Mexico City vs Puerto Vallarta: A Travel Guide

Intro

I had started my Latin America trip visiting Medellin and Bogota, and so far it had been a very relaxing experience, to just forget the agitated life of New York City. But now, I was going north to Mexico to spend some time in a few cities and also have some fun. Mexico City, Zipolite and Puerto Vallarta were my chose destinations this time around. I had been to Playa del Carmen, Monterrey and Cabo San Lucas recently, but this time I was going to add Zipolite and the state of Oaxaca in my collection of visited places in the great country of Mexico. For now, I was just leaving Bogota, and landing in a new airport for me, the Felipe Ángeles International Airport.

Arriving to Mexico

There were no direct flights from Bogota to Puerto Vallarta, so I had to do a quick stop in the Felipe Ángeles International Airport, a new addition to this city since it opened just in 2022. A little far for q quick escapade into the city during the stopover, but at least I got to walk it and see it in person.

The airport is huge, and to go to my gate I had to walk a lot, but at least it gave me a excuse to see it all around.

Arriving to Puerto Vallarta

The Viva Aerobus flight from the new airport to Puerto Vallarta was smooth, and now I was back into this beautiful coastal city in the Pacific Ocean. There are Uber available in this city, but the trick is to leave the airport in order to get picked up. Uber drivers and Taxi drivers are in a fight and Taxis have priority in the airport. Unless I really have to, I would not take a taxi on my own will. Take Cancun for example, where Uber is not allowed, Taxi drivers extort you to get you places.

To leave the airport, you have to cross this pedestrian bridge (not sketchy at all), and cross the highway where the Uber would be waiting for you.

My first day in Puerto Vallarta

Having relaxed so much in Medellin and Bogota, in Colombia, I felt that I needed to almost do the same in Mexico, but adding some fun to it. But that would be later tonight. For now, I was going to get some seafood, given I was back by the ocean, and I had to start with some ceviche from Mariscos el Guaro, located in the Zona Romantica area in Puerto Vallarta.

And some fish and rice to start this Mexican adventure.

After changing some dollars I walked to the Malecon, where there are many sculptures, bars, restaurants and cafes. I had to get my fix of cold brew after all that seafood lol. I was falling asleep.

And talking about falling asleep, I walked back to Zona Romantica, and into my hotel, La Iguana Vallarta, where I was able to finally check in. It is a great stay, and they offer this huge living room, with a balcony with views of the street with clubs and bars all around.

The view from the balcony is nice, I love how Puerto Vallarta has so many mountains but it is still a beach town.

You can feel safe in Puerto Vallarta, just be cautious, but in this town they treat tourists very well. After taking a nap, I went out on the first night, and it did not disappoint. The bars and clubs were giving tonight, despite it not being the high season yet. The rocky streets gave a sense of being a small town, but in reality it was blocks and blocks of nightlife options for everyone.

A second day exploring Puerto Vallarta

I was able to finally sleep in and have some rest after a long night, and first, I went to the Playa de los Muertos to see the beach and the beautiful colors of this side of the Pacific Ocean.

The Pier is an excellent addition, and a lot of locals choose this area to enjoy the water. Many water activities are also located in this area, in case your are interest in boat tours or banana boats. Also, I always enjoy seeing all those resorts up there in the mountains, like I think they’re so cool. Although, I prefer to stay more in a walkable area.

For breakfast, I went to Café de Olla. I was mostly craving eggs, but I guess I got some pancakes as well lol.

After some relaxing in the hotel, I got out for lunch, and seafood was still in my mind, so I guess some fish tostada…

…and a whole fried fish. This is what I had been looking for!

Seafood is always tiring, so after getting a coffee, I went towards the river to explore a little bit.

The pedestrian bridge over the river was a little bit scary but I passed it in order to get to this little island in the river.

Where you can find the Centro Cultural Cuale and the Cuale Island Flea Market, in which you can get a lot of souvenirs and crafts from locals.

Second night in PVR, and had to spend it again just checking the bars and clubs. The thing is I do not drink much, so I guess it was mocktails and non alcoholic beers? haha

And just before bed, it is mandatory to get street tacos after the clubs. It just feels right (they are also delicious!!!)

My last full day in Puerto Vallarta

I was able to go to the beach after getting coffee and sleeping in on my third and last full day in this city.

I skipped breakfast but for lunch I went to a restaurant right next to the beach: The Blue Shrimp. A little bit more upscale than the ones I had tried before, but I wanted to try the seafood platter that included octopus, yummy!

The day passed really fast, and now it was the sunset once again, which I was able to see from my balcony. Puerto Vallarta is located on the West side of Mexico, so sunsets are part of the culture here. Imagine being a beach town without no sunsets over the beach (sorry Miami!).

