Featured Adventurers!

Cindy and Mike K.
Sylmar, CA
Canopy Adventure Park Zip line tour
11/11/09

How many times have you been to Puerto Vallarta/Bay of Banderas?
This was our first time, but we will be back!!

Where did you stay?
We were aboard the NCL Star ship

What was the highlight of your trip?

We definitely loved the zip line canopy tour.
The guides were fantastic and the thrill of the zip lines and repells were great.  I thought we might be too old or out of shape to enjoy this tour, but I was so wrong.

What other tours would you go on if you had the chance?
I wish we would have had enough time to do the Sierra Madre tour and definitely some of the Snorkeling, Kayaking and other water tours.  The pictures on line are fantastic. We heard many other passengers on the ship talk about the great times they had with their Vallarta Advertures.

What did you think of our crew? Our guides?

The Canopy guides were great.
They made us feel very comfortable, always safe, and yet were professional and fun all at the same time.

Any advice for future travelers to Puerto Vallarta?

Go on a Vallarta Adventure tour, you won’t waste one cent with them.  They make sure you are picked up for adventure on time, That you have a great time and you are returned back when you need to!  This was very important for us on the cruise.  And if we had not been able to get into port because of weather, etc.  we would have been refunded our money.  Not all tour companies will even think of doing that.

What are some of your hobbies? Do you play sports?

We enjoy sailing, biking, snorkeling and swimming.

If you were to describe your vacation with the title of a song, what would that song be? Kenny Chesney’s “We went out last night”

What best describes you? The chips?  Or the salsa? Cindy is the Salsa and Mike is chips!  A great mixture!

Posted in Canopy Vallarta Tours : activities Bahia de Banderas Bay of Banderas eco-friendly eco-tour excursions genuine canopy system mexican food mule trek rappel rappelling things to do in Puerto Vallarta tour tours vallarta adventures waterfall Zip lines | leave a comment

Get to Know A Guide

Featured Guide: Ricardo Santos
Adventure: Trainor- Cabo Dolphins
How long with Cabo Dolphins: 4 Years
Where are you from: Mexico City

What is your favorite part of your job?
When the people finish their program and you see the smile on their faces

Do you have a “crazy” skill that you use with your job?
Training courses for marine mammals and other species,  First Aid, Biological courses, Emergency First Response skills

What is the funniest or craziest thing that you did/seen/experienced?
One time a did a Rocket with two dolphins and my shorts came down in front of the audience

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew -up?
Airplane pilot

What is your favorite(s) food(s)?
All Mexican food and pizza

Would you eat a grasshopper?
I am allergic to fish and grasshoppers!

What do you like to do on your day off?
Walk on the beach, watching movies, or going out with some friends

Would you rather be an eagle or a dolphin?
Dolphin

What do you do to help conserve or protect our planet?
I recycle and separate my garbage and I do not use bug repellant or sprays to help reduce their possible negative impact on nature.

What is your favorite Cabo Adventures Tour?
The Outdoor Adventure, Dolphins and 4X4 Desert Safari

If you were given 200 Pesos right now, what would you do with it?
Save it!

Any advice for  future adventurers that will go on your tour?
Never give up! And have fun- the dolphins are amazing!

Posted in Cabo Tours : activities adventure bottlenose dolphins Cabo san Lucas delfines Dolphins swim with dolphins swim with the dolphins tour tours | leave a comment

To Scuba Dive Or Not to Scuba Dive?

Even the best of friends or copacetic of couples do not always agree on what they like to do for activities while on vacation.

One activity that works great for people who like a variety of activities as well as adventure is Las Caletas.
The Las Caletas tour alone offers different levels of activities from kayaking and snorkeling to learning how to prepare Paella as well as nature hikes and children’s programs to simply finding a hammock and watching palm trees sway in the breeze. But, the really cool thing about this tour is that people who love to scuba dive can enjoy their favorite water sport while their partner has a plethora of other things to do to occupy their time.

These tours can be booked together with one person choosing to take the Las Caletas by Day Tour and the person who wants to add a two tank dive to their trip to Las Caletas should select the Las Caletas Two Tank Dive Tour, making sure to select the same days and times for both tours when reserving.

