Puerto Vallarta Rentals Blog

Wireless Internet Access in Puerto Vallarta

Wireless Internet access is very easy to find these days in Puerto Vallarta. Nearly every hotel has a wireless network, although most charge a fee for access. Many restaurants and almost all coffee shops offer free wireless Internet to paying customers.
Free Wi-Fi Hotspots in Puerto Vallarta

To help you save some money on Internet access, I have compiled a list of places that offer free wi-fi to their customers. The listings are grouped by location.

I would love to expand on this list. If you know of any other places that offer free wi-fi to customers, let me know so that I can share them with my readers.

Marina Vallarta Wi-Fi Hotspots

* Once Upon a Bean – Marina Vallarta boardwalk
* McDonald?s – at the Plaza Marina shopping center
* The Coffee Cup – Marina Vallarta boardwalk near the lighthouse
* The Coffee House – at the Plaza Marina shopping center

The Hotel Zone Wi-Fi Hotspots

* CucaraMacara – located in the Krystal hotel
* La Mansion Restaurant – located in the Krystal hotel
* Subway – Blvd. Francisco Medina Ascencio in front of Burger King and Office Depot

Downtown/Centro Puerto Vallarta Wi-Fi Hotspots

* Starbucks – located on the main plaza
* Subway – on the Malecon / boardwalk

Old Town Puerto Vallarta – Olas Altas – Zona Romantica

* Dee?s Coffee – Rodolfo Gomez street
* The Coffee Cup – Rodolfo Gomez street

Puerto Vallarta Airport Wi-Fi Hotspots

* Starbucks

Not very far from your condo in Puerto Vallarta lies a very different world, a small and charming Mexican town that will take you back to the days before cell phones and satellite television ruled the day. In fact, a trip to San Sebastian will take you back to a time when the community?s the central square, or plaza, was the focal point for social life. That isn?t to say that life in San Sebastian has always been calm. Quite the opposite, in fact: in its heyday, miners pulled gold and silver from surrounding mines, and San Sebastian served as the provincial capital and home to tens of thousands of people.

One look at the architecture and the town?s layout will tell you that this lovely place is not very different today than it was 100 or 200 years ago. A visit to San Sebastian will appeal to everyone who wants to spend a pleasant day exploring the streets of this now-quiet village high in the Sierra Madre. No extreme sports or wild clubs here, just fresh air and nice people.

Make no mistake ? you will find things to do in town. Shop for silver and other local items. If you?re visiting in spring, don?t miss the San Sebastian Silver Festival, which takes place over three days in May. Visit the La Quinta coffee farm, a fifth-generation family enterprise which produces organic coffee, takes guests on short tours and serves coffee and fruit rolls from a stand on the road. Enjoy a good meal. The restaurant Real y Minas comes highly recommended. And if you love to sit on the patio with a cup of coffee and watch the world go slowly by, stop at Los Arcos for breakfast.

You can reach San Sebastian by car; simply follow the airport road toward the university; when you reach the Y in the road, take the route to Mascota until you reach Estancia where you?ll see the sign to San Sebastian. If this sounds too complicated, pay a few pesos and catch a bus to the fork in the road and catch a ride to the small mountain town. Or take a tour with one of Puerto Vallarta?s vendors. Either way, you?ll return to your condo rental in Puerto Vallarta satisfied with a day well spent.

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) ? Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she hopes to discuss not just drug trafficking but a host of world issues with Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Patricia Espinosa in meetings in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Rice says Mexico’s newly won seat on the United Nations Security Council makes it likely that more than just bilateral concerns will be discussed.

Rice arrived at the Pacific Coast resort on Wednesday for a two-day visit to Mexico, and said she hopes to discuss global cooperation with Mexico.

The talks are also expected to touch on the violent drug cartel turf battles that have hit Mexico in recent years, and the role played by weapons smuggled into Mexico from the United States.

One of the best cultural resources in Puerto Vallarta is the Biblioteca Los Mangos (Los Mangos Library) located on Francisco Villa Avenue not far from the new Costco.

