Things to see and do in Puerto Vallarta

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Frank,

Does either LeKliff or Vista Grill sound familiar? Vista Grill is owned and operated by the owners of La Palapa (I inderstand La Palapa is another must do).

La Palapa has tables on the beach as well as a fancy restaurant inside. We enjoyed the food and the romantic location too. It is too far to walk from the Buganvilias.

http://www.lapalapapv.com/romantic-dinner/index.html

Another nice, restaurant is the El Arayan with traditional Mexican cuisine. You can walk this but it may be still warm at night. We walked to here but took the taxi back.

http://elarrayan.com.mx/home.php?sm=a

Both restaurants need reservations especially if you want to eat around sunset on the beach. There is such a choice of good restaurants in PV and also at the marina. Go and have a drink at the lighthouse (El faro) in the Marina too. You will have a spectacular view over the area.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Frank,

Does either LeKliff or Vista Grill sound familiar? Vista Grill is owned and operated by the owners of La Palapa (I inderstand La Palapa is another must do).

It could be, It has been over 2 and a half years and 25 vacations in between. I tend to lose track some times . I thought it might have had a Mexican name but I just can't place the name of it. This is one reason why reviews are so good. You can look back at what you wrote and did back then.

[itchyfeet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close itchyfeet]

A good resource is the English language newspaper Vallarta Tribune, www.vallartatribune.com Try to get one when you first arrive to see what's happening that week in PV.

[Family Man Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Family Man]

Thanks for the great links Emmy and itchyfeet!

[aleksir Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close aleksir]

Restaurant along the stream?

Does anyone remember the name of the small restaurant up in the hills right next to the stream? It's the lunch stop on the dune buggy tour and I want to dine there again in November.

Thanks

[pittle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pittle]

Chino's Paradise is along a stream up towards where they made the movie the Predator. It is only open during the day. We like going there and there is a Tequila place in the little village on your way there.

Chico's Paradise also has a stream - many of the taxi driver's take you there. I think they get better "spiff's" there. (Plus a free meal.) The food was good, but the service slow. Since we were on the clock for an hourly rate for a day tour, we did not like spending 1-1/2 hours for lunch that cost $40+.

Here is a link to LeKliff http://www.lekliff.com/eng/

There is also another restaurant way up the hill in town that is very good. We went there on our 1st visit to PV, but cannot remember the name. It was kind of a large house that had been converted to a restaruant.

[bev Member Find all posts View Profile Close bev]

Take the "City Tour" with the lunch stop and tequila fact.

The one we took was TD Tours...very nice Volvo buses, and friendly drivers. We were all the way up in Nuevo Vallarta, so we got a "tour" of other nice resorts on the way down to town. The time spent in the walking tour of the area near the cathedral, and the flea market 'freetime' were sufficient. They then took us to a fabulous jewelry store just across the St. from Maximillions Rest. on the edge of Los Muertos-- free margueritas for all. very very pricey stuff, but fun to Look!.. Off we went from there to Mislamoya.. stopping roadside to photo, the big "Rocks" . Finding ourselfs in a palapa type restaurant in the middle of a scenic riverbed with Rhode Island Red Chickens walking around was a shocker, but it was wonderful food, and very reasonable -I had 5 jumbo butterfly shrimp wrappen in bacon w. a bit of cheese in the cavity, done on the grill... stunning (all the free salsa and homemade 'chips' you could eat.. only $12. On way back there was a stop at the lovely La Jolla Mislamoya for more breathtaking pics.. then on to the tequila factory for a tour lasting just long enough to please. I belive whole thing (minus the lunch) was only $27-30 dollars.

[4dabirds Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 4dabirds]

Frank,

Does either LeKliff or Vista Grill sound familiar? Vista Grill is owned and operated by the owners of La Palapa (I inderstand La Palapa is another must do).

It could be, It has been over 2 and a half years and 25 vacations in between. I tend to lose track some times . I thought it might have had a Mexican name but I just can't place the name of it. This is one reason why reviews are so good. You can look back at what you wrote and did back then.

The name of the restaurant is Las Carmelitas... it is located high above the center of town and this time of year sometimes it can be a challenge to get up the steep hill to the restaurant due to the rains and the slick cobbles.

The view is excellent, the food is simple but prepared with care, and the owner is LOL funny (and treats each guest like family), and it is no where near the price one would pay at Le Kliff!!! So much better than artsy fartsy and overpriced - imho

Another great little place is the restaurant at the Lindo Mar on the far southside of town... Happy Hour eveyday 5-7pm 2x1 beers - we always order a salad and the mixed fajitas which is plenty for two to share. You sit practically on the water and the bill for the meal is about $15us + alcohol/regular drinks.

Kim

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

The one we took was TD Tours...very nice Volvo buses, and friendly drivers. We were all the way up in Nuevo Vallarta, so we got a "tour" of other nice resorts on the way down to town. The time spent in the walking tour of the area near the cathedral, and the flea market 'freetime' were sufficient. They then took us to a fabulous jewelry store just across the St. from Maximillions Rest. on the edge of Los Muertos-- free margueritas for all. very very pricey stuff, but fun to Look!.. Off we went from there to Mislamoya.. stopping roadside to photo, the big "Rocks" . Finding ourselfs in a palapa type restaurant in the middle of a scenic riverbed with Rhode Island Red Chickens walking around was a shocker, but it was wonderful food, and very reasonable -I had 5 jumbo butterfly shrimp wrappen in bacon w. a bit of cheese in the cavity, done on the grill... stunning (all the free salsa and homemade 'chips' you could eat.. only $12. On way back there was a stop at the lovely La Jolla Mislamoya for more breathtaking pics.. then on to the tequila factory for a tour lasting just long enough to please. I belive whole thing (minus the lunch) was only $27-30 dollars.

Yes, we also took a similar or the same tour and the tequila factory was a very nice stop. It was interesting to see how an old factory worked in the past. They still sell the very pure Tequila and in different flavors too.

There are so many good tours to take in this area. I have some very interesting pictures of this little place and also of an Iguana around my neck. You will stop somewhere at a very nice viewpoint where a person can have a picture taken with it. Before I knew it, I had one around my neck and it was pretty big.

The city tour is very interesting because they tell you a lot about the local people and how they benefit of the tourist trade and how people live in general. They are much better off than most people living away from here but people in little towns are more self sufficient and grow their own crops and use the bartering system, etc. The moment you leave Puerto Vallarta, you end up on dirt roads and you cannot drink the water as a tourist because you will get sick.

We took another tour and drove through a big river otherwise you couldn't get there. Very interesting tour too. This trip gave us a lot of Tequila to drink on our way home. It was a fun day but we also stopped at someone's private property where they made their own corn tortillas and grow most ingredients for the tortilla in their own garden. What they served us there was the best Mexican food we ever tasted. It was all so fresh and delicious. I can highly recommend this tour too. I need to find these pictures too.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Hello. DW and I are going to Puerto Vallarta in a few weeks and will stay at the Buganvilias.

I just now read the whole thread again from the beginning and Family Man must have already come back from Puerto Vallarta.

How was your trip and how was the Buganvilias? Did you enjoy your vacation?