The other thing to mention is that this is a great scuba value, as the Las Caletas Day tour is normally $85.00 US and a two tank dive that includes Las Caletas is only $105.00 US. In essence, only $20 US more for a two tank dive and on top of all of that, if you reserve these tours online right now, you will save !

Posted in Scuba Vallarta Tours : activities adventure Dive Diving Dolphins excursions las caletas mexican food PADI PADI certified paella puerto vallarta Scuba scuba dive things to do in Puerto Vallarta tour tours vallarta adventures | leave a comment

Romantic Puerto Vallarta

When you peruse guidebooks about Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit, some of the adjectives used to describe the area and the people are beautiful, scenic, friendly, authentic and amazing …just to name a few. But one of the most used and most accurate descriptions is “romantic”.

Puerto Vallarta itself seems to have been built on romance. From the white washed Mediterranean architecture seemingly flowing down the mountains to meet the ocean to the sculpture lined boardwalk that parallels the ocean, the cerulean ocean and soft sandy beaches that beckon you to soak up the sun to the jasmine scented nights and clear star filed sky that beg you to dance beneath.

Yes, Vallarta is romantic. The music played by strolling trios, mariachi bands, even lone guitar players tugs at your heart, the sumptuous candlelit dinners implore you to share the decadent flavors from fork to tongue with someone you favor while the balmy nights with a slight chill in the whispering breezes entice you to move closer to your partner.
There are many amazing restaurants in the area that are perfect for couples and romantic dinners, from mountainside with amazing views of the city below to a linen draped table on the beach with a five star “toes-in-the-sand” menu. Inland or Oceanside, downtown or out of town, you have hundreds of choices but one of the best options for one of your nights is the Rhythms of the Night experience which features a wonderful catamaran ride down the magical southern coast of Vallarta to the exclusive cove and former home of John Huston. Las Caletas is one of those magical places that envelops all of your senses and opens the doors to imagination.

The sights of the performers lining the torch lit paths to the secluded dining areas, the tastes of the divine dinner selections, the sounds of nature and ancient rhythms, the feel of the tropical air caressing you and the smell of the night flowering blooms and ancient offerings being burned create a juxtapose of elements that set your emotions on fire.

Rhythms of the Night is a professionally choreographed show that combines acrobatics, modern dance with the ancient musical rhythms of the Pre-Hispanics in a natural amphitheater in the jungle.

There is nothing else like this in Puerto Vallarta, let alone anywhere else in Mexico, so if you are planning to visit Puerto Vallarta or Riviera Nayarit, this is one of those “must do” activities to add to your agenda, and if you are planning on proposing to the love of your life, there is no better place to get engaged. In fact, it is so perfect; you can even come back and get married here at Las Caletas.

Posted in Vallarta Tours Weddings : adventure Bahia de Banderas Bay of Banderas eco-friendly excursions las caletas mexican food Nuevo Vallarta puerto vallarta seafood things to do in Puerto Vallarta tour tours vallarta adventures | leave a comment

Hurricane Rick: Weather in Puerto Vallarta

We’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the status of the weather here in the Puerto Vallarta area in regards to Hurricane Rick. Incidentally, Rick lost his steam this morning and is now considered a Tropical Storm and is long past us and Northeast past Mazatlan. In fact, it is bright and sunny here in Puerto Vallarta right now with little humidity and I expect tomorrow should be equally fantastic.

Lucky for us in Puerto Vallarta, Hurricanes in the Pacific Ocean tend to not only skirt by us but evade us all together. It’s all about topography, baby, and we have some of the best topography on the planet!

Puerto Vallarta is situated pretty much smack dab in the middle of the coast of the Bay of Banderas and is surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains. These lush tropical mountains flow all the way down to the Pacific Ocean south of Puerto Vallarta in an area known as Cabo Corrientes. This topography is what helps to cool down and push incoming storms from the south (where they come from) and push them away from the entrance of the Bay and further out to sea, which is what happened to Rick. Luckily he fizzled when he took a sharp right after heading past us and will barely affect the Baja Peninsula.

