Broaden your horizon! When most people think about Mexico, they think about the common places: Cancun, Mexico City and Los Cabos. The first time that I went to Mexico was in 2011 and it was through Carnival Cruises. We stopped in Cozumel, Mexico and I was so in love with the land, culture, food and people. I told myself that I must go back, so this past May I went for my birthday with my girlfriends. Before booking I went through my parent’s timeshare book to see the different places we could stay in Mexico and the place that looked most appealing (yet, I never heard of and knew nothing about) was Puerto Vallarta. I booked the place for a week and then from there we started doing research on flights and what exactly there is to do out there.

Puerto Vallarta is known for its beaches, resorts and water sports (all things I found out after booking). One thing I loved about this place is that it is for the young and the old, the adventurous and the relaxed. We did a handful of excursions: Fly board, Horseback riding, Dolphin swim, Zip line and ATV tour. We booked all of the excursions at our resort’s front desk and we were able to get 10% off.

Traveling around Puerto/ Nuevo Vallarta is so easy. We took taxies everywhere outside of the resort. The city is very safe, not once did we feel in danger (and as New York girls we are always paranoid). With the amount of drinking that we did, I would say a taxi was the best option too. Everyone drinks tequila there, from the time that we picked up our bags at the airport until the day we left we drank tequila. When we would walk on the boardwalk, people were offering us free shots of tequila. We went to Malecon Nightclub on Wednesday, which happened to be ladies night; so we got in for free and got free drinks of patron Margarita.

I’m a big foodie, so every trip that I go on I tend to say that the food was my favorite part of the trip. If you love to eat, and love fresh food (especially seafood) this is the place to be. There are an abundance of local food places as well as specialty restaurants. Whenever you are in Puerto Vallarta you must get shrimp tacos with guacamole, as simple as it sounds it was unbelievably amazing. For my birthday we went to an Italian restaurant named “ La Vaca Argentina their food and drinks were amazingly delicious. On our last night we went to a little local steakhouse (it was unbelievably inexpensive): Senora Al Sur in Nuevo Vallarta. I got Steak, potatoes, salad, and 2 Parton margaritas for less than 400 pesos, which is about $24.

Overall Puerto Vallarta, Mexico was amazing. I had such a great time with my girlfriends, and would DEFINETLY go back there again. The combination of the delicious food, rich culture, adventure and unlimited pure tequila made this place something more than amazing.

What we did that worked: We left Mexico at 10pm on Friday; this gave us the whole day to do an excursion, hit the beach, the pool, happy hour/lunch and pack.

Tips: 1. Do as many outdoor activities as possible 2. ATV tour through the city you get to see all the locals. 3. Book ATV and Zipline on the same day, this way you can drive yourself up to the mountain tops

Website:

http://www.lavaca-argentina.com/

http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/vallarta

https://www.canopytourspuertovallarta.com

Travel Information

Trip dates: May 10^th to May 15^th

Time Share exchange: $450

Flight: $388