The library is open to the public and has a large selection of books in Spanish and in English. If you are in Puerto Vallarta for a longer stay you can get a library card to check out books. You just need to fill out a form, show your passport and a receipt such as the phone bill or electric bill to verify your address.

The library offers an extensive list of courses including ballet, piano, and painting at very reasonable prices. The best way to find out what is being offered is to visit the library. At the main entrance is a bulletin board with postings for all of the courses and activities. Also, many of the library?s events, classes, and cultural activities are listed on the library?s informational blog.

Other things that the library offers are Internet access at no cost and the Cinema Club which is very popular and shows little known art movies as well as more mainstream features. On Saturday mornings the Puerto Vallarta SPCA offers dogs and cats for adoption.

The library really offers something for everyone and is worth a visit.
Donate Your Old Books

If you bring books with you on your visit to Puerto Vallarta and you don?t want to take them back with you, consider donating them to the library. They accept books in English and Spanish.

Library hours are:
Monday – Friday 9:00am to 9:00pm
Saturdays 10:00am to 6:00pm

The library address is:
Ave. Francisco Villa #1001

Telephone:
322-224-9966

email:
[email protected]

While in the beautiful, spacious, and comfortable waiting lobby of San Javier a couple weeks ago, we met a group of doctors, nurses, and assistants from the US. They travel to PV on a monthly basis, spending three days at San Javier practicing a revolutionary prostate cancer treatment on a prescheduled group of men; many of which have unsuccessfully tried conventional options. This procedure is minimally invasive, non-surgical, non radiation, and virtually painless. These doctors and nurses split up into two teams and perform this state-of-the-art technique on two patients simultaneously, each procedure typically requiring three hours or less. This group of urologists and nurses, working in conjunction with a local urologist and local nurses, can treat as many as 20 patients in three days.

This leading edge technique incorporates high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) which is provided by means of a Sonablate 500 system. There are two of these state-of-the-art systems at San Javier, a HIFU Certified Specialty Hospital, each having a control console, a power generator, a cooling unit, and a probe that contains a standard imaging and high-intensity ultrasound treatment head.

Prior to this out-patient procedure, the patients are positioned on a standard operating table and given a spinal anesthesia. The ultrasound / imaging probe is then inserted into the rectum and a series of prostate gland images are viewed on the monitor, allowing the surgeon with a mouse, to select the precise treatment area. Next, by either manually adjusting the power or allowing the computer to determine optimum intensity and duration, the highly focused ultrasound waves create an extremely small and well defined zone of heat; similar to using a magnifying glass and allowing the sun?s rays to produce a localized spot hot enough to burn a hole in a piece of paper. The pulsing ultrasound is applied with pin point accuracy in doses of less than a second each, generating temperatures in the range of 70-80?C (155-176?F). These warm temperatures are enough to thermally ablate the targeted tissues and because the targeted zone is so well defined, the adjacent tissues remain cool and uninjured.

The success rate for becoming cancer-free is similar to surgical removal and radiation; however, the complication rate with HIFU tends to be lower, especially the rates of incontinence and impotence. The cost for this revolutionary treatment package which includes flight, limo to and from the airport, and shuttle to and from the hospital, is roughly $25,000, which must seem very reasonable after all other options have failed.

The HIFU treatment is approved in Europe, Japan, China, Latin America, Caribbean, and Mexico, but has not yet received FDA approval in the US. Of all the HIFU approved doctors and hospitals in the world, these American urologists have joined up with a renowned and respected local urologist at San Javier to do their work. Not only are the hospital facilities top notch, but the attention and service that the visiting doctors, nurses, and patients receive is first class. Aside from being the most convenient location, it was also very evident that the surgeons and assistants really enjoy visiting PV and generally try to extend their stays as long as practical. We wouldn?t be a bit surprised if one or more of the doctors eventually moves to Vallarta and practices this revolutionary prostate cancer treatment here on a daily basis until it?s approved in the US. At that time, they?ll probably be ready for retirement, and what better retirement haven to remain in than Puerto Vallarta?

