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Guest Help Directory
Telephone Medical Banking Internet Access Safety
Getting Around Tours Airlines Dining Out
:
(All numbers provided here
are local when staying downtown. To call
international dial 011-52-3 then the local
number) Emergency # 060 local
police tel. 221-2588 or 221-0759 Tourist
Protection tel. 01-800-90-39200 Intensive
Care Ambulance tel. 225-0386 Red Cross
tel. 222-1533 Safety
Puerto Vallarta enjoys a very low crime rate throughout
the city. Public transportation is perfectly safe to use,
and tourist police (dressed in white safari uniforms with
white hats) are available to answer questions, give
directions, and offer assistance. Puerto
Vallartas water supply: Puerto Vallarta is one of
the few cities in Mexico that has a water purification
system which is tested regularly and has been deemed safe
for human consumption. To be on the safe side use bottled
water for drinking. The water and ice used in most all
restaurants and bars is purified. The State Tourism Office, at Plaza Marina L 144, 2nd floor (tel.
221-2676, 221-2677, or 221-2678) also offers promotional
brochures, and can assist with specific questions about
Puerto Vallarta and other points within the state of
Jalisco, including Guadalajara, and the town of Tequila
etc. It's open Monday through Friday from 9am to 7pm and
Saturday from 9am to 1pm The Municipal Tourism Office, at Juárez and Independencia (tel.
223-2500, ask for the Tourism office), is in a corner of
the white Presidencia Municipal building (city hall) on
the north end of the main square. In addition to offering
a listing of current events and a collection of
promotional brochures for local activities and services,
they can also assist with specific questions--there's
always an English-speaking person on staff. This is also
the office of the tourist police. It's open Monday
through Friday from 8am to 8pm. Consumer
Assistance Tourists with
complaints about stores, taxis etc, or other matters
should contact Profeco- the consumer
protection office, this agency is committed to
maintaining the integrity of the business community in
Vallarta. Tel 225-0018 Open: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm American Express The local
office is located in town at Morelos 660, at the corner
of Abasolo (tel. 01-800-333-3211and in Mexico, or
223-2955). It's open Monday through Friday from 9am to
6pm Saturday from 9am to 1pm, and offers excellent,
efficient travel agency services in addition to money
exchange and travelers checks. The U.S. Consular Agency office (tel.
222-0069; fax 223-0074, 24 hours a day for emergencies) is open Monday through Friday from 10am to
2pm. The Canadian Consulate (tel.
222-5398 or 223-0858; emergencies 01-800-706-2900, 24
hours) is open Monday
through Friday from 9am to 5pm. Ameri-Med Urgent Care
Located at Plaza Neptune at the entrance of Marina
Vallarta(U.S.-standards health care service, available 24
hours) tel. 221-0023 or 221-0026, www.amerimed.com.mx MEDASIST
Hospital: Located at the
entrance to Mex 200 at the south end of town. Also offers 24hr
emergency services. Tel: 223-0444 CMQ
Hospital Located at 365
Basilio Bodillo. It has a 24hr
Pharmacy. Tel: 223-2423 Emergency 223-1919 Pharmacies: Late night Cmq Farmacia, 365 Basilio Badillio
Open 24hrs Tel: 222-1330 English
speaking dentist: DR. ANNA
0’CONNER 224-2636 English
speaking doctor: DR.
