parma, We went to PV last March and had some great meals. We missed Kaisermaximilian, but enjoyed Vista Grill for our 25th anniversary dinner - great food and wonderful views. Try to get there for sunset. We had dessert and coffee that night at their sister restaurant, La Palapa, on the beach. Others that we enjoyed were Mariscos Polo for wonderful seafood at even better prices, El Arrayan for unusual regional Mexican food, Barcelona Tapas, River Cafe, and Joe Jack's Fish Shack. There are so many wonderful restaurants in Puerto Vallarta, I couldn't imagine going to an all inclusive resort and eating my meals there. I'm sure that AuntJen will chime in soon, since she's been to PV twice in the last year (I'm so jealous). I believe that she's been spending a lot of time over on the Trip Advisor Puerto Vallarta Forum under her other alias Baja Blonde.

Thanks terriks!

I'll take a look at all of your links. I'll also track down the Baja Blonde , lol. TA is my second home anyway.

And just so no one thinks I was "cyber stalking" AuntJen, I did recognize her profile pic, and her vacation pics that she posted here on GW, while I was surfing the TA forums. ;)

Ha, ha...speaking of stalking, I might just start stalking you terriks. BBF? :)

Besides the PV connection, isn't it you who owns the Cliq through T-Mobile? My contract is coming to a close and I've been thinking about getting that phone. Does the Blur technology have any other use besides social networking. I'm not big into that but I do like the looks of the phone and the fact that it has a hard keyboard in addition to the touch screen. I'm using a Dash, now.

Yes, I have the Cliq. I don't use it for the social networking features. I have a Facebook account, but don't use it on my phone. I don't want to be constantly updated with random activities of my "friends". I only look at my Facebook online every week or two. Apparently the Blur technology can be used if you lose your phone to either locate it or wipe it clean in case someone finds/steals it.
I primarily bought it for the Android operating system, the physical keyboard and touch screen. There are lots of apps you can download, not as many as the iPhone, but more than I will ever use.

Back to your original topic - Puerto Vallarta - where are you staying?

Just out the door before a snow storm hits.

We're staying at the Marriott (points). Free means lots left for food. :) Being close to the marina is kind of cool. We did that when we went to Aruba. We'll probably cab it downtown.

DH likes to snorkel but I hear PV isn't too great for that. We'll probably just relax after such a dismal year (401K, business, housing...Yikes... really need a vacation).

He's been so great to take me on so many European adventures (he works for an Italian company) that I thought I'd throw him a bone and plan a vacation where it's warm. The Euro is way too expensive, anyway.

Stalkers! Stalkers! LOL! ;-D

OK, seriously - I'm thrilled to see folks here talking about PV! I consider it a magical place that has thoroughly captured my heart. We're already booked to return again this summer. Who knows - maybe someday we'll be booking to stay!

PV is a foodie's paradise. Gourmet restaurants abound (not surprising - it is an international resort city, after all), and there are numerous upscale establishments to rival those in the big cities of the states. I've definitely heard good things about all those listed above, but the only one we've tried has been Joe Jack's (it was delicious by the way). That said, DH and I are not gourmands by any means -- we prefer simple and inexpensive meals and we are such creatures of habit that when we find a place we like, we have no qualms about returning repeatedly to dine during a single trip. We're just boring that way. ;-)

Parma, PV does actually have great snorkeling at Los Arcos National Underwater Marine Reserve and out at the Marieta Islands. (See link for a bit more info - Google both places for tons more info.)

Now I'm curious as to the names you ladies post under on TA. Terriks, I think I knew yours at one time, but cannot recall!

Here is a link that might be useful: Snorkeling in PV

Thanks Jen! I'll forward that info to DH.

I usually just use TA for hotel and restaurant reviews.

Used to be a regular on AOL's Paris boards but hadn't been there for a while. It got too depressing when the economy (and Euro prices) kept me away from my favorite city. When I decided to take a peek one day, I found that AOL had pretty much trashed their good forums. What I did then was actually start stalking my favorite old poster, lol.

I found him, and a few others, on the TA forums. He posts on Paris and Bermuda. This guy was just great. Fabulous sense of humor and really knows his stuff.

TA is such a cool place! I posted pics on another thread here of our most recent PV trip, and there are photos of several people we met in PV through TA. The first night we arrived, there was a "Cantina Crawl" organized by TA members and headed up by a couple of TA's resident experts. It was loads of fun! Another couple that we hung out with most days our first week there (they went back home before the start of our second week) were folks that we originally started "talking" to on the TA forum. There are so many travel-lovin' folks with a wealth of knowledge to share out there. :-)

You've probably already guessed, but I'm "trecile" on TA.