Along with meeting the doctors and nurses, we also had the opportunity to visit with some of the patients prior to being treated and with their wives while they were being treated. Naturally, the men were nervous, anxious, and preoccupied; however they, and especially their wives, had many favorable comments regarding Vallarta. They all seemed quite shocked as to the growth of Vallarta and all the modern conveniences it has to offer. They praised the city?s cleanliness, the great hotel accommodations and food, the fact that they could communicate with just about everyone they had come in contact with, and of course, the beautiful scenery and perfect climate. They all said that they looked forward to returning to PV under better circumstances when they could rest, relax, and enjoy themselves.

It was nice hearing these men express their admiration of our Paradise south of the border; however our greatest pleasure was seeing them walk out of the hospital after treatment, appearing as though nothing had been done and hopefully prostate cancer-free!
By: Jim Scherrer

Puerto Vallarta sits on the largest natural bay in Mexico, and it would be a shame to visit the city and not pay a visit to the area?s friendliest marine mammals. After all, some people speculate that cetaceans (the species that includes dolphins and whales) are extremely intelligent. They may be wrong, or they may be right; if they?re right, local dolphins may feel slighted if you overlook them.

It?s completely natural for visitors to gravitate toward the water; after all, it?s right there and it?s big. Folks bail out of their villa Puerto Vallarta each morning looking for some kind of adventure on the high seas. Many people jump on the chance to interact with dolphins; they set off on an excursion to see dolphins in their natural habitat or take a swim with the dolphins in a controlled setting. Either way, time spent in communion with these creatures is time well spent. Quite often, the experience leaves visitors with a new-found respect for the natural world.

Watch Them Blow

Dolphins fin around Banderas Bay throughout the year, and dolphin watching is not highly regulated in the same way as the government restricts encounters with whales. You may find that most tour operators focus their efforts on whales during the official whale-watching season, however, which creates something of a de facto dolphin-watching season.

Dolphin tour guides take guests onto the waters of the bay, where they can watch these playful animals do their thing in their own world. A dolphin tour in a small boat puts you up close and personal with the objects of your attention, and if you join a group led by marine biologists, you?ll pick up some fascinating information about the world of marine mammals.

Swim with the Fins

It may not be practical to try to swim with wild dolphins in the bay?they have the all the advantage in that environment. Don?t despair! That opportunity is there at one of the dolphin centers in Puerto Vallarta. And visitors have all kinds of great things to say about swimming with dolphins.

The Dolphin Center in Nuevo Vallarta is a favorite for many dolphin-lovers. You can choose how you want your dolphin encounter to unfold: meet dolphins in an intimate, small-group encounter; join a bigger group of humans interacting with dolphins in the water; or stay dry and enjoy the dolphins from the side of the pool. It?s entirely up to you.

Aah . . . Home Again

Whether you choose to meet Puerto Vallarta?s Pacific bottlenose dolphins on the waves of Banderas Bay or nose-to-nose at the dolphin center, you?ll have the experience of a lifetime. You?ll return to your villa rental Puerto Vallarta with wonderful memories, some great photos, and a finer appreciation for the wild world.

You remember what it was like learning to ride a bicycle ? pedal a couple of times then fall, pedal then fall. You kept after it until you got it right. And you know what they say about bicycles ? once you learn how to ride, you never forget. If they?re right, you should still have the cycling skills of an 8-year old. The weather is great, so why not abandon your villa rental Puerto Vallarta for a few hours and rent a two-wheeler?

Tour operators offer mountain-bike tours for riders of every skill level. If you haven?t been on a bike since you were 8, or if you just don?t enjoy the experience of catapulting down a mountainside at top speed, consider biking around Puerto Vallarta itself.

If you want to take the family on a ride that will leave everyone mostly intact, join BikeMex on their Rio Cuale tour. You?ll start riding through town and finish up along the banks of the Rio Cuale. This one takes off twice a day (except Sundays) and lasts about 4? hours. They provide the bicycle, the guide and the water; you bring the sunblock.

At the other end of the difficulty scale, the Killer Donkey ride will take you along old mining trails, up and down some pretty severe terrain. This one is for experienced, strong riders only. Really. No matter what tour you take, you can soothe your aching muscles in the hot tub when you get back to your villa Puerto Vallarta.