Carlos Munguia 222-5399 Post
office: Located at 188
Mina. Tel 222-1888 Open from Mon-Fri 9am to
8pm & Sat from 9am-1pm. Telephones: Mexico has only one telephone company
(Telmex). If you need to call the
USA or Canada and you have a calling card you can call
one of the toll-free numbers listed below. You will be connected
directly to a English speaking operator in the USA or
Canada for a small fee. Canada
Direct (Bell Canada) 01-800-123-0200 United
States (AT&T) 01 800 288 2878 If you don’t have
a calling card, it is cheaper to make long distance calls
after 8pm. Aero
Mexico (tel. 224-2777), Alaska Airlines (tel. 221-1350),
American (tel. 221-1799), American West (tel. 221-1025),
Delta Airlines (tel. 221-1734), Continental Airlines
(tel. 221-1213), Mexicana (tel. 224-8900) Internet Access Puerto
Vallarta is one of the better-connected destinations in
Mexico when it comes to internet access. Of the several
cybercafes around town, one of the most popular is Puerto
Net, Juárez 388, one block north of the main square
(tel. 222-0204), open Monday through Saturday from 9am to
11pm and Sunday from 3pm to 9pm. Dining Out favourite picks ] Argentinean, ]Pibes steak restaurant in
the Marina District, Italian, Dulce Vida downtown on
the Malecon. French, Café Des Artistes
downtown, excellent décor. International, ]Trio 2 minutes from the villas. Breakfast, La Palapa, Le Bistro
downtown, (]El
set, fantastic Bay view of Vallarta, my favorite, you
need to take a taxi approx 5 minutes. Oriental, Mikados in the Marriott hotel,
its like a Kobe steak house, lots of fun. Mexican,
]Famous Pipis. Very busy,
always a line up. Fish market, You
can find a wide and colorful variety of local fresh fish,
lobster, and shrimp. Look for the huge ]Tiger
Prawns the size of your hand for around 240 pesos per
kilo. Next to the fish
market are several food vendors, my recommendation is to
try the Seafood cocktail and] Shrimp Cerviche. International, Bogarts,
top of the line, elegant and pricey. Night Life Fun and upbeat The Zoo,
]Carlos o Bryans, Senor
Frogs, and Mariachi Loco and Tequilas. Clubs, ]Christines and Cactus ]You will find
most of these tours offered to you from little kiosks
while walking along the "Malecon" boardwalk by
the beach. I highly recommend that you listen to the
guides and try at least one. Organized
Tours BOAT TOURS--Puerto
Vallarta offers a number of different boat trips,
including sunset cruises and trips for snorkeling,
swimming, and diving. They generally travel one of two
routes: to the Marietas Islands, which are about a
30- to 45 minute boat ride off the northern shore of
Banderas Bay, or to Yelapa, Las Ánimas, or Quimixto
along the southern shore. The trips to the southern
beaches make a stop at Los Arcos, an island rock
formation south of Puerto Vallarta, for snorkeling. When
comparing all of these boat cruises, note that some
include lunch, while most provide music and an open bar
on board. Most leave around 9:30am, stop for 45 minutes
of snorkeling, and arrive at the beach destination around
noon for a 2½-hour stay before returning around 3pm. At
Quimixto and Yelapa, visitors can take a half-hour hike
to a jungle waterfall or rent a horse for the ride. One boat, the ]Marigalante, is an exact replica of
Columbus's ship the Santa Maria, built in honor of
the 500-year anniversary of his voyage to the Americas.
It features a daytime "pirate's cruise"
complete with picnic barbecue and treasure hunt, or a
sunset dinner cruises with folkloric dance and fireworks.
One of the best trips is
the new tour to Caletas, the cove where John
Houston made his home for years. Vallarta Adventures,
holds the exclusive lease on this private cove, and has
done an excellent job of restoring Houston's former home,
adding exceptional day-spa facilities, and landscaping
the beach, which is wonderful for snorkeling. The quality
facilities, combined with the relative privacy this
excursion offers, has made it one of the most popular.
They also offer an evening cruise, complete with dinner
and a spectacular contemporary dance show,] "Rhythms of the Night."
Whale Watching Tours
are becoming more popular each year, since viewing
humpback whales is almost a certainty from mid- to late
November through March. The majestic whales have migrated
to this bay for centuries (in the 1600s, it was called
"Humpback Bay") to reproduce and bear calves.
