My teenage kids have anchor memories from a couple “safety blanket” vacations when they were younger. We went to Maui, and we had the routine down to a science. Find an affordable condo, hit Costco and a few cheap fish taco spots, and visit the same beach spots until the Seattle winter grey was successfully scrubbed from our minds.
I carved out time for another family trip this Winter, but I wanted to shake things up. A recent season of the Amazing Race started off in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and it left an impression on me. There were beautiful murals, sandy beaches, a lot of history, and I’d be able to practice the Spanish I learned 20 years ago in Honduras. There were direct flights from Seattle on Alaska Airlines, so we used our companion fares and booked the trip.
What followed was a chaotic, delicious, sweaty, and ultimately beautiful adventure. If you’re planning your first family trip to PV, here is my “What Worked and What Didn’t” report from our 7 day trip that can hopefully be a resource for you. Worth mentioning, we got back from our trip a couple weeks before the the violent events following the killing of El Mencho, a prominent cartel leader. It was difficult to see the beautiful place I had just left fall into chaos. Everything seems to have calmed down, and I believe that Puerto Vallarta is still a safe place to visit.
Overview:
Hotel: Marcela Resort & Spa (Amapas)
Arrival: January 22, 2026
Departure: January 28, 2026
Group: 4 People. 2 Adults (low 40’s), 2 Kids (mid-teens)
This itinerary worked pretty well for us. Wasn’t too busy, wasn’t too slow. Not bad for a first time depending on your priorities.
Activities
Day 1: Flight from Seattle to PVR (land at 5pm), dinner at hotel
Day 2: Breakfast at Fluffy’s, Playa los Muertos, Malecón, Panchos Takos, Paletas
Day 3: Room service breakfast, Botanical Garden, Tepache Tasting, Versalles Dining (Abulón, Gelato Mx7)
Day 4: Birriería Robles/Pastries, Mirador del Cerro de la Cruz/Sleep-in, Domino’s, Pool time, Seahawks, Jean’s Burgers, games
Day 5: Hike to Playa Las Ánimas, lunch at Los Conos, panga to Playa los Muertos, Tacos Sonorita Olas Altas
Day 6: Day trip to San Pancho and Sayulita, Artisan Market, Boogie Boarding, Pepe’s Tacos
Day 7: Breakfast at The Pancake House, Shopping, and fly home (5pm)
Total Cost: $7,975
First Impressions
It was an emotional day. Our flight took off at 9:45 AM, but we lost two hours in the air with the time change. I brushed up my Spanish by watching Coco on the plane and forgot how touching that movie is! I cried for the last 30 minutes.
After losing two hours with the time change, we landed at 5:00 PM, patiently trudged our way through customs, avoided any vendor interactions in the “Shark Tank,” and then walked across the pedestrian bridge so that we could save a few bucks on our taxi over to the Zona Romántica. I’m an accountant and am always looking for a deal. Traffic was bad, but we eventually made it to the hotel, had dinner at the onsite restaurant (meh), and then I hiked down the hill by myself to find an ATM and get familiar with the town.
My first impression? A bit of shock.
The humidity hit me like a warm, wet towel, and the vibe in Zona Romántica was different than I had pictured. None of the ATMs worked, every other store seemed to be a weird Farmacia selling Viagra and Ambien, people kept asking me if I wanted a massage, and the crowd had a strange energy that I couldn’t figure out at first.
I knew that Zona Romántica had a reputation for being gay-friendly, but I didn’t realize that I had planned my trip right before the annual Semana Del Oso (Bear Week). Imagine a 50/50 blend of staggering retirees and very festive, very hairy party-goers shoulder-to-shoulder at a taco stand. It felt like a Norwegian cruise ship had collided with West Hollywood.
It wasn’t the “charming Mexican village” that my family may have anticipated, and we’re more “eat chilaquiles and nap” than “party until 4 AM” people. That being said, I knew that we would find the charm of Puerto Vallarta and have a great time. We just needed to look past (or through) the shoulder hair and make the trip our own.