Puerto Vallarta is blessed with the great weather that you would expect on the Mexican Pacific coast. Spring and winter are excellent times to visit, but don?t forget to bring a jacket for the evenings. Puerto Vallarta is one of the main tourist destinies in Mexico, a paradise on the Pacific Ocean. Located in central Mexico in the state of Jalisco, Puerto Vallarta counts with a great climate all year long. Puerto Vallarta is beautiful and the Marriott there is nice. However, as others noted, it is showing it?s age.
Puerto Vallarta is nestled in a tropical setting. Hotels line the bay?s curving beach. It is now a world class resort that has retained all of the quaint charms of the original village yet exhibits all of the expectations one would have while visiting a modern resort. Puerto Vallarta has evolved to meet the needs of today?s modern tourist destination parameters. It is also known as an artists? mecca with its world-class galleries and evening art walks. There is always something exciting happening in this lovely tropical city.

Puerto Vallarta is no longer the sleepy little Mexican fishing village that it was back in 1960. Located in the foothills of the Sierra Madres and on Banderas Bay, in the center of the Mexican Riviera on the Pacific Ocean, Vallarta has the unique combination of climate, natural beauty, and tropical vegetation and wildlife. It is serviced by three municipal bus unions that provide coverage for most of the greater Puerto Vallarta area (e.g. Most of the population of the Municipality of Pueto Vallarta travels by municipal bus. It is one of very few cities in Mexico where the water is guaranteed pure and most hotels have their own water purification systems. Good restaurants only used locally purified bottled water.
Puerto Vallarta is a city rich with history and an integral part of that stems from its cuisine. A few hundred years ago, as the city was just beginning, inhabitants didn?t have the luxury of dining at four-star restaurants. It?s one of the most safest and friendliest place to live in. For years is has been known and named the friendliest city in the world. Puerto Vallarta is a located in the western part of the state of Jalisco in central Mexico overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The second-most visited resort in all of Mexico, Puerto Vallarta attracts over 2 million tourists per year.
Puerto Vallarta is one of the best tourist locations in Mexico. It has everything one would want in a world class tourist destination. Puerto Vallarta is yours to savor and is, without a doubt, one of the friendliest and cleanest beach resorts in all of Mexico. It is a water lover?s paradise. Sailing and SCUBA diving are big pastimes here – whatever your level of experience, good diving is available.

Puerto Vallarta is a charming seaside resort area with alluring beaches, colonial ambiance and architecture, and first-rate restaurants and hotels. The town is located in Banderas Bay, which is on Mexico?s western coast in the state of Jalisco. It is regarded as one of the most pure and unblemished destinations in Mexico. Puerto Vallarta became a popular tourist destination in the late 1960s as the city became more accessible to visitors. On Hawaii?s latitude and Puerto Vallarta villas guests are treated to a similar climate. With over 300 days of sunshine annually, Puerto Vallarta vacation rentals lodgers bask in annual average temperatures of 83 degrees

Did you know that Puerto Vallarta is tucked away in the middle of the Bay of Banderas, in the Mexican pacific coast? There you will find a gorgeous tourist town rapidly becoming one of the most popular holiday spots in the world. I didn?t know that Puerto Vallarta is reported to be the most repeated holiday destinations on earth. By that, they mean that more people return here for a second, third or more holidays than any other place they go.

Puerto Vallarta is alive with a buzz of international tourism, drawing huge numbers from the US and Canada as well as a growing European influx. Entering from the north you pass the airport and right away you see Plaza Marina; the first of many plazas you will encounter with many high end furniture stores, art galleries and chain restaurants. The first area of interest you will come across is the Marina. The area got its name, most obviously because it is built around docking facilities for thousands of boats of all descriptions from canoes, kayaks and jets skis to tour boats and multi-million dollar yachts. You will find all types of activities in this area. Check out the shopping and restaurants available at dock side and look the area up on the internet for some great resorts that make for a perfect all inclusive holidays if that is your style. Continuing along highway 200, now narrowed to the main street, you enter the Hotel Zone. This area of course is where you find a lot of hotels, many familiar American names and some Condo Vallarta Rental. The beach here is gorgeous and you will find some great dining.