The noted local authorities are Open Air Expeditions,
Guerrero 339, who offer ecologically oriented tours (up
to eight people) in small boats. They also spearhead a
photo-ID project to track returning whales--each one has
unique markings on its fluke, or tail. Vallarta
Adventures offers whale watching on their tours to
the Marietas Islands. Lunch time at a private beach, and
a more festive than educational ambiance aboard the large
catamaran boats. LAND TOURS--Tukari
Tours can arrange bird-watching trips to the fertile
birding grounds near San Blas, 3 to 4 hours north
of Puerto Vallarta in the state of Nayarit; shopping
trips to Tlaquepaque and Tonalá (6 hr.
inland near Guadalajara); or a day-trip to Rancho
Altamira, a 50-acre, hilltop, working ranch for a
barbecue lunch and horseback riding, then a stroll
through El Tuito, a small nearby colonial-era
village. They can also arrange an unforgettable morning
at ]Terra Noble Art & Healing Center;
www.terranoble.com.mx), a mountaintop day spa and center
for the arts where participants can get a massage or
treatment, work in clay and paint, and have lunch in a
heavenly setting overlooking the bay. Hotel travel desks and
travel agencies, can also book the ever-popular Tropical
Tour or Jungle Tour, basically an orientation
to the area. These tours are really expanded city tours
that include a drive through the workers' village of
Pitillal, the posh neighborhood of Conchas Chinas, the
cathedral, the market, the Taylor-Burton houses, and
lunch at a jungle restaurant. The Sierra Madre
Expedition is another excellent tour offered by Vallarta
Adventures. This daily excursion travels in special
Mercedes all-terrain vehicles north of Puerto Vallarta
through jungle trails, stopping at a small town, into a
forest for a brief nature walk, and winding up on a beach
for lunch and swimming. The outing is worthwhile because
it takes tourists into scenery that would otherwise be
off-limits. AIR TOURS You can
explore some of the most remote and undiscovered reaches
of the Sierra Madre Mountains in Vallarta Adventure's
newest excursion, the ]]San
Sebastian Air Adventure. A 15-minute flight aboard a
14-seat turbo prop Cessna Caravan takes you into the
heart of the Sierra Madre. The plane is equipped with
raised wings, which allows you to admire the mountain
scenery below. The plane arrives on a gravel landing
strip in the old mining town of San Sebastian, a
beautiful, antiquated village dating back to 1605. One of
the oldest mining towns in Mexico, it reached its peak in
the 1700's when it prospered with over 30,000
inhabitants. Today, San Sebastian remains an outstanding
example of how people lived and worked in a remote
Mexican mountain town--it's a living museum. The half-day
adventure, and includes flight, a walking tour of the
town, and brunch at the old Hacienda Jalisco, a favored
getaway of John Houston, Liz and Dick and their friends. Hot-Air Balloon Tours,
Morelos 56 at Corona, offers two hot-air balloon trips a
day at 7am and at 5pm (weather permitting). The balloons
glide along the coast, over beaches, jungle, and
farmland; the trip ends with a round of champagne. TOURS IN TOWN Every
Wednesday and Thursday in high season (from late Nov
through Easter), the International Friendship Club
offers a Private Home Tour of four private villas
in town for a donation, with proceeds donated to local
charities. Tour arrangements begin at 10am at the Hotel
Molino de Agua (avenida Ignacio L. Vallarta no. 130,
adjacent to the southbound bridge over the Río Cuale)
where you can buy breakfast while you wait for the group
to gather--and arrive early, because this tour sells out
quickly! The tour departs at 11am and lasts approximately
2½ hours. An Artist's Studio Tour
starts from Galería Pacífico, Aldama 174, every Monday
from 10am to 3pm. Gary Thompson, owner/curator of
Galería Pacífico, gives an overview of the Puerto
Vallarta and Latin American art scene before guiding the
group to the working studios of between four and six
artists. You can also tour the ]Taylor/Burton villas (Casa Kimberley;
tel. 222-1336), located at 445 calle Zaragoza. Tours of
the two houses owned by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard
Burton just ring the bell between 10am and 6pm, and if
the manager is available, she will take you through the
house. A Stroll Through Town Puerto Vallartas
cobblestone streets are a fun to explore; they're full of
tiny shops, and views of red-tile roofs and the sea.
