Attention travel bargain hunters: Now is a great time to visit Mexico's most popular gay destination, Puerto Vallarta. Just last week, the Mexican peso plunged to its all time lowest level, sinking to nearly 17 pesos per dollar. That means you can live it up at some of the city's finest restaurants and bars on the cheap. For example, a gourmet dinner at the fabulous Taste (http://www.taste.com.mx) restaurant at the luxury gay resort Casa Cupula will set you back less than $18. At the down-home gay Frida's Kitchen, you can get a cheeseburger and fries for $3.50. Beers at Bar Frida are about $1.20. A quick bite at a street food stand will run less than a dollar. The very favorable exchange rate means everything from taxi rides to spa treatments are on sale for anyone with dollars.
Weather wise, early fall is a great time to visit Puerto Vallarta. You will still enjoy bargain low-season hotel rates with drier, sunny weather. Puerto Vallarta's rainy season extends through September, but things dry out in October. The beach town gets about 15 inches of rain in September, but October rainfall is only about four inches and the precipitation average drops to less than an inch in November and December.
The city's hotel rates inch up as it gets closer to Thanksgiving but you can still find bargain rates from now through October. For example, you can get a room at the budget gay Hotel Mercurio for $56 (including taxes and a delicious hot breakfast). The rate bumps up to $101 in the winter. Puerto Vallarta's newest gay men's boutique hotel, Pinata PV, is offering fall rates starting at $99 (including tax) with the sixth night free. Winter rates go up to about $135. That is a bargain considering the quality of that property.
You can live it up in style without busting your budget at the upscale Casa Cupula over the fall. A room in October that includes use of a great gym and sauna in an upscale resort setting is $141 (including tax); that rate kicks up about $40 more for the winter. And if you can book a room by the end of this month for travel until the end of September, the fourth night is free.
Puerto Vallarta's biggest gay event is held over our Thanksgiving weekend. White Party Puerto Vallarta, a.k.a. Latin Fever 2015 (http://www.willgorges.com) runs November 27-30. By the way, the city celebrates Pride (http://www.vallartapride.com) in the spring, over our Memorial Day weekend. That event is especially welcome in Puerto Vallarta because late May is traditionally a slow time of year for the resort town.
But don't wait for an event to go. If you can travel now through the early fall, you will be greeted with lower hotel rates, fewer crowds, and warmer ocean water. The hills will also be a lush green and the rivers flowing after a summer of rain.
For the uninitiated, Puerto Vallarta is on Mexico's west coast, a three hour, 40 minute flight from San Francisco International. United and Alaska airlines fly there nonstop and Virgin America will begin its seasonal service in mid-October.
Puerto Vallarta is about a four-hour drive from Mexico's second-largest city, Guadalajara. Incidentally, a new highway between the two cities is set to open in 2017 that will reduce the Guadalajara-Puerto Vallarta drive time to two and a half hours, making it that much easier to combine the two cities in one trip. Mexico City is more than a 10-hour drive away.
Gay neighborhood
The gayest part of Puerto Vallarta is in an area known as Zona Romantica, or the Romantic Zone. It is a neighborhood just south of downtown, on the south side of the Cuale River. Some also call it the South Side or "Old Town," although the latter is a bit of a misnomer because downtown is much older. Don't rent a car if you are staying in Zona Romantica or downtown. Parking is scarce and you can easily walk between downtown and Zona Romantica and to all the gay stuff in the city. The 25-minute taxi ride to Zona Romantica from the airport runs about $17. The taxis are a little cheaper if you walk across the pedestrian bridge to the yellow cabs across the street from the airport because those cabs don't have to pay the airport surcharge.
Things to do
There is plenty to do around the clock in Puerto Vallarta. The city has a number of gay-focused and mainstream tours that will appeal to every taste and budget.
In its 16th year, Diana's Tours (http://www.dianastours.com) runs a daylong gay and lesbian cruise on Thursdays (and sometimes on Wednesdays and Fridays, depending on demand). The cruise makes a snorkeling stop at the city's famed Los Arcos, hollowed-out rocks through which you can swim and kayak. The cruise also makes a stop at a private beach and a beachside restaurant before coming home. Drinks, snacks, and food are included. The cruise took off this summer and will return in October.
The Wet and Wild (http://www.pvsunsetpartycruise.com) cruise is directed toward gay men and follows a similar route as Diana's Tours but is very sexually charged. They announce at the start of the cruise that they expect everyone onboard to get drunk and laid. A big staff of friendly locals work the cruise, work for tips, and keep you company if you would rather chat them up than other passengers. Both cruises are a great way to meet fellow travelers and many arrange to meet at other times. Wet and Wild cruises run on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The city's unofficial gay beach is the Blue Chairs Beach, the section of the Los Muertos public beach that is directly in front of the Blue Chairs Hotel. As long as you order something from the bar or restaurant, you can sit on the blue chairs under an umbrella. The green chairs, right next door, are just as gay and are serviced by another restaurant. Or you can always lay a towel down on the sand for free. Leave your valuables back in your hotel safe or ask a friend to watch your stuff when you go in the water.
Gay-friendly Vallarta Adventures (http://www.vallarta-adventures.com) offers a number of tours of Puerto Vallarta and beyond. Its Hidden Mexico tour includes a stop at the beautiful gay-founded Vallarta Botanical Gardens (http://www.vbgardens.org). The Marietas Eco Discovery tour includes a stop at the world-famous "Hidden Beach," a small beach accessible by swimming through a cave. The San Sebastian Del Oeste showcases the charming colonial town of San Sebastian. At an elevation of 4,500 feet, it is a good way to escape the sea-level heat and humidity.
