We visited Puerto Vallarta in February 2024 to escape the Pacific Northwest winter rain for a few days and to do our in-person interview for the Global Entry travel program. We’re hoping for more international travel in our future — France is happening in April! — so we were excited to get that taken care of.
It was my first my trip to Mexico and I’m glad I went! The trip wasn’t as great as I thought it would be though. I was really looking forward to snorkeling because I loved it so much in Maui, but that was the worst part of our trip. There was almost literally nothing to see in the water — I think I saw the same three fish repeatedly. The water was colder than I thought it would be. There was a problem with the boat — the engine was smoking. We spent hours just sitting on the boat — including a horrible “show” where crew members dressed like a hair band and lip synched to AC/DC. The worst part was that my son got extremely seasick. I felt so bad for him and we were just stuck there for hours. That’s heartbreaking to a mother!
The best part of the worst snorkeling trip was amazing though — we saw humpback whales! And dolphins! And blue-footed boobys! It was cool to see the Marietas Islands. I loved looking at the birds and the rock formations.
We all enjoyed walking around the city and strolling along the Puerto Vallarta Malecón boardwalk. There were some really cool statues and I loved walking along the water. We stopped for chips, guacamole, and margaritas at one of the many cafes along the beach.
While we were walking along the Malećon, we stumbled upon an interesting ritual – the Papantla Flyers. It was so cool to see! I’ve included a couple of still photos below, but you can see my Reel on Instagram for the full effect.
Overall it was a good trip, but I wouldn’t recommend the Vallarta Adventures Islas Marietas Eco Discovery tour if you’re looking for great snorkeling or a relaxing trip. It seems like they catered more to people who want a loud music show versus a serene tour of the islands. Same with the resort that we stayed at — it was pretty loud at night and at the pool and employees were constantly trying to get us to sit through some kind of timeshare presentation in exchange for half-price all-inclusive amenities, which we didn’t want.
P.S. We saw an iguana. I wanted to see more, but I’m glad we ran into this guy!
I’m so glad that we had the experience of visiting Puerto Vallarta! I took plenty of inspiration back to inspire my art for years to come.
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