Mexico - Winter 23/24 : 2024-02-07 : Travel Querétaro to Puerto Vallarta
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| Type | Name | Description | Service Provider | Cost | Notes | Actions |
| General Info | Vallarta Botanical Gardens | Up the road from Boca. Rome2Rio says 40 min bus ride from PV. Same bus as the one that goes to El Tuito. | $0.00 |
The Sierra Madre mountain range has a generous diversity and tropical forests that make Puerto Vallarta an enchanting place way beyond its beaches.
The Vallarta Botanical Gardens welcomes you with a perfectly traced plan for you to explore its different sections: the Cactus Garden, with species of various forms and sizes; the Tropical Fruit Orchard with an amazing collection of oaks, wild palms and agave plants; and the Conservatory of Orchids and Native Plants, with almost 300 species native to Mexico – out of the 1000 found in the country. When you finish visiting the greenhouses and gardens, you can walk deeper into the forest, cross the hanging bridge and admire the magnificent trees that inhabit the area. |
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| General Info | El Salado Estuary | This estuary is a national protected area that has flourished as one of the main ecotourism attractions in Puerto Vallarta thanks to the dedicated work of biologists and caretakers of the place.
Marked as temporarily closed |
$0.00 |
El Salado Estuary is the only urban estuary in Latin America, covering 168 acres with mangroves and marshland, offering the amazing adventure of meeting the American crocodile and learning more about its habits and cares.
It is of great importance to the climatic balance of the zone because the mangroves that grow here serve as a shield from the intense waves of the ocean during hurricane season. It´s also a vital part of the area’s ecosystem because it produces and regulates food for almost every species that inhabits the bay Its fascinating fauna is comprised of 29 types of amphibians and reptiles, such as the American crocodile and the black iguana, crustaceans like the fiddler, stone, and mouthless crabs, as well as 10 kinds of mammals, like adorable raccoons and opossums. The guided tours will take you on a boat across the canals filled with flora and fauna, and the opportunity of walking on a dock surrounded by different types of mangroves. |
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| General Info | Palo Maria Waterfall | Formed by the Palo María River, this waterfall is a must stop during your visit to Puerto Vallarta.
Up the road from Playa Palmares |
$0.00 | To get there, you have to walk approximately 15 minutes following the river through the jungle. The effort gets paid off once you encounter its crystal-clear waterfall and the various pools formed at its feet where you can dip and refresh after your hike. | ||
| General Info | Town of San Sebastian | Rome2Rio says 1h 43min via bus and taxi to get there. Up same road (mostly) as Mascota and Talpa de Allende. Bus stops at La Estancia, which is 9.3km from San Sebastian.
Autotransportes Guadalajara Talpa Mascota (ATM). |
$0.00 |
San Sebastian is a hidden gem located an hour and ten minutes from Puerto Vallarta, at the foot of the Sierra Madre mountain range.
You can easily tell you are leaving the beach as soon as you notice how the temperature drops. This beautiful and traditional place is a Magical Town filled with history and enchantment. You’ll feel as if you’re traveling back in time. Walking around its colorful streets surrounded by nature is a great way to start your day. Then, sit at one of the cafés in the main plaza and enjoy local delights. Be sure to try raicilla, a distilled spirit locally produced in almost every town in the mountains. But if you’re in for a bit more adventure, go horseback riding, take a coffee tour, or rent an ATV and visit El Cerro de La Bufa, a hill on the outskirts of town where you can enjoy a majestic view of the mountains. Also, Haravéri Botanical Garden, the second national garden that protects cloud forest, is a must-see in San Sebastian. |
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| General Info | Town of El Tuito | Rome2Rio says 70 min bus ride from PV. Same bus as the one that goes to the Botanical Gardens. | $0.00 |
El Tuito, is an authentic colonial village embraced by the Sierra Madre mountain range, just 45 minutes south of Puerto Vallarta.
El Tuito's name derives from the nahuatl language meaning “beautiful small valley”. Due to it being 2,500 feet (762m) above sea level, the temperature is cooler and less humid than in Puerto Vallarta. Walk along its cobblestone streets and make sure to take lots of pictures outside its old adobe buildings full of historic charm. Afterwards, visit the main square, where the locals gather to sit, relax, and talk. If you want to savor authentic Mexican food, El Tuito has restaurants with great Mexican food with fresh corn handmade tortillas. The town is also known for its delicious dairy products, such as Panela cheese, and the famous raicilla. |
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| General Info | Town of Mascota | Rome2Rio says 2h 17 min bus ride from PV. Up same road as San Sebastian and Talpa de Allende
Autotransportes Guadalajara Talpa Mascota (ATM). |
$0.00 |
Mascota is another magical place where you will travel back in time. Its name means place of deer and snakes.
