SETTING - Puerto Vallarta - Hotels

Many students who want to get better prices on airline tickets, choose to fly into Puerto Vallarta a day or two early, or stay a day of two after the retreat is over. I actually recommend this to everyone as a wonderful option. For as little at $25 a day for hotels, you can extend your stay as long as you like.

If you choose to fly in early (some students have arrived as much as a week early and had a wonderful vacation before the retreat even began) you will be responsible for meeting us at the water taxi on Saturday in time to make the boat ride to Yelapa.

There are hundreds of Hotels in Puerto Vallarta, and even in tourist season there are plenty of vacancies. If you do not have a favorite hotel, or a recommendation from a friend then I would be careful about making reservations sight unseen. You are likely to pay a lot more, and end up several miles north of down town in a stretch of beach that has been developed recently by big hotels. There is nothing of interested within walking distance (except for other tourists) and you see little of Mexico.

Most students choose just to show up and find a place that looks nice. You can take a taxi to Playa del Muerto and have the cab drop you off at the Pier. You will see two beach restaurants on your left and right. The one on the right - in front of Hotel Marsol is called Cuates y Cuetes. It has a wooden stage where you can store your luggage. They will look after your bags all day for $2/bag or less. They are used to this arrangement with groups catching the water taxi to Yelapa, they speak English, and they are reliable. We have been doing this with groups for 5 years and have never had a problem (I would recommend keeping you passport and money with you at all times however).

Having stowed your luggage, you are free to walk around and explore for yourself. You should have no problem finding a hotel that meets your needs and your budget. If you look at the map below, showing the pier and the southern half of downtown, there are lots of hotels every where you look with some really nice ones at very affordable rates just south of the river and a few blocks from the ocean.

By far the most convenient and affordable hotel is the Hotel Marsol, seen in picture on the left. There are always rooms available here, and the price is $35 for a single room.

They are 50 feet from where you will meet with the other participants to catch the water taxi to Yelapa (the photo was actually taken from the pier). They are on the beach, and right where the surf is highest (and loudest) in the bay - a definite bonus if you like the sound of waves to fall asleep to as much as I do.

They are also located very close to the heart of old down town. Within 3 blocks you can find 5 good coffee houses, 30 or more restaurants, cyber-cafes to check email, drug stores, and almost anything else you might need.

Before you get to enamored, there are some draw backs.

In it's defense, the Hotel Marsol does have plenty of hot water, clean sheets, and is very inexpensive and very convenient. If I am only going to be in Puerto Vallarta for one night before catching the water taxi to Yelapa, this is where I stay.

If I plan to stay longer than one night I take time to look around for a nice little family run hotel, or one of the many bed and breakfast places. As you move away from the beach, and up into the hills you find the neighborhoods becoming a little more quiet, and the hotels give way to hundreds of Bed & Breakfasts, or houses that can be rented by the week or the month. The most convenient Bed & Breakfast for those who are waiting to catch the water taxi to Yelapa is the Hotel Corazon.

Casa Corazon is two blocks south of the Pier where we gather to take the water taxi to Yelapa and a half-block off of the beach. When I stayed there in 1999, you could rent a double room for between $35-60 a night. They are becoming more popular now, but it is easy to make reservations. You can find out more by visiting their web-site at Casa Corazon. The picture on the left is taken from the beach looking up at the bed and breakfast. The picture below I took from my balcony looking down to the ocean.