The Puerto Vallarta cruise terminal offers a convenient and scenic entry point to one of Mexico's most popular tourist destinations. Located close to the city's vibrant downtown area, the terminal provides easy access to Puerto Vallarta’s rich cultural offerings, beaches, and shopping districts. The terminal itself is modern, well-maintained, and efficiently managed. Disembarkation is usually smooth, with staff ensuring a swift process to help passengers start their day ashore.
The terminal is equipped with essential amenities, including clean restrooms, a variety of shops selling souvenirs, local crafts, and essentials for passengers, as well as a few cafes and snack stands. For those interested in local tours, there are plenty of kiosks offering shore excursions to nearby attractions like the Malecon, the old town, and more adventurous options like zip-lining or ATV tours in the Sierra Madre mountains.
One of the standout features of the terminal is its close proximity to the Marina Vallarta, a lively area filled with restaurants and shops where travelers can explore the local atmosphere without needing a long taxi ride. The terminal also offers easy access to transportation, with taxis readily available and shuttles to popular destinations.
While the terminal is generally well-organized, it can become crowded during peak cruise season, especially when multiple ships are docked at the same time. However, the efficient layout of the terminal, combined with helpful staff, ensures that the process is relatively smooth. Overall, the Puerto Vallarta cruise terminal is a gateway that efficiently connects passengers to the stunning attractions the city has to offer, providing a pleasant first impression...
Read moreGood port. If you walk just outside the metal fence around the ship, there will be tan colored vehicles. These are the federal taxies. This means they have a higher level license than the white and yellow taxies. These federal taxies will offer to take you on a tour if you would like. About $40-$60 usd per person. They will take you to a couple overlooks that are nea (free)t, they will take you to a small, co-op owned tequila tasting (free, but tips appreciated). You can taste a few great tequilas, and purchase it. They will then ask if you want to go zip lining, not sure the cost. Then they will take you to a beach area/bar restaurant. From here you can hire a water taxi, or go snorkeling. You can also just chill on the beach if you buy a few drinks. The bar/restaurant is expensive, and there is a constant barrage of people trying to sell you stuff. From here, the driver will take you to a flea market area, close to the dolphin on the malecon. Depending on how much time you spent at the beach, you will have 2-3 hours here. From here they will take you anywhere on your way back to the ship. We did it, it was far cheaper that any of the cruise tours. We felt safe.. my only complaints are that the drivers do get a kickback from you buying tequila, things at the restaurant, etc. Even with this, it was worth it. Enjoy! Take water. If you give them notice ahead of time, they can get you a 14 passenger...
Read moreThe Vacation Club presentation was a little to aggressive for my taste. When I say no I mean no, not go and get your supervisor so he can convince us of trying to change our mind. The food was average at best and the selection was not very good. To much sea food on the menus even in Italian restaurants where you can't even get spaghetti, Chicken Parmasun, Chicken Piccotta , and other Italian dishes but you can get sea food.
The language barrier was surprisingly average. This is where Americans come and some of the staff had difficulty speaking English.
The humidity was awful and it was so bad it took my wife's makeup off. It was hard to breath the first couple of days then it seemed to get better. Working out was painful as well with the...
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