Mascota is located north of Puerto Vallarta, an hour and a half away. It is a beautiful, picturesque town with a couple of interesting museums, a church by its main square, shops with local delights and delicious restaurants. Make sure to try their sweets and biscuits made with regional fruits. Mascota has plenty of places to visit nearby, such as the Corrinchis Dam, the Juanacatlan Lagoon, the village of Yerbabuena, El Molcajete Volcano, El Maipais petrified fields, and El Rincon de Ixcatan waterfall. You can start early and visit some of them on the same day, or plan a day for hiking, fishing, mountain biking, or horseback riding, and enjoy the stunning natural sceneries. |
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| General Info | Town of Talpa de Allende | Rome2Rio says 2h 35min bus from PV. Up same road as San Sebastian and Mascota, but I'm not sure if the bus stops in those places? Probably it does?
Autotransportes Guadalajara Talpa Mascota (ATM). |
$0.00 |
Talpa was founded in 1599 at 4000 feet (1200m) above sea level, embraced by the majestic mountains of the Sierra Madre. The town revolves around its church, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, a large 18th-Century European-style basilica. Every year, on four different festivities, this church receives hundreds of thousands of pilgrims that visit Talpa’s tiny Virgin statue, also known as “La Chaparrita”, which they believe has healing powers.
Wandering through the streets of Talpa is the best way to enjoy the town and its quiet, picturesque streets. Make sure to visit the local market to savor authentic Mexican dishes. The statue of Christ the King at the top of the hill is worth visiting to enjoy a gorgeous view of the valley and the town. And if you’re into serious hiking, the Maple Forest on the outskirts of Talpa is a must. |
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| General Info | Hikes around Puerto Vallarta | AllTrails has 84 hiking trails in the Puerto Vallarta area
Tracks in Maps.Me |
$0.00 |
Some promising options:
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| General Info | Jorullo Bridge | Can only access via the tour company, Canopy River. Looks like the Day Pass is the right solution?
Emailed Canopy River on July 28. |
$0.00 |
Jorullo Bridge is actually the longest suspension bridge in the world for vehicles, as mentioned, quite close to Puerto Vallarta in the Sierra Madre Occidental over the Cuale River, the same one that further downstream goes through the middle of the city. This large hanging structure was built in the course of 18 months in the Ejido El Jorullo, they started it off in November 2015. It’s 1550 ft long (470 meters) and hangs almost 500 ft (150 meters) above the Cuale River. When you cross, you are treated to some very spectacular panoramic views of the mountains, the valley below, and the river.
Reddit says:
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| General Info | Restaurants | $0.00 | Make sure you try local specialties such as red snapper marinated in peppers (Huachinango Zarandeado), skewered meat with hot sauce and lime (Mahi-mahi), and raw fish cured with lime juice (Ceviche). If you want a cheaper meal, Pancho's Takos and Pepe's Tacos are excellent choices. You will also find that Puerto Vallarta has some excellent steakhouses such as Asador La Vaca Argentina. A meal will typically cost Mex$160 to Mex$240 and eating at an upscale restaurant should cost Mex$700. | |||
| General Info | La Tovara | Rome2Rio says 3h 9min bus and taxi to get there | $0.00 |
93 miles from Puerto Vallarta is La Tovara, an extensive spring where fresh water from the mountains mixes with the salt water of the sea, forming an incredible estuary that serves as home to thousands of species of flora and fauna.