The Food: Mostly Memorable
One of my key priorities for this trip was finding amazing food, and we did a great job with that. Puerto Vallarta is known for having some of the best Al Pastor tacos in Mexico. Throughout the week I made sure to hit up a few of the local spots and document the results. Here were my favorites:
- Tacos Sonorita Olas Altas (9.5/10): The Gold Medal. Their charcoal-fired trompo is a game-changer. The meat is crispy, smoky, and perfectly juicy. It’s a bit more expensive than other options, but the restaurant is upscale and they also do a great job with take-out. Cash only. (link)
- Pepe’s Tacos (9/10): The Silver Medal. Reliable, fast, and exactly what you want after a day of boogie boarding. The price was reasonable and they had a bit more room than Pancho’s for dining in. Just a small wait. Also, they allowed take-out. (link)
- Pancho’s Takos (8.7/10): The Bronze. The sidewalk “production” with their giant trompo is iconic, but the 40 minute wait for a table is a turn-off. They’re the most popular spot in Zona Romantica and I wasn’t disappointed with the food. It’s just not better than the other places I tried. (link)
What About Breakfast?
We went out for breakfast a couple of times, and we also had pastries and casual stuff a few times, too. This is an area where you can really save some money if you get simple groceries and make yourself food. If you are going out, I have a few recommendations.
- Fluffy’s – They specialize in Japanese souffle style pancakes, and I’d never had anything like it. As you’d expect, they’re fluffy and jiggly, but also not too sweet. You can get a few different toppings and even get a combination plate with chilaquiles, a pancake, and potatoes. Prices aren’t cheap, but not outrageous. (link)
- The Pancake House – Lots of options, and it felt similar to an American breakfast diner. The portions are humongous, so if you’re willing to share I’d definitely recommend it. I had chilaquiles, others had pancakes. Everything was tasty. (link)
This might surprise you, but my favorite breakfast was actually at a birria spot called Birriería Robles. Birria tacos are traditionally eaten for breakfast in Mexico and I’m totally converted. Birriería Robles serves both beef and goat birria tacos, but the goat sells out early. I stopped by at 8 AM before hiking the Mirador and enjoyed my tacos with both meats. I ordered a goat taco “blandito”, or soft. I had them serve the beef tacos “dorado”, or crispy. They were all tender, rich, and delicious. Make sure you get a cup of consomme to dip them in and make good use of the salsas at the table. They’ll light you up, but there’s no better way to start the day.
The only breakfast that I’d skip next time was room service at the hotel. Nothing was served at the right temperature, the portions were small, and it was too expensive for what it was. We had a similar experience with dinner at the hotel restaurant as well. Prices were similar to a good restaurant in the US, but the quality was just okay. We ate there for dinner the first night and really wanted something casual, but most of the menu wasn’t available at dinner service and the remaining dishes were all a little fussy.
Other Food Notes
One of my favorite meals was at Abulón in the Versalles neighborhood. It’s a seafood restaurant on the corner of a residential block, and the food quality was much more elevated than their backyard ambiance would suggest. I had Atun Pastor (a tuna steak marinated in achiote) and a seared tuna taco with chipotle ash. My wife had fancy shrimp tacos, the kids had macaroni and cheese, and everyone loved it. The macaroni and cheese was more like a penne with bechamel sauce. Prices were reasonable and we didn’t need a reservation.
Hacienda de Oro, the restaurant at the Botanical Garden, was also stunning. It’s expensive, but there are zero other options on site. The kids had a wood fired pizza, we ordered an avocado salad and a few fancy mocktails. They were almost as refreshing as the cold towel they gave us at the beginning of the meal.
We ate at a few of the beach clubs we visited as well. Some of it was simple and not super noteworthy (nachos, pinadas, etc.). However, the fish ceviche and shrimp tacos at Los Conos at Playa Las Ánimas was genuinely delicious. Nothing is cheap on that beach, but I felt like I was getting great food for the price. The french fries at Cocos Beach Club in Sayulita were good enough that we placed a second order.
