Thursday, August 13, 2009

Destination Wedding in Puerto Vallarta with Mexican Destinations


Weddings are popular in Puerto Vallarta, and for good reason. A town that knows how to entertain tourists and groups, you will find the utmost service and attention to detail from a wide variety of hotels, resorts and luxury villas. With a mixture of mountains, ocean and cobblestone streets, Puerto Vallarta is like no other Mexican destination. Couples can avail themselves of secluded beaches, romantic restaurants, sunset cruises, hot air ballon rides, lively nightlife (for those who want it), shopping and day trips or the freedom of doing nothing at all. Regardless, it all adds up to the perfect blend of ingredients for an incredibly memorable romantic holiday.

Contact Mexican Destinations and let us help you with your unique destination wedding.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Exclusive Destination: Punta Mita


Punta Mita is located on Mexico's Pacific Coast, about 30 minutes northwest of the international airport in Puerto Vallarta, one of Mexico's premier vacation destinations. Punta Mita is easily accessible by air and is just a few hours from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas and other major cities in the United States.

Situated at the northern tip of Banderas Bay, Mexico's deepest natural bay, and bordered by the rugged Sierra Madre Mountains to the east. The Punta Mita peninsula is surrounded on three sides by white, coral-sand beaches and crystalline waters. The land features a rich bio-diversity that includes numerous species of tropical fauna and flora while the warm waters teem with tropical fish, turtles, and other aquatic life.

Punta Mita is also home to the luxurious Four Seasons Resort, including the 18 hole Jack Nicklaus championship golf course, restaurants and spa.

With Mexican Destinations, pick your perfect Punta Mita vacation rental.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Getting to Puerto Vallarta

Find out how you can get to Puerto Vallarta

By Air - You can fly to Puerto Vallarta from the United States and and other points in Mexico including Guadalajara, La Paz, Leon and Mexico City.Puerto Vallarta's international airport is extremely well-served by a range of airlines. Flying is the most sensible way to get to Puerto Vallarta, unless you are on a budget, and don't mind the wait (and want to see the sights along the way).

By Car - The road journey to Puerto Vallarta from inland Mexico (e.g. Guadalajara, Mexico City, Chihuahua, et al) is mountainous and winding. The easiest route in and out of Puerto Vallarta is by using Highway 200 -- the coast road -- although if you plan to go inland to Guadalajara or Mexico City, then this road will take you well out of the way you really want to go. Expect it to take longer than you anticipate if you've only looked at non-topographical road map. Traveling out of Puerto Vallarta by road north to Punta de Mita, or south to Costalegre and Manzanillo is straightforward: the roads are good and the terrain is easy to negotiate in a car.

By Bus - You can travel to Puerto Vallarta on a luxury bus from Mexico City - but note that the trip will take around 14 hours. From Guadalajara, the journey time is about 6-7 hours. Puerto Vallarta is flanked by large mountains, so the roads in and out of the area are steep, winding, and take time to negotiate.

Before you leave, make sure to take full advantage of our luxury villa vacation rentals.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Discover Marilu III in Puerto Vallarta

Casa Marilu III is a spectacular, 5,000 square foot contemporary, Mediterranean style villa situated 10 minutes south of Puerto Vallarta. Located on the water’s edge, the villa is located between the Presidente Intercontinental Hotel and La Jolla de Mismaloya resort and Spa and overlooks the famous Los Arcos rock formation. The interior incorporates dramatic open spaces, skylights, interior gardens and a sensuous blending of vivid local colors and textures.

To the north you can see the lovely city lights and, to the south, the rocky coast lined with sandy beaches and emerald hills.The sweeping ocean views from the bedrooms, bathrooms, terraces, dining room, living room and kitchen are spectacular. Visit Mexican Destinations for more Luxury Villa Rentals in Mexico.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

With Mexican Destinations find alternatives to Mexico's tourist meccas


Puerto Vallarta, as resort areas go, is amply endowed with scenic beauty, cultural attractions and historical charm; away from the northern tourist zone, it even retains some of its tropical languor. It's a big city, though, and you're just one of 3 million visitors a year.