Be sure and take a walk along the Malecon, a beachfront walkway lined with shops, restaurants, and nightclubs and dotted with whimsical metallic sculptures as well as spectacular sand sculptures.
Nightlife
All of Puerto Vallarta's gay bars and nightclubs are in the Zona Romantica area, so if you stay there, it will be very easy to barhop on foot. For a good introduction to the city's gay nightlife, check out the gay bar hopping tour (http://www.gayvallartabarhopping.com). It is a walking tour given on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights that includes food and drink stops. The business changed hands this month and is now run by GAYPV (http://gaypv.mx/) magazine publisher, Tim Wilson. The tour will undoubtedly keep up the high standards set by the previous owner and it is offering special pricing through the end of September.
Puerto Vallarta, like most of Latin America, has a very late nightclub scene. Generally, the city's gay bars are busy earlier in the evening, until about 1 a.m. Puerto Vallarta's gay sauna, Spartacus Spa (http://www.spaspartacus.com) is also busy early. Dance clubs don't attract a crowd until after midnight and stay busy until 4 or 5 a.m. Most of the gay bars are along Olas Altas and around the intersection of Lazaro Cardenas and Ignacio L. Vallarta. A notable exception is the rooftop bar and restaurant atop the Blue Chairs Hotel, famous for its entertainment at sunset.
The city's three main nightclubs, Paco's Ranch (http://www.facebook.com/pacosranch.pv), CC Slaughters (http://ccslaughterspv.com/), and Club Enter are all within a couple of blocks of each other. There are no lesbian bars in Puerto Vallarta, but the city's gay nightclubs as well as the lesbian-owned gay bar, Apaches (http://www.facebook.com/apachespuertovallarta), are very women-friendly. For an excellent up-to-date guide and map of gay Puerto Vallarta's nightlife check out the online guide at http://www.GayGuideVallarta.com or pick up a guidebook when you get in town. It is published by former Bay Area resident Mark Page.
Hotels
Puerto Vallarta has nine predominately gay hotels, but most others are gay-friendly. The newest gay hotel, Pinata PV (http://www.facebook.com/PinataPV), is a modern and upscale boutique hotel that artfully blends minimalist chic with touches of colonial Mexico. The property is perfectly located close to all the gay attractions, has a pool and spa, is clothing optional, and marketed to gay men. Pinata PV is home to the model and go-go group SkinnyBoysMX. The group volunteered its time and tips recently in support of SETA, Puerto Vallarta's gay community center. Pinata PV also has a wonderful storefront juice bar and the property's owners, Ronnie Lee and David Tovar, are known for their support of community projects.
Casa Cupula (http://www.casacupula.com) is a gay and lesbian boutique luxury hotel and is one of the finest hotels in the city. It is owned by San Franciscan Don Pickens, whose attention to detail has kept this property first-rate. The newly remodeled hotel includes a gym and full-service spa. Even if you are not staying there, be sure and check out its Taste Restaurant for a romantic dinner in a beautiful, intimate setting.
Hotel Mercurio (http://www.hotel-mercurio.com) is a great gay and lesbian hotel just a half-block from the very gay Olas Altas street and just a short walk to the gay beach. If you are traveling by yourself, the hotel is a great place to meet new friends. The hotel has a delicious breakfast that is included and a poolside happy hour that is open to hotel guests and locals. Mercurio has budget prices without the feel of being in a budget hotel.
Vallarta Cora (http://www.vallartacora.com) is a men-only clothing optional hotel that is open to the public in the early evening. A lot of folks migrate there after the beach for a drink at the hotel's bar. It has a steam room, hot tub and pool, and a very cruisy early evening scene. The rooms are budget-priced.
The aforementioned high-rise Blue Chairs Hotel (http://www.bluechairsresort.com) is the place to be if you want to be right on the beach. The multi-level rooftop bar and restaurant offers great views. A beachside restaurant is in the front of the hotel. The hotel's concierge service offers information on tours and attractions.
Villa David (http://www.villadavidpv.com) is the only gay hotel not in Zona Romantica, but it is an easy 10-minute walk away. It is situated on a hillside behind the city's landmark church and is just steps from downtown and the city's famed Malecon beachside walkway. The men's bed and breakfast has a clothing optional pool with a charming Mexican hacienda theme.
Eating out
The lesbian-owned El Arrayan (http://www.elarrayan.com.mx) deservedly makes it to the top of many Puerto Vallarta best restaurant lists. The downtown eatery is known for its authentic Mexican food. Restaurant owner Carmen Porras is active in the city's LGBT community and is part of the Pride steering committee.
The Swedes Bar and Restaurant (http://www.facebook.com/swedespv) is owned by a gay Swedish couple and is on a hill overlooking Olas Altas. The restaurant gives diners a taste of Northern Europe in the tropics.
Archie's Wok (http://www.archieswok.com) has been going strong for nearly 30 years serving some of the best Asian food just a block from the beach.
The lesbian-owned Apaches Bistro is a perfect place to dine and people-watch along Olas Altas street.
The aforementioned Frida's Kitchen, part of Bar Frida (http://www.facebook.com/fridas.kitchen), is known for delicious comfort food at bargain prices.
For your morning caffeine fix or a quick bite, check out the gay-owned Coffee Cup Cafe in the heart of Zona Romantica on Rodolfo Gomez Street, just off Olas Altas.
For more information, visit the city's tourism board website at http://visitpuertovallarta.com.