We found some excellent pizza sold by the slice in San Pancho. The restaurant was called Pizza el Punto, and we tried their margherita slice with a few cold drinks. There’s also a chocolate shop next door called Pal’Cora Mexicolate that sells a cacao agua fresca that was surprisingly refreshing, and another chocolate drink with dates that had a fudgy almost milkshake texture. They were both delicious.
For lunch one day we ordered Domino’s because the kids saw an advertisement for a Croissant Crust pizza. Two medium pizzas and a side of Papotas (potato wedges) were about $42 with delivery fees. It wasn’t cheap, and it also wasn’t very good. The croissant pizza was very buttery, but the crust had no structural integrity and almost had to be slurped. Do we really need that in a pizza? The papotas were also pretty horrible. They’re not fried, so they’re only as crispy as the pizza oven can get them. These can stay in Mexico for all I’m concerned.
There was one other time that we attempted to get food delivered. It was from a smashburger place called Jean’s Classic Hamburgers that also has a fancy hot dog concept attached to it (Salchidogo). I believe that these burgers and fries would have been excellent if we ate them at the restaurant, but they suffered a bit through the journey to our hotel. So, I still think they’re worth a try, even though my experience was just okay.
Activities and Tragedies
Playa las Ánimas
While I wanted to keep this vacation mostly centered on relaxing and spending time together, there were a few adventures that I wanted to experience while we were in town. The one I was most excited about was a hike from the town of Boca de Tomatlán to Playa las Ánimas. It’s about 4 miles, one-way. Before the trip I told everyone that it would probably be somewhat difficult, but that it was important to me that we try.
Playa las Ánimas is a cute beach town that’s only accessible via boat, or the hike. My plan was to start the hike early enough in the day that heat wouldn’t be a huge problem, and to take a water taxi (panga) back when we were done. You can take a bus to Boca de Tomatlán from Puerto Vallarta, but we opted for an Uber instead.
I’d say that this hike was the most polarizing thing we did the whole trip. On the positive side, it was incredibly scenic and took us by some beautiful beaches. We also saw whales breaching a little bit offshore. The destination of Playa las Ánimas was a perfect endcap to the hike and the lounge chairs and piñadas at Los Conos really hit the spot.
On the negative side, the hike was tough. There were stretches that felt nearly vertical as you scrambled up and down the coastal ridges. Other spots were thick with mosquitos. At one point my son decided that his martyrdom on the trail would be a lesson to the family and refused to move forward. It was a bluff. The trail pretty much leveled out for the second half and we all made it through.
I’m glad we did it, and I loved the combination of a physical challenge and a peaceful reward at the end. Just be warned that it’s not easy and it might not be for everybody.
Oh yeah, important to mention that we took a boat back to town. I negotiated a great price with a random dude I met on the hike to take us all the way from Playa las Ánimas back to Playa Los Muertos. Most people were asking $500 pesos per person ($28 USD), but this guy offered to do it for $300 pesos ($17 USD). He did leave out a tiny detail about being 100% CRIMINALLY INSANE and he wasted 20 minutes of our lives dive-bombing the pier in his boat because someone poached another passenger from him. He flooded the back of the panga, banged into other boats, screamed at whoever would listen, and eventually found another couple passengers to join us on the “adventure”.
He had to stop for gas in Boca, and that turned into a team activity of flagging down a guy on the beach and passing the plastic tanks back and forth. I kept a death grip on my seat and silently prayed that my family would survive the trip. On the bright side, we did see a whale on the way back and passed by some stunning sea stacks called “Los Arcos”. Actually, let me rephrase that. We passed through Los Arcos. Literally. There was an arch in one of the stacks that I could have sworn was too small for our boat to pass through, but this maniac pulled it off. Was it worth saving the $44 USD to ride with this dude? I’ll let you be the judge.
