Puerto Vallarta Summer Survival Tips

I hope this finds you sitting near a breezy fan with a cold drink in your hand. We're getting to that really hot and sweaty time here in Puerto Vallarta, so here are some summertime hints to help you get through the sticky times...Be sure to keep some Electrolit on hand with some mineral water. I like to fill a huge glass with ice, fill it half with the Electrolit and half with mineral water. Be sure to drink the whole bottle within 24 hours.If you are on any medications for heart or blood pressure be sure to check with your doctor as both of these liquids have quite a bit of potassium and you might have to limit your daily intake.Why do I recommend Electrolit over Pedialyte? Because you'll get 125ml more, the taste is the same and it costs less. It's available at Sam's for the best price.This will save your butt believe me. When we sweat we release a lot of potassium and other minerals. Water doesn't replenish it and neither does anything like Gatorade, which has artificial sweeteners in it which are drying to the body, and not enough of the re-hydrating qualities that you need. In fact, all artificially sweetened drinks will dry you out, so try switching to more water and be sure to keep several bottles of Electrolit on hand. When you start to feel the effects of heat exhaustion get to drinking a bottle right away.This is especially true if you are spending your first summer here.

By all means never leave home without a bathing suit too. You never know when you'll get the opportunity to jump in. I like to get certain pieces of my clothing wet and wear it that way through out my day. It's very refreshing and you can't tell it's wet. Try it. I know you're probably giggling right now and saying to yourself, "yeah, right."

I put this little hint out last year and I was thrilled to have some people write back saying they thought I was outta my tree, but they tried it and by golly it worked! Believe me, during the summer in Vallarta you can get heat exhaustion just by walking in the sun for five minutes. It's happened to me. So stick to the shady side of the street when your walking.I have one more helpful hint for you.

As we all know, we have no choice when living in Mexico but to put up with ants. And of course the pesky little devils are the source of our constant frustration - mostly in the kitchen. I don't know about you, but when I'm cooking or doing anything in the kitchen the last thing I want to use is bug spray. YUCK! Clear the room!!! Well, not anymore. Just whip out your Windex and spray away! They die instantly and you can keep on goin'. Now mind you, there's no protection once you've disposed of the cuerpos, but it's so quick, easy and non-offensive.

Want to stay cool in Puerto Vallarta for the summer? rent one of our Luxury ocean front villas: El Nido or Palmasola.

More information on our Luxury Villa rentals at www.mexicandestinations.com

Extreme Kiting in Puerto Vallarta

Kite surfing or kite boarding is a sport that involves navigation and consists of breaking through the waves on a board similar to a surfboard. The difference is that it is shorter and it's anchored to the feet. It is pulled by a traction kite attached to a person with a harness containing four or five ropes, two attached to the ends of the bar, which serves as a type of steering device and two or three more attached to the center of the bar.

One starts out on the sand while maintaining the kite in flight; the most important thing is to learn how to use air currents to your advantage to take you wherever you want.

This sport has become very popular recently because of improved equipment and technique, allowing kite-surfers to leap up to 13 meters and perform acrobatics on the water. The origins of this sport go back to China and Indonesia, where they used kites to move canoes through the ocean. However, it wasn't until 1977 that Gijsbertus Adrianus Panhuise patented a system of navigation on a surfboard by adding a parachute, becoming the father of this sport.

Here in our Banderas Bay, Airfish Kite School is headed by Vicente Cárdenas, who you can usually find on the beaches of Bucerías and its environs. Beginning this sport involves a nine-hour course, divided into three three-hour sessions with three hours of practice on the sand, three hours in the water without a board to learn how to coordinate the movement of the water and the kite, and three hours practicing with full gear.

Find out more about activities in Banderas Bay with Mexican Destinations

Golfing in Puerto Vallarta

Feel like golfing while staying in one of Mexican Destinations' luxury villa? Here is all the information you need about golf courses around Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta is an increasingly popular golf destination; five courses have opened in the past 4 years, bringing the total in the region to nine. The Joe Finger-designed private course at the Marina Vallarta Golf Club (tel. 322/221-0073) is an 18-hole, par-74 course that winds through the Marina Vallarta peninsula and affords ocean views. It's for members only, but most luxury hotels in Puerto Vallarta have memberships for their guests. Greens fees are $136 in high season, $115 in low season. Fees include golf cart, range balls, and tax. Hiring a caddy costs $8 to $10. Club rentals, lessons, and special packages are available.

