Rhythms of the Night — Attraction in Jalisco

I cannot recommend that travelers book tickets for Rhythm of the Night.

We booked Rhythm of the Night with this company. On the day of the event threatening clouds gave concern that the event would be rained out. Other group participants called the tour company and were told that the event would be staged rain or shine.

We arrived at the performance site it had been raining steadily throughout the trip. We were ushered to a dining area where we were provided with a Buffet meal and that was part of our purchase price. I never knew that macaroni in red sauce was a native dish to Mexico. The meal was ok at best. The servers took drink orders but there was no access to a bar and given time constraints there was a little time to order any more than two drinks. The advertisement of an open bar did not exist, except for the drinks offered on the boat, which amounted to jugs of (watered down) margaritas, rum punch, and beer.

After the meal participants were directed to an open air amphitheater for the show. Shortly after the start of the show rain began falling. The intensity of the rain increased. Some participants had been provided with a heavy poncho to put on. Other participants were provided with umbrellas. The heavy poncho was stifling hot in the high humidity and rainfall.

Approximately 20 minutes into the performance all of the actors left the stage and all of the stage lights went dark. An announcement was made over the public address system that the performance would resume shortly. The rain continued to fall.

After a number of minutes a new announcement was made that because of technical problems and for the safety of the performers the remaining portions of the show could not be performed. Participants were told to leave the open air arena by their boat number. People on our boat, were told to remain in their seats, in the rain, until other boats had boarded. A few minutes later a new announcement was made that passengers on our boat should proceed to a restaurant area to wait for the other boats to embark.

Once on board the boat to go back to Puerto Vallarta the company representative quickly outlined remediation options, these options included booking a new tour call, booking a different tour, or receiving a voucher for a future tour. The company representative made derogatory comments when passengers on the boat expressed the need for a refund. The crew immediately began serving alcohol and playing lively music to placate the customers on their way back to Puerto Vallarta.

By the next morning I received an email outlining the same options as presented on the boat, but including an offer of a 30% refund. That amounts to $87 of a $289 purchase. Networking with others from the "three hour tour" I found that people who booked through an agent did not receive the refund offer, only people who booked through the website. As people called the company it was quickly evident that the left hand and the right hand did not have consistent information. I asked for a 50% refund and was denied.

The frequently asked questions section on their website states that “What happens if it rains? Rhythms of the Night is designed to continue rain or shine. Raincoats or umbrellas will be provided by Vallarta Adventures when needed.”

On this night, August 24, 2022 the performance was halted because of weather and technical problems experienced by the production company. The show did not go on, rain or shine, but was canceled by the company, less than half way into the show.

In this transaction, the vendor Vallarta Adventures, did not provide the service advertised and for which payment was made. I was ok accepting a 50% refund, but the denial led me to call my credit card company and dispute the charge, as the promised services were not provided. Vallarta Adventures broke their contract with me, and left a bad taste in the mouths of many people along the way. It was a low point of our trip to Puerto Vallarta.

I cannot recommend that travelers book this show with...

Beware! Be cautious of scams, theft, overcharges, and poor customer service from Vallarta Adventures! We are a group of 8 locals who recently booked online the “VIP Rhythms of the Night” package and were victimized by this company. The online description clearly states “The price includes Access Fee ($20 USD)” (Sidenote: “What is this Access Fee?” – Fee to breathe the air? As you have to pay a separate $32 MNN Port Fee to “Access” the Port and we were told it wasn’t for that.) Despite paying for priority boarding, there is no separate line and after waiting for about 30 persons to “register” upon arrival, we got to the “registration” desk whereupon the counter employee demanded we pay $20 USD Access Fee each of us ($160 USD or $2,800 for the 8 of us). We explained our tickets included this fee, but the employee feigned ignorance and we were told either we pay the additional $2,800 for “Access Fee” or we could not board the ship, and we would not be refunded our money (essentially extorting/stealing money from us with the threat we would lose the money paid online if we didn’t pay them an undisclosed second “Access Fee” (or bribe). There was no supervisor despite 10 workers at the departure point and telephonically we were denied by “Supervisor Monica Topete” to speak to her personally – with the call taker simply warning either we pay the fee or go home and lose our payment altogether. We paid the extortion fee and went out to board the ship, discovering 90% of the ship had been boarded. Despite our paying for priority boarding and having an extremely pregnant member of our group, there were no seats on the main floor and the staff said they couldn’t assist us. As a group, we had to assist our pregnant member up and down some extremely steep stairs at the back of the ship = where she almost fell several times attempting to climb or descend the stairs, endangering the life of her unborn child. This abusive and deceptive method of operation is further evidenced in how Vallarta Adventures attempts to have customers unknowingly purchase “options” such as photos and travel assistance by automatically including them in the total, which will be automatically charged unless the customer is sophisticated and discovers the undisclosed method to deselect the already selected “options”. The following business day, we telephoned “Supervisor Monica Topete” again, who truly did not want to hear the problem, and denied our joint request for return of the money stolen by their company employees and/or any compensation for failure to provide services we paid for (e.g. Priority Boarding, etc.). This necessitated the joint filing of a 41 page complaint and demand against Vallarta Adventures with PROFECO (Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor) on June 7, 2024. If this is how this entity treats a group of distinguished locals, you can imagine how they will treat passing tourists. Good Luck and we hope this information is of...

Alma was recommended to us by my colleague, who really enjoyed the show. We booked about two months ahead for a Tuesday evening. We made our way over to Puerto Magico around 345 - shopped around and then started queuing at about 430. The email says five but I recommend half an hour earlier to get on the earlier boat. We ended up being boat 1, number 88 and 89. Be sure to have 30-40 pesos on you per person for the port fee, which is a separate line from check in.

I do NOT recommend the photo package. We purchased it for $70 USD and we had to hunt down photographers and wave them over and they had us do a lot of uncomfortable poses and even had us stand in the water which had my shoes waterlogged for the rest of the night. They will also still charge you $25 for the one printed photo! So just skip the photo package and take pics with your phone or buy the singular printed memento.

The trip begins with you waiting to be called to get onto the boat. Nobody listens or follows directions and it’s a mad rush to get to the boat despite their attempt at order and lining up. People don’t listen, which makes the excursion a little irritating - I wish they had a better sound system or speaker system so folks would listen up! Once you’re on the boat, the drinks start flowing.

We got on around 545 ish and there were drinks and music for the one hour trip to the island. It was almost dark already by the time we arrived. We expected to eat but we watched the show first. The show itself is incredible and the best part of the whole experience because the dancers are so talented. But, you’re sitting on a narrow cushioned log with no back support in the heat with mosquitoes for 1.5 hours. Bring bug spray! But again the dancers are awesome.

Afterwards they group you up by number in your party and you head to a restaurant. It’s pitch dark so we had a couple groups fall on the steps, especially because they were older. Take it nice and slow and wear good shoes as you’ll be walking in some sand and several stairs.

We got to the buffet and by the time it was our turn, half the food was gone. We ended up getting two plates so we didn’t have to go back - one for salad and cold food, second plate for hot food. I skipped dessert cause I figured I could go back for it. Rookie mistake! It was all gone by the time we went back. They don’t refill the food after it’s gone, btw.

After we ate we all just milled around in the dark. There wasn’t much to see or explore as it was dark AF. It was about 945 when we departed and we returned to Puerto Magico around 1115-1130. Don’t get a taxi, get an Uber. It’s cheaper.

Overall, food was a miss, photography package a bust, but gorgeous show and amazing island where the dancers work so hard and perform their best every night. Kudos to them! The boat staff was also highly...