We recently returned from a wonderful trip to Puerto Vallarta. It’s been about 20 years since either one of us last visited Mexico and we hope to not take so long to re-visit. Alaska Airlines has a direct flight from Seattle to PV. We did survive the airport taxi and timeshare sharks in the airport by pretty much walking quickly through and looking straight ahead and saying “No!” The hotel that we stayed in was called Velas Vallarta and we had a room on the 6th floor that looked down on lush gardens and pools. Great service, good food, nice rooms, beautiful swimming pools with great poolside service, and our hotel was within walking distance of the Marina for some great dining. We took two excursions during our stay – one on land, and one by sea. The land excursion was to Los Veranos Canopy Tour to enjoy 4 miles of ziplines (14 ziplines in total) through the forest canopy. The other excursion was taking a sailing trip to Las Marietas Islands National Park for birdwatching and snorkeling. We boarded the 54′ Cutter boat “Tinuviel” that took 14 passengers out to the islands. We had dolphins following our boat and when we arrived at the islands we even spotted a few rare Blue-footed Booby Birds. I can’t speak highly enough of the great service, the friendly captain and deckhands as well as the food and drinks that were included. We booked through Vallarta Discovery excursions and highly recommend them.

Sailing to Las Marietas Islands to snorkel and bird watch

View from our balcony at Velas Vallarta

The Malecon boardwalk in downtown Puerta Vallarta

Man balancing rocks on the beach at the Malecon

View of one of the three pools at our resort

Some of the guides resting after our zipline canopy tour.

Sand carvings along the beach at the Malecon

Bizarre sculptures along the Malecon boardwalk

Flea market in downtown Puerto Vallarta

Just a few of us posing

Waiting for breakfast at a cafe at the Marina