The Malecón
We hadn’t quite adjusted to the heat and humidity when we explored the Malecón. It was our first full day and we started the walk in the early afternoon. I hate to throw them under the bus, but the kids got hot and complained a lot. Ice cream helped, but I had to promise that we’d go home in an Uber if they made it to the end.
Walking the Malecón is a must-do. It’s not because everyone needs to visit Señor Frog’s (I’m sure it’s fine), but the walk is full of fascinating bronze sculptures along the seawall. I wish that the kids were in a better mood because I would have liked to do some research about the artists and installations. This is also a good time to visit the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. It’s a beautiful church built in the 1930s with a vibrant town square located close to the entrance.
Mirador de la Cruz
This is a scenic viewpoint located straight up the hill near the old church. I was fully confident that the kids wouldn’t appreciate this one, so I got up early on our relaxation day and did the hike by myself. I started the day eating breakfast birria tacos at Birriería Robles and then wandered through town until I found the staircases leading up to the cross on the hill. Along the way I also spotted the Puente Del Amor that connected Elizabeth Taylor’s villa with Richard Burton’s. They were filming Night of the Iguana and enjoying a well publicized scandalous affair.
The hike up the hill to the cross and viewpoint was intense. There are stairs, but it’s super steep. The view at the top is worth the effort and gives you a full panorama of Banderas Bay and the neighborhoods of Puerto Vallarta. I’d definitely recommend starting early in the day so that the sun doesn’t melt you. Bring water.
Vallarta Botanical Garden
This took up most of a day, but I’m really glad we did it. The garden is located about 10 minutes up the valley from Boca de Tomatlán and is accessible via bus or taxi. We booked an Uber and arrived a little before 11am. The grounds are full of local plants and art installations along with a beautiful restaurant and chapel. We hiked down to the river, explored many of the trails, and enjoyed the tranquility of the space. It’s $300 pesos per person (about $17 USD). (link)
The Hacienda de Oro restaurant onsite was special. I wish we could have tried more of the food, but none of us had much of an appetite in the hot afternoon. After taking some family photos by the chapel we headed out to catch a bus back into town. It passes by the entrance to the gardens about every 30 minutes and only costs about $50 pesos (about $3 USD). We found seats in the back of the bus, but just barely. The seat next to me had actually fully collapsed into the frame of the bench, and halfway back to town my seat detached and I held it in place with brute leg strength and positive vibes. Besides that, it was great!
Tepache Tasting
There’s a tepache stand pretty close to where the bus drops you off in Zona Romántica. It’s called Tepatli MX and is run by a passionate dude named Victor. Tepache is a pre-Columbian ancestral drink made by lightly fermenting corn, pineapple skins, or other fruits. Victor mostly uses pineapple skins and various spices, but he’ll sweeten variations with guava, tamarind, and other fruits.
The tepache here was super refreshing and unique. Victor was also incredibly gracious with his time and taught us about the history of tepache and his own personal story with the drink. He provided samples of all of his flavors that day and we took a clay mug of the regular flavor back to the hotel with us. You should definitely check it out. You can watch a video about my tepache tasting here:
Boogie Boarding (San Pancho and Sayulita)
The beaches around Puerto Vallarta were pretty calm. That was nice for relaxing, but the kids were interested in doing something a bit more adventurous in the water. We decided to use our last full day in Mexico as a scouting mission for some of the other vacation destinations in the area and booked a private driver to take us up to San Pancho and Sayulita. The surf was a bit too strong at San Pancho’s beach for us, so we had lunch, explored an Artisan Market, and then headed over to Sayulita to see if that beach would be better for us.
Fortunately for us, it was perfect. After a quick look around the beach we found a beach club with some chairs and umbrellas and agreed to the $300 peso minimum spend per person to use their stuff. That’s $16 each, and we easily reached that minimum with french fries, mango smoothies, and piñadas. We rented boogie boards nearby for about $20 for 3 boards and headed into the surf.