Cross over the bridge and you enter Centro. Here you will find shops too multiple to describe? jewelry shops, art galleries, clothing stores, more time share offers than you can believe, souvenir shops by the score, restaurants with just about any kind of food you taste buds desire. This is the most diverse area of town. On the right you will find the ocean with terrific views from one tip of the bay to the other while on the left the street is lined with shops. Check out the wonderful collection of statues all crafted from bronze, stone and concrete that adorns the wide sidewalk known as the Malecon. These wonderful works of art were all donated by local artisans to help renew and beautify this area after the hurricane of 2001, and indeed it has been wonderfully restored. At the south end of the Malecon you will find crafts, arts, snacks, music, street performers and in general warm hospitality offered up by the local merchants. Meander the side streets for hours and you will find delightful little discoveries guaranteed to satisfy your hunt for an unusual gift. If you get a chance take in the Art Walk, happening every Wednesday, a casual stroll of the many art galleries in this area complete with snacks and a drink offered at participating galleries. Just look for an Art Walk flyer, you will find them at shops all over this area.

Continuing south from the Malecon you will cross another bridge, over the River Cuale into Zona Romantica. I guess you could call Centro and The Malecon the center of this city. Zona Romantica is the heart, the magic, if you have not by now fallen in love with this town Zona Romantica will win you over. Here you can find the best Puerto Vallarta Villa!. Taste the flavors of Mexico at a variety of eateries, from roadside vendors where you can eat for a couple dollars to local Cenadurias, all the way up to five star North American style fine dining experiences on the beach. Don?t be afraid to explore here, both on a culinary level and on a cultural level. Try some local dishes like pozole, molcajete, fried cheese tacos, mahi mahi, it?s all delicious. Let one of the small sidewalk cafes or bars lure you in with offerings of great service, fabulous food and just a plain magical experience.

Above Zona Romantica on the hillside you will find lots of foreign influence again with beautiful villas and condos owned primarily by foreigners and ex patriots most of which can be rented.

Puerto Vallarta is no longer just a cute little Mexican town. It has grown into a diverse, culturally rich tourist destination making its mark proudly on the map. As world commerce grows and travel becomes more and more accessible to the masses Puerto Vallarta has kept pace and in many cases surpassed others as the place to be for your next exotic vacation. Go online and reserve your Puerto Vallarta Vacation Rental you?ll be glad you did!!

Long a popular Mexican beach resort, and one of the nicest resort areas in Mexico, Puerto Vallarta is a sophisticated and beautiful city with a relaxed atmosphere.

Tourists have been coming to Puerto Vallarta since the 1930s, but it really became an ?in? place after John Huston?s Night of the Iguana was filmed here in 1964. The film starred Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, who later bought homes there. Now some two million visitors a year come to PV, as it?s often called.

Puerto Vallarta has historic areas with cobblestone streets. Some say the shopping is the best of any resort town in Mexico, whether at the Mercado (market) downtown, or at any of the many little shops. There are numerous art galleries. On a vacation day, you can have a swim, work on your tan, do a little shopping and gallery-hopping, devote some time to doing nothing, try a fine restaurant, dance the night away ? and repeat the process the next day with a different set of beaches, stores, restaurants, and nightspots! Puerto Vallarta is an excellent destination for a beach vacation that also gives you the flavor of modern Mexico. It?s very popular with Mexican tourists for that reason.

With a population somewhere above 300,000, Puerto Valllarta is a relatively intimate city. It?s never very far from the ocean, as the city runs along along between the mountains and the sea. It?s actually in a bay, Banderas Bay, which results in gorgeous views. Watching the sunset can become a daily ritual, perhaps at one of the many cafes near the beach, or perhaps from a hotel patio in the hills.

You can explore outside of the city with a boat ride across the bay to Yelapa, take an outing to Mismaloya, even doing a little kayaking along the coast. If you are traveling with children, there are many enjoyable and educational things to do and places to go: whale watching in season, for one. With over 20 miles of beaches, it?s easy to find your own favorites.

The weather is delicious in winter ? you might want a light jacket or sweater in the evenings ? and can be very hot in summertime. It?s on the humid side year round. A tropical haven!