Business Hours generally begin early and run late in México, but most break in the afternoon for 'comida', the main meal of the day. Usually they close from 2 until 4 in the afternoon, but some close at 1 and others don't reopen until 5. Many government and other offices close at 2 and that's it for the day. To confuse things further, some businesses to the south of us which are still in Nayarit but service mainly people in the Vallarta area run on Jalisco time. This is true of the Telmex office in Bucerias.

Travel from the airport to Jaltemba Bay
I highly recommend renting a car if you are here for two weeks or longer. If you book online ahead of time with any of the major car rental companies, sometimes you can find exceptional deals. There is also Gecko Rent-a-Car out of Bucerias who will meet you at the airport and get you pointed in the right direction. Book early, especially November through March.

Try to get a vehicle with a high wheelbase because once you are off the main highway, most roads are terrible. This is the only way to get to some of the more secluded beaches and points inland unless you hire a tour guide. You may be able to talk a local taxi driver into taking you out for a day instead.

Taxi service is available at the airport, but if you cross the pedestrian overpass to the other side of the highway you should be able to negotiate a better deal with the drivers there. Decide on a price before leaving; it will probably cost up to 800 pesos.

Buses run regularly. The last time I asked at Pacifico, there were buses every 20 minutes till midnight and several more during the night. A bus ride should cost about 60 pesos per person. You will have to take a taxi from the airport to the bus terminal in Vallarta, and then another from the top of the avenida in La Peñita to your rental.

The ride from the airport takes about one hour.

Bring maps. Print out copies of the ones that I have posted on my site under 'Links'. If you can get maps of Nayarit and Jalisco states before you leave, do so. The more detail, the better. Once you are here, maps can be hard to come by. We use one by Guia Roji which we bought it Vallarta. Pay a visit to your local CAA or AAA. If you’re a member, you might be able to get them for free before leaving.

Getting Around
If you do not have a car, the local bus service is excellent. Combis (passenger vans) run every few minutes among Los Ayala, Guayabitos, La Peñita, and La Colonia just to the north, for six pesos per person. You can even catch a combi to some of the towns north like Las Varas where the local hospital is and south to other small communities such as Monteón, Lo de Marcos, Sayulita and San Francisco. Larger buses are available for longer trips out of La Peñita, and taxis are everywhere for very low rates.

Money
Mexican pesos is the currency here.

If you have a bank card, you can access your bank account at any of the six ATMs in our area; you will get your best exchange rate this way and you won’t have to carry large amounts of cash with you. You will get pesos from the machine. There are three ATMs in La Peñita: two at the Bancomer bank beside highway 200 in the first block south of the main street (“la Avenida”) and a Banamex machine around the corner on the Avenida next to the CMQ drugstore, and three in Guayabitos at the Villas Buena Vida, the Crico grocery store, and the Pemex station on the highway. You may want to carry a spare card just in case something bad happens, like a machine 'eating' it.

You will need your passport to cash traveler’s cheques at the bank (and you can only cash ones made out in your name) but, unless you have an account, they will NOT exchange cash.

Many hotels and merchants will take US dollars but you will be paying a premium exchange rate (whatever comes to mind) for this service. Canadian money is not accepted even though more than 80% of winter visitors here are Canadians.

Tipping is commonly the same here as it is up north, 15%, and applies to the same services.

Credit Cards: They are almost useless here: this is a cash, pesos, culture. You will be able to use credit cards in Puerto Vallarta, Tepic, and other cities, but in very few places in our little towns.

Getting Change: Take small bills and coins when you are out. For small purchases, you might find yourself minding the store while the merchant wanders the Avenida looking for a fellow shopkeeper who can break your 500 peso note.

Bartering: If it’s a good deal up north, it’s a good deal here. Very few merchants dicker over price. They have a set price and the Mexican who stands next to you will pay the same. Some of those who do negotiate are the silver sellers who wander the beaches. If you’re in the market for some of these lovely trinkets, you would do well to look at the prices in the local gift shops first. You will find that the traveling salespeople have already increased their offering price to cover the expected barter. But if you love something you see, buy it. You’ll probably never see the exact same thing for sale again.

Money Collections for Causes: Give what you want to whom you want. Or not. I have never experienced a negative response when I’ve declined.

Communicating
Bring a Spanish /English dictionary. Carry a pen and paper. Try drawing pictures if you don’t know the words. Pantomime works well. Many Mexicans will be very patient and help you with your vocabulary and pronunciation. If you listen carefully, you’ll be able to hear many words with Latin roots that are the same in English with slight variations. If all else fails, they will probably try to find someone to translate but, even more likely, someone passing by will offer to help.

The locals are, with very few exceptions, friendly, generous, gregarious, family oriented people. Enjoy yourself. Be nice to them and you’ll be repaid many times over.

Local Gossip
This is a small community and, like in any other small town, ‘chisme’ (gossip) is a popular pastime. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt, a squeeze of lime, a cerveza and a laugh.

Toilet Paper Etiquette
Unless the building you are in was built with large drainage pipes to the sewers, it is considered courteous (and important) to deposit your toilet paper in the waste basket provided for this use. Most older buildings have small exit pipes installed. Toilet paper tends to block up this system. Using the baskets also gives a break to the still-developing sewage system here. When in doubt, don’t flush it.

What to Bring
If you are a coffee drinker the locally grown, freshly roasted coffee that is available here is wonderful and very inexpensive. This is available at Café Occidental in La Peñita marked on the map on my links page. They will grind it for you. Bring a coffee maker (and filters as well because they can be hard to get). Unless you are told that your rental has one, it won’t. If you are a tea drinker, bring your tea with you.

Mattresses are hard in Mexico. These are standard issue. If this makes you uncomfortable, bring something soft to put on top of the mattress.

Bring a simple first aid kit and include antihistamines in the unlikely event of a sting from something unpleasant. Include Pepto-Bismol in case of an “I shouldn’t have eaten that” episode. Don’t forget your sun block. It is available here but expensive, and the selection is limited.

Unless your rental includes beach towels, bring your own.

Don’t forget your maps! If you have binoculars you’ll want them with you too. There are humpback whales breeding here from December to March before they head back up north. Some of the bird life is equally wonderful. You will want to see it all close up.

Tell me!
When you get home, drop me a line. I'm always interested in hearing how your vacation went!