Introduction
I am not even sure where to start with this one. This was our third trip down to PV and we have enjoyed the heck out of it every time! I can't tell you how fortunate we are that our great friends Rob and Ron shared this hidden gem with us. You can see from my reviews on Trip Advisor that this place is amazing in so many ways and if you need a recharge it's the perfect place to go. I would like to call it budget travel the only problem is we lived like kings/queens for a week. At the end of the week we always say well maybe next year we will go somewhere else and do something else. Then we get the total bill for our stay and we are like "what?!" how can that be...I still shake my head when I think about it. For us this trip is about as close as it gets to a no brainer. Cheap, close, sunny, great food, amazing views, great friends, what else do you really need in life?
Let me rewind a couple years and say that Eva and I would still not know about this place had it not been for our friends Rob and Ron. They have been visiting PV for years and made the mistake of telling us to come join them when they went down. Needless to say we took them up on there offer and a few months later we were enlightened to one of the most amazing vacations ever. I will say this...remember the first time you saw the Grand Canyon and were mesmerised? That is the same feeling you have the second you get to the villa in PV. We stay in an area off the beaten path just SE of downtown it's a neighborhood called Conchas Chinas. The entire area sits high above Banderas Bay overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The roads wind back and forth and laden with retirement retreats and villas for a select few and a couple hotels/time shares at the top of the hill. I will say this I would not recommend staying anywhere without some guidance from someone that has been there because just like anywhere there are good places and there are bad.
Anyway, when Rob and Ron suggested we join them we stayed at a time share called Ocho Cascades. We had a two bedroom villa with our own pool and a large deck with bar overlooking the ocean. We stayed in number three which is larger than all the others except the penthouse but is farther down the "path" of steps. I won't go into details here because that would take way to long but I will say we offered that second bedroom to many people and could not find anyone that wanted to go with us. If you're reading this and did not get the invitation I'm sorry. Regardless, nobody wanted to come for one reason or another and since we have been going back we now have a list of people saying "hey if you have room for more let us know." I think the fear of Mexican tourism has scared a few people here and there and after this trip this past year I know fewer and fewer people are taking the "chance" of going. I can say this...I would not be going if I thought my life was in danger. I have felt more concerned for my safety in Atlanta than in Mexico. Granted if the site of poverty and dirt bothers you chances are you should not go. I have a few friends that have been to PV and stayed out in Punta Mita which is the other direction from downtown from Conchas Chinas and they loved it. However, going to a resort where someone comes around and cleans my sunglasses and sharing a pool with 100 other people from the U.S. and Canada is not my idea of "getting away." If I/we wanted that we would head up to Santa Barbara and save a few bucks on the cost of the plane fare. Every person is different and my idea of a vacation and your idea of a vacation are two different things. What works for me may not work for you and vice versa but thats what makes the land of the free great!
Travel to PV
note: Last year when we went a co-worker of mine suggested we take a bus from the local Greyhound station that drops you off right at the airport in Tijuana. That is a story within a story let me just say this a trip that should have taken an hour at the most took almost three. I could have walked from my house to the TJ airport faster. We crossed the border and as soon as we did a guy jumps on the bus and starts playing his guitar as loud as he can as he plays some of the worst Mexican music I have ever heard. To much to discuss here but I will say this I will never ever recommend anyone take that bus. Regardless of the cost DON'T do it!
So it's the Thursday before Thanksgiving and Eva and I have arranged for a dog sitter (Chloe) to watch the house and take care of Cami while we are gone. We booked our tickets months in advance flying out of Tijuana because it's so much cheaper than flying out of San Diego (SAN) and it's a direct flight. We leave our house at 7:30 a.m. and by 8:35 a.m. we are standing inside the terminal at TJ. This time includes stopping and picking up Chloe have her drive us down to the Otay crossing, walking across, getting our bags searched as we cross into Mexico (what could we possibly be bringing in that they don't already have in Mexico?) and taking a cab to the airport. The cab was clean and only cost $12 not including tip for the 7 minute ride to the terminal. We told the cab driver we would be returning in a week and he gave us a business card that guaranteed a discounted fare on our return journey.
I only had 70 peso's in my pocked left over from the previous trip so I exchanged some money in the airport. They don't have any ATM's in the airport so this forces you to exchange money through them. Sounds like a typical racket to me but it is what it is. Anyway, you are supposed to purchase a tourist visitors card prior to boarding your flight. It costs 290 Pesos per person for the card. The only problem was their machine was down that was used to collect the money so they told us to pay upon our arrival in PV. Such a messed up system because there was nobody to pay upon our arrival and when we returned to TJ we had the paper in our passports given to us prior to our departure but they never collected the money. It's not like I was going to say hey wait here is my money please take it. I swear I know why the country is going broke! Anyway, the airport is clean, new and ultra efficient almost to efficient. I can say this if you print your boarding card out before you get to the airport you will be ahead of 95% of the people. If you have no bags to check you will be ahead of the other 4% of the people. We walked past so many people and went right through security.