The waves were great and the surf stayed relatively shallow for a long way out. The waves were big enough that we could at least attempt to catch them and ride the boards for a bit. Every now and then we got surprised with something bigger and were smashed backwards. This was exhilarating for the kids, and a bit exhausting for their rapidly aging father. I suffer from a serious condition called “getting old and weak” which caused my ankles and knees to get very sore fighting against the crashing waves. I’m glad that we made time to do this because it ended up being the kids’ favorite thing we did the whole trip.
The Bill: By the Numbers
I kept track of every single peso. It’s a little taboo to talk about money, but I really want people to understand how much (or how little) a vacation like this can cost. Here is the breakdown for a family of four for 6 nights translated into USD.
| Category | Total (USD) | Notes |
| Lodging | $3,890 | The big splurge. Could easily save $2k by downsizing or timing the trip during the slower season. See the next section for a little more detail about the hotel. |
| Airfare | $1,932 | Roundtrip Seattle to PV for four people. Non-stop Alaska Airlines. Purchased about 6 weeks before the trip using two companion fares. Closer to $750 per person without the companion codes. |
| Dining | $795 | Includes everything from tacos, room-service, Domino’s, and take-out. Could have saved a bit here by making more of our own food or eating at slightly cheaper places. |
| Grocery/Snacks | $185 | OXXO runs, chips and salsa, etc. |
| Activities | $417 | Botanical Garden, Beach Clubs (includes food), and the “Death March” logistics. |
| Transportation | $428 | Ubers, bus, private driver, and water taxi. |
| Misc | $329 | Souvenirs and other supplies (hydrocortisone, band-aids, aloe vera). Mundo de Cristal is awesome for drinkware. |
| Total | $7,975 |
Lodging: The 3,500-Square-Foot Splurge
After a previous family trip to Manhattan where we spent a week in very close quarters, I prioritized space. We stayed at the Marcela Resort and Spa in the Amapas neighborhood because I found a really awesome suite called the “Hacienda” that looked perfect for us. I believe we could have found some cheaper options had we booked earlier, but this was one of the few spots that seemed to check all the boxes for us. Here’s the breakout:
- The Splurge: $3,890 for 6 nights after taxes and fees.
- The Draw: We had a three-bedroom suite that took up the entire 2nd floor of the hotel. Everyone had their own bathroom and shower.
- The Waste: We had a private jacuzzi on a massive patio that we really didn’t use. The pool was pretty close by and rarely had anybody in it. I also thought that one of us would use the onsite spa. Nope.
Was it worth it? Yes. I mean, probably. I don’t know. I bet we could have found something for $3,000 for the 6 days, or maybe even $2,000 if we got lucky. We really wanted three bedrooms and three bathrooms, though. Again, we booked late and I was getting nervous about the limited options we were seeing. Bear Week likely played a role in the limited availability as well. It was a super cool space but was a bit of overkill for our needs.
Final Tips for the First-Timer
- Cash is King: I needed about $1,000 USD in physical pesos. ATMs are temperamental, and “the machine is broken” is a common phrase at restaurants. Get cash at an official bank before you head into the Zona Romántica, or take your chances with the crappy machines located near the restaurants and clubs. I also recommend rejecting the exchange rate they offer at the machine. Just let your bank figure that out later.
- The Spanish Factor: You don’t need it, but an attempt goes a long way. I had a blast letting my brain shift back into Spanish mode, but it also alienated my wife and kids for a few conversations. I recommend learning and using whatever you can, but don’t sweat it.
- Safety: I never felt unsafe, except for that crazy boat ride. However, do your homework on hospitals before you need one. Having a plan is better than googling “Emergency Room” when the unexpected happens. We didn’t need it, thank goodness.
- The Exit: Don’t burn popcorn in the microwave 30 minutes before checkout. Or, if you do, make sure you leave a healthy tip.
Puerto Vallarta wasn’t Maui, and that’s okay. My family had a great time and I feel much more prepared for future trips in Mexico. If you want the contact info for my private driver from the San Pancho day trip, let me know. If you want the contact info for the panga driver…absolutely not.
Stay Crispy, Puerto Vallarta.
Sodafry 