Puerto Vallarta beach and Malecon
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta sits on Mexico’s Pacific coast in the state of Jalisco. It was once a very popular cruise ship port when a lot of ships did Mexican Riveria cruises. At one point most of the ships that sailed Alaska in the summer went to Mexico in the winter, but around 2015 Puerto Vallarta and other ports on that itinerary lost favor due to civil unrest and criminal violence. Cruise lines turned to other wintertime destinations. Following covid when all sailings stopped for a time, ships began to return to Puerto Vallarta and other former destinations. Puerto Vallarta is resuming its status as a resort town with investments in tourism infrastructure and attempts to increase safety. Although Mexico uses the peso, both US and Canadian dollars are widely accepted at tourist-oriented places in Puerto Vallarta. Many people there speak English as well as Spanish, especially those working in the tourist industry.
pelicans on a boat anchored in Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta has a tropical climate with dry winters and rainy summers. The average daily high temperature is 86 °F (30 °C); average daily low temperature is 70 °F (21 °C); average daily humidity is 75%. The best time to visit is during the dry season from November to April. Average temperatures during that time period range from lows in the mid-60s to highs in the low 80s Fahrenheit (18°C to 28°C).
Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam in Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta Cruise Port
Ships dock fairly close to town. There’s a duty-free store and some other shops at the port and shuttles to take people downtown. Water based excursions leave from the port rather than getting bussed elsewhere. Taxis and Ubers are generally readily available for those who want a ride to a beach resort that offers day passes or to other destinations they want to explore on their own. There are some things within walking distance including a marina, a beach, some shops, a mall, and a Walmart. For those who don’t mind a long walk the Malecon is slightly over 5 kilometers (just over 3 miles) away. It’s a 12-block seaside boardwalk with tourist activities and entertainment including art sculptures, bars, restaurants, street vendors and performers. Or they can just take the free shuttle since it is in the downtown area.
Marietas Islands
Ship’s Excursions offered in Puerto Vallarta from Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam included: Beach Resort, Best of Puerto Vallarta, Walking tour, Dolphin encounter, mountain retreat, sea lion encounter, dolphin swim, luxury sailing, sight seeing tours, tequila tasting, zipline, and snorkeling. We took the Whales, Wild Dolphins & Marietas Islands Snorkeling tour. We were not there during the right season for whale sightings.
Whales, Wild Dolphins & Marietas Islands Snorkeling
Cruise Ship Excursion Description:
TOP 3 REASONS TO BOOK
Banderas Bay’s profusion of nature and sea life
A catamaran cruise to the Marietas Islands
Snorkeling, kayaking and paddleboarding
ABOUT THE EXCURSION
Banderas Bay offers a sanctuary for a great profusion of nature and sea life. A motorized catamaran carries you out to the sheltered waters of the Marietas Islands — an ideal habitat for year-round dolphin encounters. These friendly, adorable mammals like nothing more than to swim alongside the boat and show off their athletic prowess.
The catamaran will stop long enough to allow you to explore the rocky caverns and archways of Marietas Island. Snorkeling, kayaking and paddleboarding gear is provided, or you can take an eco-tour around the islands.
Humpback whales are regularly sighted in the bay from December through March, leaping out of the water or noisily slapping their enormous tails on the surface. Keep an eye out for giant manta rays, sea turtles and multi-colored fish as well.
Lunch is served on board the boat.
Notes:
Tour operates approximately mid-December through April. Wear your swimsuit under your clothing; bring a towel, reef-safe/biodegradable sunscreen (no other kind is allowed in the water), light clothing to act as a full cover-up for further protection from the sun, and a hat. Swim at your own risk. Guests with a heart condition are not allowed to participate. Waiver must be signed and medical conditions disclosed. Wildlife sightings are likely but are not guaranteed. You will not swim or snorkel with wild dolphins on this tour. You will not land on the islands. Tour does not operate on Mondays.
Nieuw Amsterdam at the dock
Actual Excursion
It was nice that the instructions said to use reef-safe sunscreen only. It brings awareness to people who didn’t know that chemical sunscreens are harmful as well as protecting the places we visit on that tour. It used to be difficult to find reef-safe sunscreens, but now they are more likely to be available along with other sunscreens in stores. When we were in Hawaii reef-safe was the only type they had. Unlike cruise ship shops where I’ve only once seen any even though ships bring thousands of people into vulnerable areas daily.
on the tour boat
Our Whales, Wild Dolphins, and Marietas Islands Snorkeling tour met on the pier 15 minutes after the ship’s scheduled docking time of 7am for a 7:30 departure, which was a reschedule from the original 8am departure. After disembarking the ship people were told to go stand in the area of the port building marked with the letter B. It didn’t take long for a large group to arrive. It did take a bit longer before anyone came to scan key cards or phone tickets or to move us on to the next place leaving people to wonder why reschedule to an earlier time for people just to stand there waiting for something to happen. Meanwhile random locals came by with a blue macaw who sat on people’s arms for photos, though they didn’t seem to actually make any effort to sell those photos to anyone or even mention how to purchase them should anyone want to buy one. They were promoting some sort of charity.
