Do you ever feel like taking a mini vacation, far enough from home, but close enough to not suffer from jet lag? Look no further than Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I can go on and on about how affordable and authentic it is (versus Cancun/Cabo), but instead I’ll let you guys read my itinerary and then you can decide, or should I say plan, when you guys will explore Puerto Vallarta for yourselves.
Day 1
Upon landing in PV, we ubered to our Airbnb. (For those of you who don’t know, Uber is crazy cheap in MX). From the airport to our Airbnb, a 30 minute ride, cost us only $5 USD. We rented Casa Coco, a 4 bed/4 bath, comfy enough to make 7 travelers feel like royalty. Our Airbnb also came equipped with a chef, Carmen, who made 2 meals for us each day. Safe to say we liked Carmen’s cooking more than anything we ate (nothing beats home cooking). I’ll link the Airbnb here in case anyone is interested in checking it out themselves. Tell them Steph and Steve sent you. Casa Coco Airbnb
Since it was the first night and we had had a very early travel day, we decided to take it easy and enjoy the scenic views from our Airbnb. We finished the night by walking over to Pancho’s Takos and had our taste buds feening for more the rest of the trip. BEST el pastor tacos I’ve ever had in my entire existence. Take a look for yourself:
Day 2
Nothing beats waking up to ocean views from your bedroom and walking downstairs to a traditional Mexican breakfast waiting for you on the table. This is the moment Carmen left her mark on my heart.. or stomach. We enjoyed some delicious huevos rancheros and other typical mexican breakfast items. Since half of our group hadn’t arrived yet, we decided to meet a friend who lived in PV at a local restaurant beach club called Vista Grill. There we enjoyed some delicious ceviche and other seafoods along with tasty tequila drinks. A perk about this restaurant/beach club is that you can have a table on the beach, which you can utilize while you go for a swim. Later on, the rest of the gang arrived and we spent the day swimming in our own pool while sun bathing. We had dinner at Joe Jack’s Fish Shack and ended the night by exploring the Malecon area. We got bottle service at Mandala and Zoo, both highly recommend clubs with good music. (Reservations for bottle service are not required). We were walking down the Malecon and got invited inside the club with free drinks (for the ladies) and were escorted to our own private table.
Day 3
We woke up a little on the hungover side after a night out, (watch video above again) but managed to start our day by exploring Playa Animas. We rented a small boat through our Airbnb, which came out to be cheaper than doing an excursion through an outside tour agency. It was $60 per hour and there were a total of 7 people in our group. The boat took us through the famous Isla Roca Los Arcos and offered us snorkel equipment. (Although, we opted out of the snorkel due to all the jellyfish in the water). Once we got to Playa Animas, we rented a banana ride for 160 pesos for 10 minutes. That’s equivalent to $8-$9. If you aren’t familiar with the banana boat, here’s a picture below.
Warning: whoever sits in front controls whether or not you guys will eat it. Also, if you want to grow closer to your significant other, be sure to get stung by a jelly fish upon falling off the banana and have your significant other pee on you. Believe me, it was the only way to stop the stinging. You both will never be closer than at that moment.
We also enjoyed lunch on the beach, but had an even better lobster dinner waiting for us at Casa Coco. We ended this night by revisiting Panchos Takos. I bold their restaurant name because they’re just that important.
Day 4
Just when I thought waking up in paradise couldn’t get better.. we woke up to homemade chilaquiles for breakfast. Hearty breakfast for a long-filled day of exploring. We decided to venture out a bit and explore the cozy, but cute, town of Sayulita.
Sayulita is known for being a hippie/surf/more laid back type of town. We ubered there for about $30 USD and it only took an hour or so to get there. Side note: since there were 7 of us total, we took two ubers. (IMPORTANT: if you decide to Uber to Sayulita, know that you can’t Uber back because ubers are not allowed in this town). We relaxed by the beach at this restaurant called Coco’s Beach Club. FYI, The beach area was a lot more crowded than expected. Overall, we enjoyed walking around the cute little town and having some delicious ice cream at Wakika Heladeria. We took a taxi van back, which fit all 7 of us comfortably, and haggled it down to $1200 pesos, which is about $62 USD. At night, we had a reservation to La Palapa grill and ate right on Playa Los Muertos.
The sunset scenery was more breath taking than anything. Appetizers we’re good, but we all agreed that the main entree’s were a little over salted. The verdict is, we don’t recommend this overpriced restaurant, unless you’re coming to enjoy the sunset with drink and appetizers ONLY. We finished this night by making our way down to El Malecon, again, and this time we partied like celebrities in Mandala. Not only did we get bottle service, again, but we were famous because we were with an Asian group. Never have I ever seen so many Mexicans excited to be surrounded by an Asian group. People asked my group for pictures, bought us drinks, etc. Thank you South Korea for saving Mexico’s butt during the World Cup. I can still hear everyone in the club chanting:
“Koreanos, hermanos, ya somos Mexicanos!”
Day 5
Go home day. 💔 No one likes this day bc it means we have to go back to reality and leave our personal home chef behind. Also, no one likes this day after a night out of partying like rockstars. Safe to say, we passed out on our 2.5 hour flight back to LA.
Ultimately, if you’re looking for an authentic, affordable and amazing Mexican getaway, PV is the right place. We left with our hearts (and bellies) full.
Stew Travels 