How to save money during your visit to Puerto Vallarta

How to save money during your visit to Puerto Vallarta

When you think of vacations, you think of moments of fun, moments that remain engraved in your mind all your life. However, you also think of the expenses that are included.

One of the advantages of the destination of Puerto Vallarta is that it is very flexible. There is something here for all budgets, from high-end resorts to small hotels in the city center.

That is why, we offer you 7 tips to save on your visit to Puerto Vallarta from a backpackers point of view. However, even if you are not a backpacker, it is important that you read it anyway. We inlcude tips (maybe not all) that are very useful to save money on your vacation in Puerto Vallarta.

Just remember that you don't have to be a millionaire to travel, but you do have to have things in order, let's go into detail

1.- Investigate Puerto Vallarta

It is important that you study the destination, to know if it willl meet your expectations. This is one of the most important parts in the early stages of planning your vacation, because it allows you to identify the attractions or places that you would like to visit. The things that can be done in Puerto Vallarta either on an excursion or on your own. All of this knowledge helps you save time and money, two of the most important things while on vacation.

How do you investigate the destination?

Three ways.

1. Through blogs from travelers who have already been to Puerto Vallarta.
2. Through videos on YouTube where there are thousands of very videos explaining the attractions of Puerto Vallarta and its surroundings.
3. Through your friends who have already visited this place.

What do I have to investigate?

Three things

1. Accommodation prices and their different qualities
2. Prices of the excursions you would like to take
3. Food prices in Puerto Vallarta

Once you have done a little investigating of what you would like to do and see, you should write everything down so that you can move on to part two of how to save money on your vacation to Puerto Vallarta.

2.- Daily and Total Budget

This is essential because if you don't have a budget you are going to start spending and spending and when you finally realize it, things are already out of control and are costing you double what they should cost you.

By having a total budget, you are asking your pocket if you are prepared to take that vacation from a realistic term, and if not, establish a plan so that perhaps in 6 or more months you will be ready to take this trip.

Do not be discouraged, remember that Puerto Vallarta is for all budgets the point is to do things based on the reality of your financial position.

By having a budget you will be able to establish the place you will be staying, the places that you can visit, the transportation, etc.

Accommodations:e

Accommodation costs: there are 3 options in Puerto Vallarta.

1. All Inclusive hotels
2. Economic priced hotels downtown, AIRBNB, Hostels, rooms just to sleep
3. Couch Surfing

When listing a hotel / apartment you have to look for 3 very important things.

1. Location. You may get a very cheap hotel, but if you are far from all the places you want to visit it will make you spend time and money to get there.
2. Comments. You can see what people liked and didn’t like from travelers like you who have already been there, so that way you know what to expect
3. What is included, the minimum necessary is breakfast.

If your plan is to visit as many places as possible, you will hardly be in the hotel, it is better to book a cheap hotel just for sleeping.

If your plan is to rest or you come with the family, a very good option is the “all inclusive” so there are no extra expenses and you can just enjoy the facilities.

There is a hybrid option, you can use 3 days to visit all of the places on your list, where you just use the hotel to sleep and the last days you can stay at the all-inclusive hotel to rest and enjoy, but it all depends on what you have in mind.

Excursions:

To get quotes on excursions, first try to see if it is cheaper for you to go on your own, then try to contact the direct distributors of the excursion or those who offer both good prices as well as quality.

You can determine if they are suitable and professional by finding out a few things. How long does it take them to answer? How easy is it to contact them? Are the explanations they give you as detailed as possible to avoid surprise expenses,etc.

Transportation:

Use public transportion, it is a bit longer, but it is cheaper, you meet more people and you can see their daily life and customs.You can also get to know the city well, because buses usually do not go to places that tourists visit. In the particular case of Puerto Vallarta, keep in mind that the buses are not in the best conditions, so also consider an Uber and if for any reason you are going to take a taxi, always ask before gerting in the taxi how much the service will cost.

Food:

Try to choose a hotel room that has a small kitchen so that you can make your own food, do some local shopping so that you can take some sandwiches, juices, etc., to excursions. This is where the Airbnb option is very tempting.

A tip that you should take into consideration, observe the local people where do they eat? They always look for the three b's, bueno, bonito y barato, translated to good, nice and cheap, if you see a place with people from Puerto Vallarta lining up to eat, that place must be promising.

In my personal case vacations are also a tasting gastronomy, and I like to eat everything that is tasty. Puerto Vallarta has a variety of restaurants from food stands to signature cuisine restaurants. In that aspect I am not so strict with my budget. Sometimes you can not help but have a beer on the shore of the beach with a rich seafood soup.

And that's what the budget is for, having a budget is knowing how far your limits are and in which parts you are willing to save and in which you are a little more flexible.

3.- Walking and walking

A very beautiful way to get to know Puerto Vallarta is to walk, and walk, and walk some more. You can walk the boardwalk, walk the romantic zone, the high waves beach, the pier of playa de los muertos, lookout of the cross, and much more. Check out this link for free or almost free things to do in Puerto Vallarta.

Walking allows you to see places that you never thought would exist and it is good for your health.

4.- Don't travel during vacation season, travel during low season

If you want to save money, a very common mistake is traveling during vacation time, everything is more expensive, plane tickets, accommodation, etc.

Everywhere is full of people, and all the service providers are stressed. I personally recommend you not to come to Puerto Vallarta during holidays. If you have no other option, one way to save money is by trying to buy everything at least 3 months in advance. If you buy for example, the plane tickets too close to your travel date the price is usually much higher. The same things happens with the hotels, and if you have those two items paid in advance it is much better, that way you don't have to carry so much cash.

5.- Bargin

In certain places such as craft stores, never go for the first price, sometimes you have to start the bargaining process with the prices shown.

It is an art, tell the seller that you are very interested in buying his product but that you are going to think about it, or ask him if there is a current promotion and leave the store.

More often than not, they will be willing to give you a cheaper price. You can be sure that they will tell you a price with a discount. If not, you can get a quote in other places and if that place is the right one you can return at any time

6.- Promotions

A very effective technique that I use a lot is that if I already know which places I want to visit, I call them first and ask them what promotions they are offering. In the case of restaurants / bars almost all have happy hours, or specials for people that are celebrating their birthday don't pay. These promotions are not always advertised, but they are in force and if you don't ask about them you will never know they exist.

7.- Have a sense of tolerance and patience (especially with your family)

Have a sense of tolerance and respect towards all people and if it is your family much more, remember that you go on vacation to spend quality time and make memories for them.

Enjoy your vacation, enjoy your family, be very tolerant, because there are always conflicting opinions when traveling with a group. The worst thing you can do is argue on your vacation and ruin it, not to mention that it will also cost you money, to avoid it a technique is always try to discuss the itinerary and make decisions together as a family or with your partner. If mistakes happen, it’s ok, that is also part of life, do not take it to heart.

As you can see, these are just some of the most helpful recommendations, there may be more, however, it can vary from person to person. You do not have to follow them all, there are some that are easier than others, use the ones you need, the important thing is that they allow you to save money on your visit to Puerto Vallarta.

I hope you enjoy your vacation and welcome to Puerto Vallarta, we await you with open arms.

If this information was interesting to you, we ask you to share it through your favorite social networks. If you have a blog or a web page we ask you to put a link to this article, for us it means a lot. Thank you so muchin advance!

"Paul Zamora"