Now that it is mid-October and the rainy season is almost over, this is a great time to get out and explore some of our fabulous topography. The Sierra Madre Mountains not only protect us, keep us cool and provide a bounty of flora and fauna; they also house some of our most magnificent tours.

Get off the beaten path and tourist scene and explore real Mexico on the Sierra Madre Expedition, or for those that love a multi-activity adventure, check out our the #1 rated Outdoor Adventure which comes an Apex Speed Boat ride, a 4X4 Unimog ride into the mountains, a mule ride up the mountain and then some of the fastest and longest zip lines in the area. Not to mention rappelling, including next to a waterfall and the fun trip back to town with your new best friends.

The perfect tour  for someone in the middle of the two is our Canopy Adventure Park, which is not just a zip line tour but a genuine eco-friendly canopy tour that combines zip lines, suspended walkways, the Crazy Ladder, Tarzan Swing with rappelling.

And while everyone dreams of cloudless sunny days for vacations, I have to say that a little of our warm tropical rain on any of these three tours actually enhances them!  The zip lines go faster, the waterfall is more bountiful, the temperature is cooler and nothing smells better than rain mixed with the tropical lushness of Puerto Vallarta.

Posted in Canopy Vallarta Tours : activities adventure Apex boat Bahia de Banderas Baja Bay of Banderas Cabo san Lucas Canopy eco-friendly eco-tour genuine canopy system Hurricane Rick mule trek Nuevo Vallarta puerto vallarta rappel rappelling things to do in Puerto Vallarta tour tours Unimog vallarta adventures Zip lines | leave a comment

Sierra Madre Expedition

I am lucky to live in Puerto Vallarta and fortunate to work for Vallarta Adventures but living and working in paradise is often the same as living and working anywhere else in the world. You get sucked into daily life and routine and often forget there is an amazing world right outside your own back yard.

Last weekend, I ditched work and played “tourist” and went on the Sierra Madre Expedition.  What a treat and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Puerto Vallarta especially anyone not familiar with the “Vallarta Outback.”

The Sierra Madre Expedition tour takes you far off the beaten path and into areas the typical visitor to Vallarta never experiences.  Or even in my case, to places that someone who lives here never manages to see, yet alone, explore.

On the tour, you’ll visit the smaller villages and farming areas, the gorgeous flora and fauna of the primary tropical forest and the Sierra Madre Mountains all the way down to a pristine breach on the Pacific Ocean.

To give you a clearer picture of what you will encounter; one of the stops is at a little farm far past the city limits. The farmhouse is simple, the kitchen is outside, there are chickens running around and there is not a television or modern convenience to be found. Yet, when you meet the family, they are smiling, laughing and joking, and while working hard to survive, they are proud and relaxed.

During the tour, we wander a bit around their land, learn about the different plants and fruit trees, try some fresh-cut papaya, plantains and guayabas from the tree and then we meet Doña Cuquis (sound like “Cookies”) who makes the most amazing handmade tortillas, beans, guacamole and salsa. We were invited to watch how she creates her prized tortillas and we were able to not only sample them hot off the comal but to make our own tacos. Two fabulous REAL tacos later, I was ready for a siesta in the hammock but we had many more adventures ahead and needed to get a move on.

I won’t go into any great detail of our next stops, which include a Nature Walk and a BBQ lunch on a pristine, beach because I want you to go and experience it for yourself.

I do have to tell you though, the nature walk, and specifically our guide, Salvador, was awesome. He is not only knowledgeable but engaging. And lunch… What can I say? Grilled carne asada, homemade tortillas, rolls, salads, fresh fruit and dessert really hit the spot, especially after a walk on the gorgeous beach and a dip in the ocean. Open bar is included at the beach, and water, soda and cold beer is available during the journey in the Unimog. I do want to point out that this is not one of those “big bus tours”, the groups are small, usually 10 people or so and it really is the best way to get out and discover the amazing areas beyond Puerto Vallarta.