Alternative: San Pancho, about 25 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, is still more fishing village and mango processing town than tourist destination, but it has a smattering of beautiful villa rentals, a growing number of fine restaurants, and an idyllic beach where men cast their lines from shore, competing with flocks of resident pelicans. It's a quieter version of Sayulita, 10 minutes to the north — which would have gotten the nod on this list a couple of years ago, before the condos started going up and the main street got choked with traffic.

Find the perfect Mexican vacation rental with Mexican Destinations.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Mexican Destinations - Exclusive Luxury Rental: Villa Esplendora


This luxury vacation Villa rental features three oceanfront master suites with private Jacuzzis, and two beautifully-appointed garden bedrooms, adjacent to the unique bamboo gardens and waterfalls, each with a private bath. The grand staircase leads to the main salon, where the living room, dining room, kitchen and circular island bar are united for ease of entertaining. This area conveniently leads out to the fabulous terrace that features a beautiful infinity pool, 10 person Jacuzzi, dining palapa and outdoor cooking area with rotisserie and wet bar. Spend your evenings on the terrace, listening to the sound of the ocean, amidst the splendor of cascading fountains and the warm glow of the gas-lit fire pits.

To complete your stay, Villa Esplendora comes with a staff of 4, including a cook, houseman, maid and gardener. The cook will prepare 2 meals a day, breakfast and either lunch or dinner, Monday - Saturday.


See more from our unique Puerto Vallarta luxury rental collection on Mexican Destinations.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Puerto Vallarta Luxury Home Rental: Villa Hacienda de los Santos


This spectacular new luxury rental in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico boasts a state-of-the-art infinity swimming pool and over 8,000 square feet of living space in this villa near Puerto Vallarta . Striking antiques and hand-painted murals grace every room. Located on a cliff at the top of Real de Conchas Chinas, the panoramic ocean, city and mountain views are unrivaled and will take your breath away.

If you are looking for the very best in accommodations, Hacienda de los Santos is for you. The stunning architecture reflects the traditions of Old Mexico, while affording guests every possible modern convenience and amenity. You'll be pampered in this custom-designed and meticulously built home. It contains extensive cantera columns and railings, bold arches, matte tikul flooring, vaulted bóveda veilings and cupolas throughout the entire home.


Discover more about the Hacienda de los Santos or other Mexico luxury house rentals with Mexican Destinations.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Vallarta Living- May 2009

Linda Ellerbee (born August 15, 1944) is an American journalist who is most known for several jobs at NBC News, including Washington (DC) correspondent, host of the Nickelodeon network's Nick News, and reporter and co-anchor of NBC News Overnight, which was recognized by the jurors of the duPont Columbia Awards as "possibly the best written and most intelligent news program ever."[1]
One Journalist's View
By Linda Ellerbee

Sometimes I've been called a maverick because I don't always agree with my colleagues, but then, only dead fish swim with the stream all the time. The stream here is Mexico. You would have to be living on another planet to avoid hearing how dangerous Mexico has become, and, yes, it's true drug wars have escalated violence in Mexico , causing collateral damage, a phrase I hate. Collateral damage is a cheap way of saying that innocent people, some of them tourists, have been robbed, hurt or killed.

But that's not the whole story. Neither is this. This is my story.

I'm a journalist who lives in New York City , but has spent considerable time in Mexico , specifically Puerto Vallarta , for the last four years. I'm in Vallarta now. And despite what I'm getting from the U.S. media, the 24-hour news networks in particular, I feel as safe here as I do at home in New York , possibly safer. I walk the streets of my Vallarta neighborhood alone day or night. And I don't live in a gated community, or any other All-Gringo neighborhood. I live in Mexico .. Among Mexicans. I go where I want (which does not happen to include bars where prostitution and drugs are the basic products), and take no more precautions than I would at home in New York ; which is to say I don't wave money around, I don't act the Ugly American, I do keep my eyes open, I'm aware of my surroundings, and I try not to behave like a fool.