Turtles sunning themselves on logs, crocodiles masquerading as logs, water-loving birds, and exotic orchids make the maze of green-brown canals that is La Tovara—an out-of-town must for nature lovers. Launches putter along these waterways from El Conchal Bridge, at the outskirts of San Blas, about a three-hour drive from Marina Vallarta, or from the nearby village of Matanchén. After cruising along for about 45 minutes—during which you'll have taken way too many photos of the mangrove roots that protrude from the water and the turtles—you arrive at the spring-fed freshwater pools for which the area is named. You can hang out at the restaurant overlooking the pool or play Tarzan and Jane on the rope swing. Most folks take the optional trip to a crocodile farm on the way back, stretching a two-hour tour into three hours. |
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| General Info | Choco Museo | ChocoMuseo is a museum where visitors not only learn all about the history and nature of chocolate but also find out how to work with it and create different cocoa-based products and dishes. | $0.00 |
Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez 128
Closed Sunday |
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| Travel | |||||||
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| Type | Name | Service Provider | Origin | Destination | Cost | Notes | Actions |
| Bus | Shuttle to Airport | Casa Antares Hotel, Viborillas | Queretaro Airport | $0.00 |
Confirm airport shuttle at hotel
Hotel says: We are pleased to let you know that the accommodation has confirmed they will be able to arrange this for you. There will be no extra charge for this request. |
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| Bus | Bus to AirBnB | Puerto Vallarta Airport | AirBnB on Manuel M. Dieguez | $0.00 |
Catch at Paseo De La Marina Y Calle Popa (in Maps.Me)
Disembark at Aquiles Serdan Y Calle Insurgentes |
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| Flight | Querétaro (QRO) to Puerto Vallarta (PVR) | Viva Aerobus | Querétaro | Puerto Vallarta | $437.81 |
CONF: WYLJ5M
VB-4201 QRO-MTY(Term C) 6:00-7:25 VB-4342 MTY (Term C)-PVR 11:25-13:05 Checked bag incl Airport fee and govt fees incl Bought traveler insurance: Your trip is protected. Travel with peace of mind and if you require any assistance, contact the IGS call center at +52 (55) 8881 8814. |
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| Vehicle | To PV AirBnB | Taxi | PV airport | AirBnB in Zona Romantica | $36.00 | ||
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| Type | Name | Description | Service Provider | Cost | Kms | To Date | Total | Notes | Actions |
| Other | Snorkeling around PV | Best snorkeling:
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$0.00 |
Advice from Backpacking Brunette
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| Accommodation | |||||||
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| Type | Name | Service Provider | Confirmation | Location | Cost | Notes | Actions |
| Bed and Breakfast | Cabana Nico | AirBnB | Puerto Vallarta | $588.51 |
Paid $294.26 2023/01/29. Balance due Jan 25
Free cancellation before Feb. 2. Check-in: 15:00, out:12:00 No laundry or luggage drop Nice rooftop terrace apartment in a good location. This apartment is on the fourth floor, which means stairs, but it also means you are up high and get fresh air. You can open windows and doors on all sides, so you feel like you are sleeping outside. It is beautiful. The place looks like the photos - rustic cabana feel, which I loved. The bed is comfy, so is the sofa outside. It feels private because there is no one high enough to see in your windows. |
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Trip Log
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One of my anxiety triggers when traveling is depending on a pre-scheduled taxi to get us to the airport. I’ve just been burned by them too many times. Not in Mexico, mind you, but enough in Calgary and Edmonton o make me… untrusting. Thankfully we have a few folks in Edmonton who are happy to drive us, but that doesn’t help us when we’re flying internally in Mexico.
Our flight to Puerto Vallarta was supposed to leave at 8am, meaning arrival at the airport at 6am. Querétaro city is quite a ways away from the airport and Tequisquiapan is even further. I did not want to take a chance on finding a taxi early early in the morning in either place. I found a motel (Casa Antares) in San José Navajas, a tiny village outside of Querétaro that offers airport shuttle service. I contacted them to confirm their shuttle. I was happy with the response I received so I went ahead and booked it. Our favorite tour guide (and friend), Uriel, said oh no! Don’t stay in San José Navajas! It’s awful! It’s dangerous! I assured him that we would not venture from the motel and would be taking the shuttle to the airport. Welp, it turned out great! We got a taxi from Tequisquiapan to the motel for only $400MEX (about $32CAD). The motel is secure, clean and very appealing, with an outdoor patio and coi pond. The proprietor was friendly and helpful and he was ready to take us to the airport by 3:50. Oh yeah… I forgot to mention… Viva Aerobus changed our flight to 6am. The proprietor of Casa Antares just rolled with it no problem. What a great, stress-free experience! |
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We didn’t get much sleep last night and then had an annoyingly long layover in Monterrey. Other than that it’s been a smooth transition to Puerto Vallarta.
Our AirBnB, as promised, is a rustic open-air cabin-style place. It also comes with a cat who thinks she owns the place. The host says she belongs to the neighbor. She’s adorable. We’ve named her Mr. Underfoot. The only problem with our place being as open as it is is that we have no way of keeping Mr. Underfoot out, and off the bed. I’m hoping that she isn’t going to trigger an asthma attack for me. That could be a bit of a downer… |
Photos
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Early morning at the airport
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It was chilly. A jetway would have been nice
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Sunrise over the wing
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Over Monterrey
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Over Monterrey
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Our outdoor kitchen
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Our terrace
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Our wash sink
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Our outdoor kitchen
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Rhonda and Mr. Underfoot
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Mr. Underfoot