The other thing to mention is after lunch at the beach, the tequila flows freely on the hour+ ride home, so while I do recommend this tour for families; keep in mind, some of your travel mates may get a little tipsy.  I personally skipped the tequila at the end of the tour as I was already drunk on the beauty of the area in which I am fortunate enough to call home.

Posted in Vallarta Tours : activities adventure Bahia de Banderas Bay of Banderas eco-friendly eco-tour excursions family tours hiking in puerto vallarta mexican food Nuevo Vallarta puerto vallarta things to do in Puerto Vallarta tour tours Unimog vallarta adventures | 1 comment

Sailing Charter in Puerto Vallarta

There are so many different things to do in Puerto Vallarta that it is nearly impossible to narrow them all down to just a few tours and activities without wiping yourself out or missing out on some of the coolest activities the area has to offer.

One of our top ten suggestions to achieve this healthy balance of activity and leisure while on holiday is for you to set sail on the beautiful Bay of Banderas.

Our luxury Beneteau sailboats are some of the finest and most award winning sailboats in the world and our crew is the best on the Bay. It doesn’t matter if you are a novice or an expert sailor; the choice is yours if you want to kick back and relax in complete comfort or if you want to take the helm and explore the bay.

Being on the beautiful blue waters of Banderas Bay can be as equally exhilarating as it is tranquil.

In the winter months, from mid-December to mid-March, the humpback whales are in the Bay of Banderas and being on a sailboat offers some of the best opportunities to see these gorgeous creatures without disrupting their natural well being. As well, there are year around opportunities to see sea turtles, manta rays, and of course the hundreds of dolphins that love to frolic in the bay.

Be sure to pack a swim suit. If the weather is permitting, we’ll make a stop off shore at a private cove for a little swimming and snorkeling or you can stay onboard and chill on the over-sized cushions under the tropical rays with a staff to serve you icy drinks, lunch and snacks.

If you want something just as entertaining but extravagantly romantic, be sure to consider our sunset sail.

Posted in Vallarta Sailing Vallarta Tours : Bahia de Banderas Bay of Banderas Beneteau sailbat bottlenose dolphins charter Dolphins eco-friendly excursions sail sailboat sailing suntan things to do in Puerto Vallarta tour tours vallarta adventures Whale Watching yacht | leave a comment

Cute Dolphin Photo

Yeah, I admit I am a sucker for dolphins but especially for dolphins AND cute kids.

Here’s one of my favorite photos taken at our Dolphin Center in Nuevo Vallarta with one of the cutest little girls in the world. No she is not mine so I am not even being biased!

If you have a great photo with one or more of your children taken at our Dolphin Center, send it in to me and I will feature it here.

Our Dolphin Kids program is an excellent choice for children ages 4-8.

Posted in Cabo Tours Dolphins Vallarta Tours : activities bottlenose dolphins delfines Dolphins excursions nado con delfines puerto vallarta swim with dolphins swim with the dolphins things to do in Puerto Vallarta tour tours vallarta adventures | leave a comment

Our Dolphins are Hams

Besides being adorable and mesmerizing, our dolphins also have a sense of humor and a great sense of style.

Great fun for the entire family plus a very informative experience, the Signature Dolphin Swim is one of those magical adventures that create memories to last a lifetime.

Posted in Dolphins : activities Bahia de Banderas Bay of Banderas bottlenose dolphins delfines Dolphins nado con delfines puerto vallarta swim with dolphins swim with the dolphins things to do in Puerto Vallarta tour tours vallarta adventures | leave a comment

Scuba Report

The scuba crew just came back in and reported the average water temperature today was 82 degrees F and the visibility was excellent at 35 to 40 feet.

If you are interested in diving in Puerto Vallarta, check out our diving packages from beginners to certified divers. As well, Vallarta Adventures is the only dive center in the area that is PADI Gold Palm/ 5 Star certified.

Posted in Scuba Vallarta Tours : Bahia de Banderas Bay of Banderas certified dives Dive Diving learn to dive open water dive PADI certified puerto vallarta Scuba tank dive things to do in Puerto Vallarta tour tours vallarta adventures | 1 comment