I've not always been successful at that last one. One evening a friend left the house I was renting in Vallarta at that time, and, unbeknownst to me, did not slam the automatically-locking door on her way out. Sure enough, less than an hour later a stranger did come into my house. A burglar? Robber? Kidnapper? Killer? Drug lord?

No, it was a local police officer, the "beat cop" for our neighborhood, who, on seeing my unlatched door, entered to make sure
everything (including me) was okay. He insisted on walking with me around the house, opening closets, looking behind doors and, yes, even under beds, to be certain no one else had wandered in, and that nothing was missing. He was polite, smart and kind, but before he left, he lectured me on having not checked to see that my friend had locked the door behind her. In other words, he told me to use my common sense. Do bad things happen here? Of course they do. Bad things happen everywhere, but the murder rate here is much lower than, say, New Orleans , and if there are bars on many of the ground floor windows of houses here, well, the same is true where I live, in Greenwich Village, which is considered a swell neighborhood - house prices start at about $4 million (including the bars on the ground floor windows). There are good reasons thousands of people from the United States are moving to Mexico every month, and it's not just the lower cost of living, a hefty tax break and less snow to shovel.. Mexico is a beautiful country, a special place. The climate varies, but is plentifully mild, the culture is ancient and revered, the young are loved unconditionally, the old are respected, and I have yet to hear anyone mention Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, or Madonna's attempt to adopt a second African child, even though, with such a late start, she cannot possibly begin to keep up with Anglelina Jolie.
And then there are the people. Generalization is risky, but- in general - Mexicans are warm, friendly, generous and welcoming. If you
smile at them, they smile back. If you greet a passing stranger on the street, they greet you back. If you try to speak even a little Spanish, they tend to treat you as though you were fluent. Or at least not an idiot. I have had taxi drivers track me down after leaving my wallet or cell phone in their cab. I have had someone run out of a store to catch me because I have overpaid by twenty cents. I have been introduced to and come to love a people who celebrate a day dedicated to the dead as a recognition of the cycles of birth and death and birth - and the 15th birthday of a girl, an important rite in becoming a woman - with the same joy.
Too much of the noise you're hearing about how dangerous it is to come to Mexico is just that - noise. But the media love noise, and too many journalists currently making it don't live here. Some have never even been here. They just like to be photographed at night, standing near a spotlighted border crossing, pointing across the line to some imaginary country from hell. It looks good on TV.

Another thing. The U.S. media tend to lump all of Mexico into one big bad bowl. Talking about drug violence in Mexico without naming a state or city where this is taking place is rather like looking at the horror of Katrina and saying, "Damn. Did you know the U.S. is under water?" or reporting on the shootings at Columbine or the bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City by saying that kids all over the U.S. are shooting their classmates and all the grownups are blowing up buildings. The recent rise in violence in Mexico has mostly occurred in a few states, and especially along the border. It is real, but it does not describe an entire country.

It would be nice if we could put what's going on in Mexico in perspective, geographically and emotionally. It would be nice if we could remember that, as has been noted more than once, these drug wars wouldn't be going on if people in the United States didn't want the drugs, or if other people in the United States weren't selling Mexican drug lords the guns. Most of all, it would be nice if more people in the United States actually came to this part of America (Mexico is also America , you will recall) to see for themselves what a fine place Mexico really is, and how good a vacation (or a life) here can be.

So come on down and get to know your southern neighbors. I think you'll like it here. Especially the people.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Golfing in Puerto Vallarta

Feel like golfing while staying in one of Mexican Destinations' luxury villas? Here is all the information you need about golf courses around Puerto Vallarta.

