Puerto Vallarta, Mexico — Wild Times
Puerto Vallarta is a short plane-flight from many U.S. cities and for a beach town offers a unique combination of charm and wildness. We
- Enjoyed a beautiful beach house at an affordable price
- Went dancing at a classy club along the beach front
- Bought very large fireworks, for a private showing
Puerto Vallarta lived up to all of my hopes for an amazing bachelor party, being the ideal combination of relaxation, nightlife, and adventure. The city and it’s surrounding area is known as the most naturally beautiful of the major Mexican beach towns.
My Zen experience
Was sitting on our house’s balcony at 1am, watching the roiling ocean pound away at the beach. A couple of times a minute a giant wave would surge against the seawall, shooting spray 30 feet up in the air, with the foam flashing in the house’s spotlights. Every so often a particularly powerful wave would splatter us onlookers. The power of nature was thrilling and it was a better show than the fireworks we’d set off earlier in the night. Best of all, I was enjoying the experience with some of my best friends in the world.
Mrs. Fields House
What made this trip amazing was finding the right lodging. Since there were 12 of us, we could afford a gorgeous 3-story mansion just outside of town, situated right above a private beach. Staying in a single house together was perfect: so many bonding opportunities pop up in the little moments together, at unexpected times. Best of all, the house came with a chef who cooked us hot breakfasts and dinners and daily maid service. Once you get to Mexico, you’ll find luxuries are much more affordable than in the U.S. The chef made our accommodations truly special.
The town
Town officials have renovated the beach front, so the promenade is a pretty nice place to walk around. We did that late at night, after going to the club. The old town looked pretty cute to walk around too. We didn’t spend any time down there on this trip, but when I read up on the area it sounded like an awesome neighborhood to explore. Lots of little cafés and artisans of various stripes selling their wares in shops and galleries.
Drinking and dancing
Downtown is famous for its party scene. We went out on the town one night and it did not disappoint. Skip Senior Frogs though and ask townspeople where they dance. We wound up at Sky Mandala. The nightclub felt classy with its crystal chandeliers, big drapes, and a open balcony overlooking the dark ocean. And it felt very local, with not many people speaking English. There were some female bachelorette parties there too, which added to the festive atmosphere. Oh, and they specialize in lighting drinks on fire :-)
Boating
My best man chartered us a boat for a 3 hour excursion with Vallarta Adventures. We motored down the coast and stopped to snorkel at a spot that had some lively fish and a cool cave to swim through. The crew was very professional and served us a delicious lunch of ceviche and tacos and cooked veggies. My favorite part was climbing on to the roof, to see who could make the biggest cannonball. Boys will be boys!
Fireworks & No Limits
It being Mexico, you can have almost any experience you’re willing to pay for. On the way from the airport, our taxi driver picked us up micheladas (a refreshing concoction of beer and bloody mary mix) and we were able to drink them in the car because there’s no open container policy. Prescription drugs are available without a prescription, if experimentation is your thing. This was not a bachelor party with strippers, but I’m sure that can be found very easily. We asked around for fireworks and a small crew showed up at our house with 3-foot tubes and fireworks the size of coconuts. No joke. It was pretty amazing.
Hiking and horseback riding
Puerto Vallarta is known as the Mexican beach town boasting the most beautiful scenery. It actually has dense vegetation and large trees, which cannot be said of Cancun. The weather threatened rain on the day we were planning to explore the area’s natural beauty, so we didn’t get on the horseback ride I had hoped for with Rancho Capomo. But I’ll definitely do that if I go back.
If you go
Be careful of your money. The town still feels a little wild, with some people looking to take advantage of visitors. One of friend had his debit card hacked, probably from a rigged ATM or deceitful bartender taking an extra swipe. And our taxi driver to the airport swindled us, saying the earlier group of friends hadn’t paid him for their ride. We couldn’t check with our friends, so we paid him, not wanting to be assholes. But — surprise, surprise! — we found out that he told the same thing to both groups of riders, so he got paid for four rides total rather than two. Clever little swindler.
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