All images are thumbnails.
Click on the image to get a larger version.

In March of 1999 we took a short package vacation to Puerto Vallarta which is on the west coast of Mexico. It was an all-inclusive at the Holiday Inn (and Holiday Inns are much nicer outside of the United States). The weather was great (a welcome change from the chilly & wet San Francisco winter). Photos with text are displayed below. At the bottom of this web page there will be a section outlining prices.

Other travels are documented here.
(Central Europe, Panama, Hawaii)

Eva by the pool. Part of the continual all-you-can-eat restaurant is in the background. There were stools underwater for the swim-up bar.

Eva executing a reverse sommersalt with twist.

The bridge to the bar island in the middle of the pool.

Same bridge, less attractive model.

This is one of the main squares in town. I think there's a Hooters being built off to the left there. No kidding. Such a shame.

Same square, different angle. It cost about $3 to get here (middle of town) from the hotel, or $0.30 if you took the bus. We liked taking the bus, it could be very exciting. By the way, that guy in the picture is reading a cool book about Freeman and George Dyson (Esther's kin)!

We rented a scooter in town. I don't think I'd ever driven a scooter before, It's way more fun than you'd think.

We drove pretty far south from town. Here we are just on the outskirts, near a popular local snorkeling spot with huge rock formations protruding from the ocean (protusions not pictured).

On the way back to town we stopped at this great open air restaurant situated on a cliff. It was named, appropriately, El Kliffe.

The place was empty because we got there around 4pm, so we got the best table in the joint!

The views were wonderful! And the food was pretty good. We recommend this place, it's worth the trip from the hotels.

I hide it well, but I'm diggin' it.

When we brought back the scooter, we decided to rent a dune buggy for the next day. This was a great idea!

We drove south again, this time we turned off onto a long bumpy dirt road which led into the jungle to where the movie Predator was filmed. It was a tourist destination built right into the jungle.

It was not as bad as you might think. After all it was in the jungle, not the main square in town. But there were a number of bussed in folks there and they sold "I Survived the Predator Set" t-shirts.

That's part of the tourist restaurant behind me. The place was built next to a creek and some small waterfalls.

Same place, different angle.

We decided to take a stroll into the jungle. We passed an old abandoned zoo-like place which was kind of cool.

We didn't go too terribly deep into the jungle, but it was still a bit exciting. I started to worry about all the scurrying critters we heard off the path, however.

On the way out we stopped at a tiny road side eatery located in a small village. We had ceviche and coconut juice (straight out of the coconut).

Next we drove the buggy back to town and then up the north coast.

I found a ugly dirt path that led right off of the paved road down to the cliffs. Dune buggies rock!

Tired of driving, the rest of the afternoon was spent lounging on a mostly deserted beach.

Someone had built and abandoned a palm leaf shanty, so I claimed it in the name of Fruitopia!

Here we are still north of Puerto Vallarta

Back in town at another square. This is where Eva bought a head boppin' tail waggin' toy armadillo.

This is the beach at the Holiday Inn. Earlier in the day it is full of loungers, strolling vendors and people selling parasail or horseback rides.

This is also the beachfront at the Holiday Inn.

For people who are curious about the costs, here is a breakdown (mostly from memory, so take it as rough estimates). I use USA Dollars here but pesos were usually required. Package 3 nights @ Holiday Inn $550 each all meals included and airtravel from SFO pkg agcy: Sun Trips (I think) Scooter per hour $6 Buggy per day $40 Taxi to town, one way $3-4 Bus to town, one way $0.30

Other trips (Europe,Panama,Hawaii,etc) are available here!

Visitor Count: 679652 since Oct/23/2008