Puerto Vallarta is an increasingly popular golf destination; five courses have opened in the past 4 years, bringing the total in the region to nine. The Joe Finger-designed private course at the Marina Vallarta Golf Club (tel. 322/221-0073) is an 18-hole, par-74 course that winds through the Marina Vallarta peninsula and affords ocean views. It's for members only, but most luxury hotels in Puerto Vallarta have memberships for their guests. Club rentals, lessons, and special packages are available.

North of town in the state of Nayarit, about 16km (10 miles) beyond Puerto Vallarta, is the 18-hole, par-72 Los Flamingos Club de Golf. It features beautiful jungle vegetation and has just undergone a renovation and upgrade of the course. It's open from 7am to 5pm daily, with a snack bar (but no restaurant) and full pro shop. The greens fee is $95 and includes the use of a golf cart; hiring a caddy costs $12 plus tip, and club rental is $27 to $44. A free shuttle runs from downtown Puerto Vallarta; call for pickup times and locations.

The breathtaking Jack Nicklaus Signature course at the Four Seasons Punta Mita has eight oceanfront holes and an ocean view from every hole. Its hallmark is the optional Hole 3B, the "Tail of the Whale," with a long drive to a green on a natural island -- the only natural-island green in the Americas. It requires an amphibious cart to take you over when the tide is high, and there's an alternate hole for when the ocean or tides are not accommodating. It's open only to guests of the Four Seasons resort or to members of other golf clubs with a letter of introduction from their pro. Selected other area hotels also have guest privileges -- ask your concierge. Greens fees for nonguests are $260, including cart, with (Calloway) club rentals for $60. Lessons are also available.

A second Jack Nicklaus course is at the Vista Vallarta Golf Club (tel. 322/290-0030), along with one designed by Tom Weiskopf. These courses were the site of the 2002 PGA World Cup Golf Championships. It's in the foothills of the Sierra Madre, behind the bullring in Puerto Vallarta. A round costs $167 per person, including cart.

The Robert von Hagge-designed El Tigre course at Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta, opened in March 2002. The 7,239-yard course is on a relatively flat piece of land, but the design incorporates challenging bunkers, undulating fairways, and water features on several holes. El Tigre also offers lessons and has an expansive clubhouse. This seems to be the favored course of local pros. Greens fees are $185 a round, or $85 if you play after 2pm.

Start organizing your golf vacation in Puerto Vallarta with Mexican Destinations.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Mexican Destinations Exclusive: Villa Marea Alta


Plan your next getaway or fiesta in this colorful and spacious Puerto Vallarta Villa. Villa Marea Alta's 6000 square foot interior combines comfort with optimum efficiency and exquisite taste in design.

The villa is filled with beautiful antiques, regional handcrafts and artwork that, together, create a sophisticated, yet relaxed atmosphere. The exterior is beautifully landscaped and offers ocean views. Guests enjoy the infinity pool, stone fountains and outdoor fireplace.Music fills the villa when you take advantage of the complete sound system; or, you may just want to listen to the ocean breezes.

Your rental includes the service of the villa chef who will prepare any two meals a day for you, daily maid service and an English-speaking houseman who will take care of all your needs. This may be rented as a 3 or 4 bedroom.

Find out more about the Villa Marea Alta and other Puerto Vallarta Rental Houses.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Mexican Destinations: Villa Estrella Mar


The finest Puerto Vallarta villa rental, Estrella Mar has been featured in Veranda Magazine as well as several other publications. This one-of-a-kind oceanfront home offers six spacious suites, nine bathrooms, an exercise room, a large heated pool and a dedicated staff of fourteen.

The residence is distinctive in many ways, but one of its most unexpected features is the absence of glass in the windows. You can leave everything open to the ocean breezes and the view. Interior spaces include polished tile floors, textured wall surfaces, sturdy cotton fabrics and an abundance of wicker. During the day, the view dominates. But, at night, soft lighting warms the interiors like a welcoming abrazo-embrace and Villa Estrella Mar truly becomes a star of the sea.
The attentive staff includes a villa chef, an English speaking houseman, daily maid service and 24 hour security.