Puerto Vallarta

CANOPY TOURS:

In PV, we did the Los Veranos Canopy Tour. It was great. Even our 6yo dd had a blast. She keeps saying it was her favorite thing on the trip. Since we had so much time in PV, we spent some time walking on the Malecon. The statues and sand creations were just beautiful. I've heard good things about hanging out at either the Krystal Resort or the Westin although we didn't do this.

http://www.puertovallartatours.net/canopy-tours.htm. Johann and Sandra frequently post here and are quite helpful. I will use them when we return to PV. We did the Los Veranos tour last June and had a great time. I have heard good things about some of the others as well. There are actually four different tours to choose from.

It is about a $6 cab ride from the pier to canopy tour offices. When you debark, look to the left and walk up toward the main street and take one of the yellow Nissan Sentra cabs. Mention which canopy tour you are taking and the cab driver will know where to take you. DO NOT take one of the white vans or cabs. They are state run and much more expensive.

Nearly all cruise lines use Vallarta Adventures for their Vallarta "Canopy" tour. Any ship's excursion that has the word "adventure" in it is run by Vallarta Adventures. Their web site can be found at: http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/.  Of all the zip line excursions in PV, the one run by Vallarta Adventures was established as a classic tree-top-to-tree-top eco tour. The rest are basic thrill rides that typically span a river valley. I have done both the VA eco tour and the Los Veranos zip lines. http://www.canopytours-vallarta.com/index.htm. I enjoyed both; however, most cruisers find the variety of tour times offered by Los Veranos supports their time utilization in Vallarta better. As to your price savings observation through direct booking ... Vallarta Adventures (and any company that has tours booked thru the cruise industry) will not sell direct to you if you arrive on a cruise ship. You can still save money by booking tours offered on the ship by booking thru a third party tour broker such as http://www.vallartaonline.com/ and http://www.puertovallartatours.net/. Both are very reliable.

TAXIS:

Follow Family Man's lead on taxi service. Yellow city taxis charge per cab (up to 4 people) and their fares are regulated by zone. White Federal taxis charge per person at a significantly higher price.

Walking around and exploring:

Either take a yellow cab from the road next to the port -check the rate first - (white cabs from the port are more expensive) or a local bus from that road with destination e.g. Olas Alta) and have you dropped in old Town.
Walk along the Malecon (boulevard along the sea- filled with shops and restaurants), sit on one of the many benches etc. Visit the famous church, cross the Rio Cuale and go to the Playa los Muerstes area. Have lunch/drinks in one of the restaurants on the beach. Back again by cab or bus, this time destination hotels or Wal-Mart.
Have some Pesos to pay for the bus.

I'd also suggest a walk around the marina area. Looking towards Wal-Mart from the ship (what a great tourist attraction... ), to your left and across the port area is a tan hotel with bright colored window boxes. That is the Westin Regina, and it's right adjacent to the marina. A taxi should be around $5 and take about 5 minutes. The marina has many shops, a lighthouse that you can visit for some great photos, and lots of restaurants. There's also a massage place there with $30 75 minute massages. Some restaurants are kind of touristy, while others are more relaxed and quite low priced.

PV - walked to the Krystal (easy to find). Showed our reservation for massages and was let right in. BEST massage EVER!!! Place was clean and comfortable. I had the four hands (two masseurs) and DH had one - we were in the same room. Lasted 75 minutes and cost $105 total for both of us. Beach would have been nice to hang out at (bring water shoes), but we were the only ones there and just couldn't deal with all the vendors walking by. The pool was a little sad, but like I said, no one was there. I would go back again, just in a better time of year - too hot and humid. Took a taxi for $3.00 to wall mart (yes - wallmart, we get a kick outta going to wallmart in foreign places - picked up a few things we needed and went back to the pool on the ship).

The cruise piers at both places are a long way from the main shopping areas (unless you consider the PV Wal-Mart which is right across the road from the ship). At PV get a DI card good for a free cab ride into town to, where else, DI and you will be very near the Malencon. Don't try walking back to the ship, though. We did and two hours later finally caught a cab for the remainder of the journey back to the ship. while in the downtown PV area, take a peek at the market. It is an 8-10 block walk from DI, but there are the usual and then some really nice things.

BEACHES:

If you want to relax on the beach, the Westin has Nikki Beach, an area that has raised platforms with thick pads and pillows, towel service, and showers. You can jump in the ocean or the pool if it's too warm out or you want some water fun along with your walk.