I was not going to go wild tonight, but I still got a pina colada from one of the bars, and also…

… a ceviche.

Puerto Vallarta had been a lot of fun, but now I had to sleep early and wake up early to get my flight back to Mexico City, where I would spend a couple of days before my arrival to Puerto Escondido and Zipolite.

Getting to Mexico City

CDMX was the HUB for my Mexican adventures, since it is virtually impossible to flight from Puerto Vallarta to Puerto Escondido directly. But I still enjoy the capital and everything it has to offer. Also, I landed this time in the MEX Benito Juarez Airport, located a few minutes away from the center and Reforma, where I was going to stay.

The Angel of Independence is always welcoming me into this beautiful city.

No visit to Mexico City is complete without going to Churrería El Moro, located close to the angel, and the churros here are just so good. Reminds me to the ones you can find in Madrid, Spain. Spoiler Alert for a future blog: I tried them again for NYE in Spain.

Dia de los Muertos was coming up in a few days, and all the streets and places where decorated with marigolds. It felt a little bit unreal. Kinda reminded me of all the tulips at the beginning of Spring in New York City.

Walking Roma, Zona Rosa and the Reforma area can be addictive lol. There’s so much to see, and the LGBT representation is huge in this area.

I was staying in PF Hotels in the same area, and went out that night to get some tacos and a Modelo Negra (my favorite beer). I had my flight to Puerto Escondido the next morning.

Returning to Mexico City

After a magical stay in Puerto Escondido and Zipolite, in the Oaxaca state in Mexico (which you will see in the next blog), I was returning to Mexico City. And this time I was going to stay for more time, before heading out back to New York City. Yes, this was my very last stop of this Latin America trip, and I still had so many things pending to do!

As soon as I landed, I noticed the Krispy Kreme located in the MEX International Airport, and they had so many varieties of donuts, including some for the Dia de los Muertos, but I had to get the one for Ghostbusters. It just reminded me of the great time I had just had in the Halloween Horror Nights Orlando, where they had this house this year.

For these last couple of days I stayed in a different hotel, Soy Local CDMX, also located in Zona Rosa. I liked it a lot, it was very spacious and convenient.

They even had some decorations for the Dia de los Muertos just by the lobby.

Later that night, and after having some fun around Zona Rosa, and Polanco and Chapultepec, I had to get some late night tacos (just like in Puerto Vallarta), and Taqueria Selene was the best option, just before Ubering back to my hotel.

The last day of my Latin American adventures

It had come to an end, and I had a red eye flight tonight. I would be in New York the next morning, working once again, but I had to enjoy the most of Mexico city in these last few hours I had left. This last morning, I went to get my fix of Starbucks, while walking around Reforma.

Decided to get into the Chapultepec Park, one of the biggest city parks in Latin America with over over 686 hectares. It is amazing walking around it. Tourists and locals really enjoy hanging around, and there are so many things to do here.

It’s giving Central Park and the boats.

But I was aiming to find the food area, and get myself a torta de jamon. Those who grew up in Latin America, watching El Chavo del Ocho, know how epic a ham sandwich is.

Even a merry-go-round can be found in this park. It was very busy today.

Time to go back to my hotel to pick up my luggage i had left after check out, but I was told to go to Kiyo Cafe and get pan del muerto, which is a tradition in this country leading to the Dia de los Muertos.

United Club and the arrival to NYC

I got to MEX Mexico City International Airport, and I had a United Club pass I wanted to use, and since I was flying with United this time, I was able to get into the United Club in this airport. To get there I had to go through a lot of let’s say not well maintained areas and stairs.

And finally made it to the nice part, where they greeted me.

I travel a lot, but I usually never get into the airline lounges. Sometimes I would buy a pass if it’s cheap and I have time, but this time I had this free pass I had to use in less than a year. A review of the lounge is that it is not that huge (compared to the one in LAX) but it had a lot of things to offer. It had all types of drinks (in a can, so you could grab as many), and the food was actually very good and the variety was amazing actually.

Like in other lounges they would offer you some sandwiches and that’s it, but here in the Mexico City United Club the options included local food like ingredients to make yourself tacos, soups and others.

Also, despite it not being the biggest lounge ever, it had capacity for whoever was in there and more. In the one in LAX for example, there’s never empty spots or at least it’s difficult to feel away and secluded in there.

After boarding, I was able to get some rest, and I was saying bye to this Latin American adventure. I hope you enjoyed this trip as much as I did. I definitely felt rejuvenated after all those days of basically not doing much lol.

But I was back in the amazing New York city. The adventure had ended but the story continues, as I still have to bring a big chunk of this trip: Puerto Escondido, Zipolite and Mazunte in Oaxaca, Mexico, are next!