Start with a walk up and down the malecón, the seafront
boardwalk. Among the sights you
shouldn't miss is the municipal building, on the
main square (next to the tourism office), which has a
large Manuel Lepe mural inside in its stairwell. Nearby,
up Independencia, sits the Guadalupe Cathedral,
Hidalgo 370, topped with a crown supported in
place by angels--a replica of the one worn by Empress
Carlotta during her brief reign. On its steps, women sell
religious mementos and native herbs for curing common
ailments. Services in English are held Sunday at 10 am.
Regular parish hours are 7am until 9:30 or 10pm daily. Three blocks south of the
church, head east on Libertad, to the local flea
market by the river,be prepared to bater for the best
deal. After exploring the market, cross the bridge to the
island in the river; sometimes an artist is at work on
its banks. Walk down the center of the island toward the
sea and you'll come to the tiny Museo Río Cuale
which has a small but impressive permanent exhibit of
pre-Columbian figurines. It's open Monday through
Saturday from 10am to 4pm, and an English-language tour
is provided at 2pm. SPECIAL
NOTE : This is where the villas are located. Retrace your steps back to the market and
Libertad and follow calle Miramar to the brightly colored
steps up to Zaragoza. Midway is a magnificent view over
rooftops to the sea, plus a cute café, ]Graffiti Mention you are guests in our villas
and receive 10% off, where you can break for a
cappuccino and a snack. Up Zaragoza to the right one
block is the famous pink arched bridge that once
connected Richard Burton's and Elizabeth Taylor's houses.
This area, known as "Gringo Gulch," is
where many Americans have their villas. By Taxi: There
are over 1000 taxis and are relatively inexpensive. Rates are charged by zone. Taxis
can also be hired by the hour or day for longer trips,
when you'd prefer to leave the driving to someone else.
Discounts available for full-day rates. By Car: Rental cars are available at the airport and
through travel agencies, and kiosks. Budget rent a car
(tel. 222-2980), Avis (tel. 221-1112), National Rental
(tel. 222-2742), and Alamo (tel. 224-1071). By Bus: City buses run from the airport through the
Hotel Zone along Morelos street (1 block inland from the
malecón), across the Río Cuale, and inland on Vallarta
street, looping back through the downtown hotel and
restaurant districts on Insurgentes and several other
downtown streets. These buses, costing about 3 pesos,
will serve just about all your transportation needs
frequently and inexpensively. Buses run generally from
5:45am to 11pm, and it's rare to wait more than a few
minutes for one. Another bus route travels south every 10
to 15 minutes to either Mismaloya Beach or Boca de
Tomatlán (the destination will be indicated in the front
window) from Plaza Lázaro Cárdenas, a few blocks south
of the river at Cárdenas and Suárez. By Boat
The cruise ship pier (muelle),
also called Terminal Marítima, is where excursion
boats to ]Yelapa, Las
Ánimas, Quimixto, and the Marietas Islands depart. It's
north of town near the airport and an inexpensive taxi or
bus ride from town. Just take any bus marked IXTAPA and
tell the driver to let you off at the Terminal Marítima.
Water taxis
offering direct transportation to Yelapa, Las Ánimas,
and Quimixto leave at 10:30am and 11am from the pier at
Los Muertos Beach (only a short walk from our
villas, 8-10 minutes) on Rodolfo Rodríguez next
to the Hotel Marsol. Another water taxi departs at 11am
from the beachfront pier at the northern edge of the
malecón(only a short walk from our villas, 4
minutes). Return trips usually depart between 3
to 4pm, but confirm the pick up time with your water taxi
captain. (All
information, collected from past visits, internet, books,
& directories, we hope this will help!) *Disclaimer*
All medical information herein is considered to be for
reference purposes only. Copyright
1999-2005 all rights reserved. |
