ACTIVITIES AND TOURS

Besides the SUN, SURF and CERVEZA there are plenty of things to do. One of the advantages of Vallarta's unique coastal climate with its protective ring of mountains, is the variety of activities. All the water sports from deep sea fishing (the sail fish mecca) to snorkeling in the warm waters of Banderas Bay. Para-sailing, scuba diving (you can get certified here cheaper than anywhere else) beach volleyball, suntanning, body surfing and even sailing on a company owned 32' sloop named L'Escapada.

Once you leave the beach, the market beckons with handicrafts from all over MEXICO. Shopping and bargaining are often highlights of a trip to "P.V." The many excellent restaurants (over one thousand of them), provide the most difficult thing you'll have to do every day and that is "choosing". Preparing your own culinary treat is a choice that few other tourists have. A marinated loin of pork on a mesquite-fired grill will stay in your memory longer than many meals you've enjoyed to date. Take in a fiesta or a Bullfight. Fiestas are held at least twice a week and include food, drinks, and entertainment similar to the Folkloric Ballet of world renown.

Horseback riding into the Sierra Madre, cruising on a booze-cruise boat to the secluded beaches of Quimixto, Las Animas, and Yelapa. Ride a bus to the end of the line and on and on. Then of course there's walking on the Malecon and people watching from a chair plunked in the sand on Los Muertos Beach. Relaxing is a byword here just as is the "mañana syndrome". Escaping the rat race feeling, changing language, money, habits, even manners and customs, it's all of that and more. Come to think of it, isn't that what a vacation is all about?