excursion catamaran
Eventually we exited through a gate and walked a short distance to a small empty pier next to our ship. The catamaran was supposed to be there waiting for us, but it had gotten stopped because a Princess ship came in. It had to wait for that ship to dock before it was allowed into the port area. Finally it arrived. It was pretty big for an excursion catamaran, but luckily not full so people had space enough move around to other areas of the ship to take photos rather than being stuck wherever they first sat. Nobody had to spend the whole voyage out in the sun in the uncovered seats if they didn’t want to.
bird flying by the tour boat
On the way out to the island, which was a 22-mile journey, we were given instructions and snorkel equipment. Also life jackets, which were required for all water sports. When snorkeling I don’t even like using a deflated snorkel vest, let alone a life jacket. I find warm salt water quite buoyant and have far more difficulty diving under the surface than floating on top even without the use of any floatation devices, though that is not the case for everyone. Usually I bring my own snorkel gear, but since Linda isn’t that into snorkeling and had never tried kayaking we made that our priority, with paddleboarding second if we could do more than one thing since neither of us had ever tried to paddleboard. With snorkeling as a third option on this tour I didn’t bother bringing my own gear, which worked out for the best since we didn’t snorkel.
dolphins
Shortly after leaving the dock the crew passed out orange juice, coffee, and pastries to anyone who wanted any of those things while heading out to an area where dolphins feed. After traveling for some distance we came upon some bottlenose dolphins. The main guy who did all the talking said there are several dolphin species in the area, but those were the only ones we saw. After jumping around near the boat a bit the dolphins moved on and so did we. We also saw some turtles several different times during the tour, but none close enough for a photo.
birds on an island – mostly pelicans and boobies
The Marietas Islands are a sanctuary for birds so people aren’t allowed on the islands. They can be in the water next to them, though the marine species living there are protected too so touching anything in the water including rocks is off limits.
different sorts of birds of the area
As the boat circled around an island we learned about birds who live there. Mostly several species of boobies including blue footed ones. Also some about island history where they had once been used to test bombs. Prior to being protected people camped there and someone left without making sure to fully put out their campfire, which burned nearly all of the grasses on that island killing most of the nesting boobies and their eggs and chicks.
dive boat
We passed by a roped off area with people in the water whom we were told had been visiting a secret beach accessed through a cave in the rock. He did not say if they were actually allowed on that beach or just go through the rock to look at it since it is on an island where people aren’t supposed to go. There are also a lot of underwater caves in the area that certified divers can visit.
sea cave – not the one where people were diving
The boat stopped after settling on a place to snorkel. There were already some people from the Princess ship in the water there. Just as people from our boat were getting ready to go in, the Princess people hurried back to the boat they came on, desperate to get out of the water. It turned out hundreds of stinging jellyfish had just arrived on the current so we left since nobody wanted to snorkel with a bunch of stinging jellyfish.
avian escort
Other possible snorkeling sites near those islands also had jellyfish so we headed back to Puerto Vallarta. Along the way we saw several sea turtles and had an escort of birds. It started out with a mix of species, but eventually was just seagulls. They had one there called a laughing seagull, but there was another kind as well so the ones following our boat could have been either (or both).
tour boat anchored
Along the way they opened the bar with margaritas and rum punch, and served watermelon and cantaloupe. We stopped near a beach with a lot of high-rise buildings that were most likely hotels. Once the boat stopped they served lunch, which had sandwich fixins, green salad, pasta salad, potato salad, and cheesecake. People were allowed to snorkel there. That place also had some jellyfish, but not nearly as many so some people went snorkeling. Nobody stayed out long and when they got back on the boat some said that the water was kind of murky and had a warm top layer, but cold underneath.
kayak and paddleboard
Meanwhile the crew pulled a few kayaks and a paddleboard out from a hatch in the boat deck. Not a lot so apparently they expected most people to snorkel. We got into a kayak and paddled a couple laps around our boat and two others anchored next to it. It was fun. A different sort of kayak being open all across the top rather than just having holes for people to slip into. It wasn’t as comfortable to sit in as the other sort, but it glided through the water easily.
Linda in front of me in the Kayak
We went back after a couple circuits so someone else could have a turn. We didn’t try the paddleboard. There weren’t enough of them for very many people to try plus we didn’t want to risk falling off into jellyfish-infested waters.
cathedral and Malecon
After spending some time there we headed back to the port. First we had some scenic cruising past Puerto Vallarta’s Malecon and downtown area. Then the crew put on a lively show with different rock songs and costumes of the groups the songs came from.
crew show on the tour boat
Although the watersports didn’t go as planned due to jellyfish swarms it was still a fun excursion with lots of wildlife viewing, an entertaining crew, and a nice boat ride with drinks and lunch included. Even if nobody had managed to get off the boat for any watersports the crew still would have made it an enjoyable experience.