Flying Volaris is a breeze the planes are newer A319/320's and they give free food and booze. The airline is the equivalent of Southwest with younger flight attendants and newer planes. Remember when we used to get food on our flights without having to swipe a credit card? They kept trying to refill my glass with Jose Cuervo tequila and it was only 10 in the morning. No delays out of TIJ and overall a smooth flight down to PV. Upon our arrival we went to a taxi booth inside the airport and prepaid for our cab up to conchas chinas. If I remember correctly it was about $25 for the cab ride up the hill and there are numerous ATM's just outside the baggage claim area.
Welcome to Paradise
This was our second time staying at Las Terrazas in conchas chinas. I believe there are 7 units and each unit is two floors. Last year we stayed at La Casita and this year we were at the top at Casa Joanne website. I have written detailed reports on Trip Advisor so I am not going to go into detail again here. Feel free to click on my trip advisor profile link HERE to read my reviews. Every year we go we plan for the same chef and each unit comes with a house keeper and we request to have someone prepare breakfast as well. Each unit works a little different and the housekeeper may cook the breakfast or the owners of the unit may be able to arrange for someone. I suggest if you plan on going to contact the owner or someone that has been and see what you can find out. The key to any good vacation is doing your homework before you go. We always request the same evening chef Humberto who is absolutely amazing! He takes a while to prepare the food but it is well worth the wait. I think we had him come around 6 in the evening and we usually ate dinner around 8. We were usually still full from the guacamole and mid afternoon margaritas.
PV is a place to come and recharge....i don't know how else to say this. I have been on many vacations where I came home and felt like I needed a break to relax. This is not one of those places because quite honestly it's one of the most relaxing and peaceful places we have ever been. If you are adventurous and need to get out they have Zip line tours, the towns of Tequila and Sayulita are nearby and the town of PV itself has a neat "historic district" The water is warm and the shopping is cheap and the nightlife is strong and don't forget about the 90 minute massages for $30. You can find plenty of things to do and enjoy yourself for a week or a month...or two. It's funny because our first year down to PV we invited others to join us and we had no takers. Now we get asked all the time if we have room for any extra people. This place is amazing and regardless of what you may think I have felt more unsafe in Atlanta, GA than PV. I know the economy has been hurting for the past year and half because people are scared to come down but it's not that bad, at least not to us.
Notes
There was a neat boutique hotel we found above the square in downtown with an amazing courtyard click HERE
PV is gay friendly if this bothers you then turn your head.
Do you homework and go with a good group of close friends...you won't regret it.
I just noticed my review of La Casita is missing from Trip advisor from last year. I will be adding a link for my review here on the blog.
I am not even sure where to start with this one. This was our third trip down to PV and we have enjoyed the heck out of it every time! I can't tell you how fortunate we are that our great friends Rob and Ron shared this hidden gem with us. You can see from my reviews on Trip Advisor that this place is amazing in so many ways and if you need a recharge it's the perfect place to go. I would like to call it budget travel the only problem is we lived like kings/queens for a week. At the end of the week we always say well maybe next year we will go somewhere else and do something else. Then we get the total bill for our stay and we are like "what?!" how can that be...I still shake my head when I think about it. For us this trip is about as close as it gets to a no brainer. Cheap, close, sunny, great food, amazing views, great friends, what else do you really need in life?
Let me rewind a couple years and say that Eva and I would still not know about this place had it not been for our friends Rob and Ron. They have been visiting PV for years and made the mistake of telling us to come join them when they went down. Needless to say we took them up on there offer and a few months later we were enlightened to one of the most amazing vacations ever. I will say this...remember the first time you saw the Grand Canyon and were mesmerised? That is the same feeling you have the second you get to the villa in PV. We stay in an area off the beaten path just SE of downtown it's a neighborhood called Conchas Chinas. The entire area sits high above Banderas Bay overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The roads wind back and forth and laden with retirement retreats and villas for a select few and a couple hotels/time shares at the top of the hill. I will say this I would not recommend staying anywhere without some guidance from someone that has been there because just like anywhere there are good places and there are bad.
Anyway, when Rob and Ron suggested we join them we stayed at a time share called Ocho Cascades. We had a two bedroom villa with our own pool and a large deck with bar overlooking the ocean. We stayed in number three which is larger than all the others except the penthouse but is farther down the "path" of steps. I won't go into details here because that would take way to long but I will say we offered that second bedroom to many people and could not find anyone that wanted to go with us. If you're reading this and did not get the invitation I'm sorry. Regardless, nobody wanted to come for one reason or another and since we have been going back we now have a list of people saying "hey if you have room for more let us know." I think the fear of Mexican tourism has scared a few people here and there and after this trip this past year I know fewer and fewer people are taking the "chance" of going. I can say this...I would not be going if I thought my life was in danger. I have felt more concerned for my safety in Atlanta than in Mexico. Granted if the site of poverty and dirt bothers you chances are you should not go. I have a few friends that have been to PV and stayed out in Punta Mita which is the other direction from downtown from Conchas Chinas and they loved it. However, going to a resort where someone comes around and cleans my sunglasses and sharing a pool with 100 other people from the U.S. and Canada is not my idea of "getting away." If I/we wanted that we would head up to Santa Barbara and save a few bucks on the cost of the plane fare. Every person is different and my idea of a vacation and your idea of a vacation are two different things. What works for me may not work for you and vice versa but thats what makes the land of the free great!
