La Palapa Restaurant, Puerto Vallarta

[CMDAVILACLI]

I just wanted to let any of you heading off to Puerto Vallarta to try and stop in for a meal at theLa Palapa restaurant down at the end of the Malecon. I just returned from a cruise that included a stop in PV -- which for my rainsoaked body/soul meant a day at the beach! We walked down the Malecon (beach boardwalk) and just after the pier, we stopped at La Palapa and asked them if we could use one of their beach tables/chairs/palapas for the day if we purchased some lunch. They were more than agreeable, and we all parked ourselves and all our gear (looking, in this case, truly like boat people!).the chairs are very comfortable wooden sling type chairs and they also had full sized wooden/woven chaises that we snoozed on.The service was fantastic, the waiters never made us feel pressured to order anything, although we did on and off for most of the day. The food was FANTASTIC... had a civiche to die for as well as excellent crab empanadas. Both dishes were beautifully prepared and presented, and the ice cold beers were the perfect addition! Being that it is PV and that there is an endless stream of beach vendors, we asked La Palapa if they could put up their signs that say "no gracias" around us so that we weren't bugged all day long by the vendors. And they did,so we had a peaceful, very comfortable, and super tastey stop at the beach. By the way... the bathroom was SPOTLESS here, as was the entire inside of the restaurant! Also, considering the economy, there seemed to be plenty of tourists in Mexico!

cmdavilacli

[jsattapr2]

CMDAVILACLI, thank you forthe informative post. La Palapa sounds like a must do on my next visit to Puerto Vallarta. I love the idea of having them protect you with the"no gracias" signs.



I'm really looking closely at several of the Mexico options here on Luxury Link.



The peso is still one of the currencies over which the dollar continues to gain strength.

[CMDAVILACLI]

Yes, Jsattapr2, the peso to the dollar is quite good right now. I was in Mexico in August when it was about 10.5 pesos to the $$ and just a week ago I was getting about 13.2 to the $$... almost 25% more! There are a few really good deals for Mexico right now. If I hadn't already booked a trip to Sayulita for February 2009, I'd be picking up one, that's for sure!

cmdavilacli

[thepiranha]

Have fun in Sayulita. I was a couple of years ago and I think that we exchanged posts about Sayulita. We watched a lot of the NCAA basketball tournament in the open air bar at Don Pedro's on the beach. There are some local women who barbecue chickens outside on one of the side streets. You can get a whole chicken with fresh tortillas, beans, rice and salsa for only eighty pesos (around six dollars). Sayulita Fish Taco in the town square is also very good. Choco Banana, also in the square, is a good breakfast place. Excellent food at La Ola Rica in San Pancho. Check out the bird refuge on the beach in San Pancho. Just turn left when you get to the beach from the main street and the refuge is a few minutes walk down the beach. There are thousands of birds in the trees and I was able to get within a few feet of a group of turkey vultures. Happy travels!