Top Puerto Vallarta Hiking Tours

I am 51 and do not exercise as much as I want. I saw this tour and decided it was a great way to see some beaches and get some exercise. In case anyone like me is considering this tour, here is my experience. What I wore and brought: I brought a backpack with 2 bottles of water, trail mix, sunscreen, and a beach towel. I wore proper shoes - Altra trail running shoes - but I did not bring the sand guards which was a mistake. I wore a quick dry tank dress with zippered pockets which was good and bad. The dress was easy to get on and off at each beach, and the zippered pocket made me feel much better about my phone staying put. But the dress is not stretchy and there were some places where I had to climb a tall slope and the dress restricted my movement. I brought Mexican currency cash. My experience: This was a workout! Even the "walk" from the fishing village to the start of the hike was more exercise than I get on a typical day due to the stairs and hills. The hike was doable, but challenging. It is very rocky, but when dry dirt is on the rocks, it gets slippery and a few of us slipped and fell a few times. Nothing injury inducing, but still not an everyday occurrence. I bought fresh pineapple with lime and Tajin plus a bottle of cold water at the first beach. Another tour participant got ceviche and said it was so good that he will be dreaming of it forever. By the 4th beach, I was starting to get leg cramps and needed electrolytes, but there were no more places to buy things. The restaurant at the last beach was relaxing and the food was great. We took a water taxi back to the fishing village, and then we had to climb all the stairs to get up to the bus stop. My leg cramps flared up again, but luckily there was a tienda at the bus stop that sold me an electrolyte drink. The bus ride was peaceful and had nice views. Reflection: I would 100% do this tour again, but this time I would bring electrolytes, wear a more flexible swimsuit cover, maybe get a new pair of trail shoes with more tread, and wear the sand guards. Our guide was Diego, and he was great. He let me practice speaking Spanish and taught me a new word - rebaloso! He was kind and informative.

This was the most relaxing and enjoyable vacation day that my boyfriend and I shared in Puerto Vallarta. Though each day has become an incredible memory, we agree that this activity was the best. The hot springs are lovely, with a natural mud mask offered to those who want it (don’t miss this, my skin became as smooth as the day I was born). The grilled lunch was incredible, and the beach massage was FIRM! These massage therapists knew what was up. The only down side, for those sensitive to long drives: there is about 2.5-3 hours in the car for this day. It is well broken up, with lots of stops for coffee/bathroom breaks, & activities. You do need to drive to get to the park with the springs, so it was well worth it for us. Bring a book if you don’t get carsick, or sleep. The travel flew by for us.

I can't tell how the actual waterfall hike we booked was, since we were told on the way out that the waterfall was actually quite dried up and gave us an option to go elsewhere which was a longer tour an amazing day out. Guides were great and glad we were given the option!