North of town in the state of Nayarit, about 16km (10 miles) beyond Puerto Vallarta, is the 18-hole, par-72 Los Flamingos Club de Golf. It features beautiful jungle vegetation and has just undergone a renovation and upgrade of the course. It's open from 7am to 5pm daily, with a snack bar (but no restaurant) and full pro shop. The greens fee is $95 and includes the use of a golf cart; hiring a caddy costs $12 plus tip, and club rental is $27 to $44. A free shuttle runs from downtown Puerto Vallarta; call for pickup times and locations.

The breathtaking Jack Nicklaus Signature course at the Four Seasons Punta Mita has eight oceanfront holes and an ocean view from every hole. Its hallmark is the optional Hole 3B, the "Tail of the Whale," with a long drive to a green on a natural island -- the only natural-island green in the Americas. It requires an amphibious cart to take you over when the tide is high, and there's an alternate hole for when the ocean or tides are not accommodating. It's open only to guests of the Four Seasons resort or to members of other golf clubs with a letter of introduction from their pro. Selected other area hotels also have guest privileges -- ask your concierge. Greens fees for nonguests are $260, including cart, with (Calloway) club rentals for $60. Lessons are also available.

A second Jack Nicklaus course is at the Vista Vallarta Golf Club (tel. 322/290-0030), along with one designed by Tom Weiskopf. These courses were the site of the 2002 PGA World Cup Golf Championships. It's in the foothills of the Sierra Madre, behind the bullring in Puerto Vallarta. A round costs $167 per person, including cart.

The Robert von Hagge-designed El Tigre course at Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta, opened in March 2002. The 7,239-yard course is on a relatively flat piece of land, but the design incorporates challenging bunkers, undulating fairways, and water features on several holes. El Tigre also offers lessons and has an expansive clubhouse. This seems to be the favored course of local pros. Greens fees are $185 a round, or $85 if you play after 2pm.

Start organizing your golf vacation in Puerto Vallarta with Mexican Destinations.

Puerto Vallarta in the Los Angeles Times

Puerto Vallarta was reviewed last week in the Los Angeles Times travel section. Here are a few extracts.

Puerto Vallarta: Spectacularly wide Banderas Bay offers 42km (26 miles) of beaches. Some, like Playa Los Muertos -- the popular public beach in town -- abound with palapa restaurants, beach volleyball, and parasailing. The beaches of Punta Mita, the exclusive development north of Vallarta, are of the white-sand variety, with crystalline waters and coral reefs just offshore. Others around the bay nestle in coves, accessible only by boat. Puerto Vallarta is the only place where authentic colonial ambience mixes with true resort amenities.

"Gourmet Festival": This festival of fine dining held in Puerto Vallarta brings together some of the world's finest chefs creating magical menus in the town's top restaurants. Added attractions include a gourmet food expo, cooking classes, tequila and wine tastings, and an array of special events and parties. Dates vary, but the festival generally takes place for 10 days in mid-November.

Start organizing your beach vacation in Purto Vallarta at Mexican Destinations.

Destination Weddings in Puerto Vallarta

Imagine getting married in the balmy breeze at sunset on the Mexican Pacific. The invited guests are hand chosen, numbers are limited and everyone looks bronzed and happy. In fact, you are the entire focus of the weeklong event. Can you picture a more romantic way to get married? In recent years, destination weddings have moved to the forefront from what was previously a fledgling industry existing only for those with connections. What makes a destination wedding different from just getting married in some exotic locale? Invited guests invariably say, as Christine recently enthused, “This is the best experience I’ve ever had. I wish I had known about it when my husband and I got married. It’s unique and something that can only happen when the entire trip is focused on the wedding. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.” Superlatives aside, a destination wedding is created within the framework of the destination. In our case, Puerto Vallarta offers specific elements that factor into its appeal in a major way. Numerous activities are available for the entire family or wedding party. Start organizing your wedding by finding the perfect location in one of Mexican Destinations' Luxury Villas

Puerto Vallarta's not just for tourists, it's for artists too

A five-day festival hopes to enrich a contemporary art scene in the Mexican resort city.

By Reed Johnson
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 04, 2008

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico -- Strollers passing along the river that flows through downtown here were startled last week to encounter a pair of "Towel Swans" gliding atop the murky water. Crafted out of plastic foam by Chilean artist Cristián Silva, they resembled the decorative birds sculpted by chambermaids to be left on tourists' hotel beds, in hopes of earning a few extra pesos in tip money.

The "swans" briefly drifted on Saturday afternoon but were retrieved after a few urgent cellphone calls. As to how those stealthy avians got there in the first place, the answer was simple: Provocateurs were in town.

It's been 4 1/2 decades since director John Huston and company came here to shoot “The Night of the Iguana” and placed this former fishing village on the map. But Puerto Vallarta still conjures up Hollywood-style tropical fantasies that lure cruise ships and charter-jet tourists by the tens of thousands every year.

Read more here

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