misses here and there. I probably would have liked it even more if I had skipped the La Casona dinner. If you are going to charge $30 for a main course, you better bring your A game. I would return if the surrounding area was developed and offered alternate places to dine. I also thought I spent too much time and money on transportation. The next time I travel to Puerto Vallarta, I might look for a more centrally located property.