Auntjen cost me WAY too much $$$ because she got me hooked on the Hawaii/Maui TA forums.

(I'm such a sap/geek...I have the 4S "reviews" thread in my Favorites...siiiigggh....!)

Maybe someday I'll make it south-of-the-border too!!!??

No wait...if I'm gonna make it back to the 4S for our 25th, I'd better start saving now...;-)

Faron

Hi Jen and terriks!

You were right, it's great here. Food, weather and people couldn't be better. We have two days left.

Only weird thing...everybody thinks we're Canadians. What's up with that?

PV seems to be very popular with Canadians - I met my Canadian husband there!

Yep, we met lots of Canadians there last month! So glad you're loving it, Parma. We hope you'll share a full trip report - with pics - when you get home!

So happy to hear your trip has been great, Parma! I was just thinking about you this morning and wondering how your trip was. I look forward to photos and stories!

Back.

I'm pleased to report that my DH and I have finally found a location we agree upon. He thought nothing could keep him from lusting after the Caribbean and I love places that have a bigger urban area. Aruba was a compromise that neither one of us loved. PV was perfect.

The people are great and the food was terrific! I loved the location by the marina, as it felt like we had two separate vacations. The Marriott was fabulous. We went downtown for four of the days/nights.

Never had a bad meal. Daiquiri Dick's was the only place I wasn't nuts about (over-rated and priced, imo). Victor's in the marina was cheap, fun and delicious. We ate there twice. The duck I ordered at Kaiser Maximilian was the only time I wasn't eating fish, of some sort. Caio Tres was a real find. Beautiful place and service, with very low prices considering the quality. Jen, if you eat dairy, their four cheese eggplant dish is supposed to be fabulous. Liked Joe Jack's, too.

The only time I wasn't deliriously happy was during the afternoon hours downtown. I really can't take heat in any form (explaining why I like Europe in the winter). My hair ended up being a salt lick most days down there. Next trip (yes!) we'll do that area in the evenings.

Soooo, what started up as my "throwing a bone" to DH, has ended up with our finding a new winter vacation locale. Thanks to you, both!!

Funky, great to see you pop up on GW! I'll be emailing...

Ah, another PV convert! I'm one too, thinking I'd never want to go anywhere but Cabo ... and now I don't really care if I never make it back there, so long as I can go to PV. ;-D

Thanks for the recommendation for Caio Tres. We've never tried it, but will definitely seek it out on our next visit.

Our next visit - in August. Oh, talk about hideous hair. You think it's hot now ... August is positively sweltering, and it's pointless to even make an attempt to fix hair or makeup. But we'll just do as we learned to do last year, and that's lounge around the pool/air-conditioned condo during the heat of the day and (as is your plan of attack for next time) go out and about when the sun goes down in the evening. The heat really forces us to slow down and rest - something that I think is an important component of a successful vacation. ;-)

Do you have any pics to share with us?

Welcome back, Parma!

So glad you found your happy spot times two! :-)

Finally got around to uploading some pics.

I threw one in of our kitty Arwen because there was a sweet feral cat hanging around the Marriott. She'd be getting some shade just outside of the open air lounge where I'd enjoy my morning coffee. One day she was sharing her space with a large lizard (baby iguana?). Kinda cool. :) She'd sneak around the lounge at night to see if she could score some nibbles.

The sunset was from our balcony. The pics of me show my drenched hair and melted off make-up.

Oh, and I learned the hard way that you're supposed to put sun screen on your feet, too. Nuff said. :(

Fabulous pics! Thanks so much for posting them! Don't you just love the malecon statues? So freaky-cool and such fun places to take photos. Yeah, we are kinda crazy for going back in sweltering August, but one of the main draws is the low-season pricing. We're renting a gorgeous 2-bedroom/2-bath condo just steps from the beach for about $60 a night. Can't beat that! :-D

$60 a night??!! I think I'd travel to hell for that price. :)

My problem, now, is an addiction to shrimp tacos. Must find somewhere...I'd heard of fish tacos and thought they sounded pretty gross. Live and learn.

Oh, shrimp tacos ... I'm a vegetarian and don't eat animals, and I have always had a very strong aversion to seafood of any sort. (It just grosses me out.) However - a friend in PV convinced me to just take a tiny little taste of a shrimp taco at a little restaurant called Fidencio's on Los Muertos Beach, and OMG ... it was divine. I'd never tasted anything quite like it, and I'm fairly certain that if I could get that exact flavor around here, I'd have to start eating seafood on occasion. (Well, at least shrimp tacos! ;-))