Travel to PV
note: Last year when we went a co-worker of mine suggested we take a bus from the local Greyhound station that drops you off right at the airport in Tijuana. That is a story within a story let me just say this a trip that should have taken an hour at the most took almost three. I could have walked from my house to the TJ airport faster. We crossed the border and as soon as we did a guy jumps on the bus and starts playing his guitar as loud as he can as he plays some of the worst Mexican music I have ever heard. To much to discuss here but I will say this I will never ever recommend anyone take that bus. Regardless of the cost DON'T do it!
So it's the Thursday before Thanksgiving and Eva and I have arranged for a dog sitter (Chloe) to watch the house and take care of Cami while we are gone. We booked our tickets months in advance flying out of Tijuana because it's so much cheaper than flying out of San Diego (SAN) and it's a direct flight. We leave our house at 7:30 a.m. and by 8:35 a.m. we are standing inside the terminal at TJ. This time includes stopping and picking up Chloe have her drive us down to the Otay crossing, walking across, getting our bags searched as we cross into Mexico (what could we possibly be bringing in that they don't already have in Mexico?) and taking a cab to the airport. The cab was clean and only cost $12 not including tip for the 7 minute ride to the terminal. We told the cab driver we would be returning in a week and he gave us a business card that guaranteed a discounted fare on our return journey.
I only had 70 peso's in my pocked left over from the previous trip so I exchanged some money in the airport. They don't have any ATM's in the airport so this forces you to exchange money through them. Sounds like a typical racket to me but it is what it is. Anyway, you are supposed to purchase a tourist visitors card prior to boarding your flight. It costs 290 Pesos per person for the card. The only problem was their machine was down that was used to collect the money so they told us to pay upon our arrival in PV. Such a messed up system because there was nobody to pay upon our arrival and when we returned to TJ we had the paper in our passports given to us prior to our departure but they never collected the money. It's not like I was going to say hey wait here is my money please take it. I swear I know why the country is going broke! Anyway, the airport is clean, new and ultra efficient almost to efficient. I can say this if you print your boarding card out before you get to the airport you will be ahead of 95% of the people. If you have no bags to check you will be ahead of the other 4% of the people. We walked past so many people and went right through security.
Flying Volaris is a breeze the planes are newer A319/320's and they give free food and booze. The airline is the equivalent of Southwest with younger flight attendants and newer planes. Remember when we used to get food on our flights without having to swipe a credit card? They kept trying to refill my glass with Jose Cuervo tequila and it was only 10 in the morning. No delays out of TIJ and overall a smooth flight down to PV. Upon our arrival we went to a taxi booth inside the airport and prepaid for our cab up to conchas chinas. If I remember correctly it was about $25 for the cab ride up the hill and there are numerous ATM's just outside the baggage claim area.
Welcome to Paradise
This was our second time staying at Las Terrazas in conchas chinas. I believe there are 7 units and each unit is two floors. Last year we stayed at La Casita and this year we were at the top at Casa Joanne website. I have written detailed reports on Trip Advisor so I am not going to go into detail again here. Feel free to click on my trip advisor profile link HERE to read my reviews. Every year we go we plan for the same chef and each unit comes with a house keeper and we request to have someone prepare breakfast as well. Each unit works a little different and the housekeeper may cook the breakfast or the owners of the unit may be able to arrange for someone. I suggest if you plan on going to contact the owner or someone that has been and see what you can find out. The key to any good vacation is doing your homework before you go. We always request the same evening chef Humberto who is absolutely amazing! He takes a while to prepare the food but it is well worth the wait. I think we had him come around 6 in the evening and we usually ate dinner around 8. We were usually still full from the guacamole and mid afternoon margaritas.
PV is a place to come and recharge....i don't know how else to say this. I have been on many vacations where I came home and felt like I needed a break to relax. This is not one of those places because quite honestly it's one of the most relaxing and peaceful places we have ever been. If you are adventurous and need to get out they have Zip line tours, the towns of Tequila and Sayulita are nearby and the town of PV itself has a neat "historic district" The water is warm and the shopping is cheap and the nightlife is strong and don't forget about the 90 minute massages for $30. You can find plenty of things to do and enjoy yourself for a week or a month...or two. It's funny because our first year down to PV we invited others to join us and we had no takers. Now we get asked all the time if we have room for any extra people. This place is amazing and regardless of what you may think I have felt more unsafe in Atlanta, GA than PV. I know the economy has been hurting for the past year and half because people are scared to come down but it's not that bad, at least not to us.
Notes
There was a neat boutique hotel we found above the square in downtown with an amazing courtyard click HERE
PV is gay friendly if this bothers you then turn your head.
Do you homework and go with a good group of close friends...you won't regret it.
I just noticed my review of La Casita is missing from Trip advisor from last year. I will be adding a link for my review here on the blog.
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