Best of México & Beach Resort Vacation: Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta Tour

Plan to arrive in Guadalajara on this day. Check-in at the hotel will be anytime after 3:00 pm. From the GDL airport, it will be easy to secure a taxi or Uber to the hotel in the city center. 

Our tour activities start on day 2. If time permits after arriving and checking in, why not take a stroll to the nearby big plaza and start to get a “feel” for this historic city. We will sleep in Guadalajara for 4 nights. 

This morning at 9:00 am, head down to the hotel restaurant to meet your local host guide. Over breakfast, he will relay some helpful information about the upcoming tour days and answer questions.  

Guadalajara is the 2nd largest city in México and is an exciting place to explore with so much history and culture. Today we’ll take off from our hotel on a walking tour of the main places of interest in the city center. We will stroll from plaza to plaza to view different historical monuments, admire the stately Degollado Theatre, visit Guadalajara’s great Cathedral with its twin bell towers rising high above the Plaza de Armas, and take a peek inside the century’s old government building with its enormous mural by one of México’s famous painters, José Clemente Orozco. 

We’ll also get to view more of Orozco’s interesting murals at the Instituto Cultural de Cabaña, also known as Hospicios de Cabañas. This magnificent neo-classic building was once used as a hospital. In fact, it was one of the oldest hospitals in the Americas. Today this beautiful structure has been recognized as a World Heritage Site.

Also on our agenda today we will visit one of the largest indoor markets in Latin America; San Juan de Dios Market. Spread out on several floors, you can find everything for sale from candy to clothes to jewelry to guitars, produce, Christmas decorations, and even live fish for your aquarium. With almost 4,000 little individual stores, you can buy just about anything you can think of. It’s really mind boggling!

The evening is free to have dinner on your own and enjoy the night ambiance of the city.  (B,L) 

Just a short 15 minute drive from our hotel is the quaint town of Tlaquepaque. The Mexican government has put it on the list as one of their proud Mėxico Magic Towns. 

After a leisurely breakfast, we’ll go explore this eclectic town. For several blocks, there is a street-only for pedestrians. We will have time to browse the shops and view the really cool artwork at the many galleries along this walkway.

Another fun place to visit in Tlaquepaque is what they advertise as the largest Cantina in Latin America. It is actually many cantinas (restaurants) combined into one very big place. A main bandstand in the middle sometimes showcases Mariachi bands. After all, this region of Mėxico is the Home of the Mariachis. 

After lunch at one of the many cute restaurants located in Tlaquepaque, we will then travel back to our hotel in Guadalajara and enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening to do as we please.  (B,L)

This morning starts out with a little drive south of the city to the largest lake in México. How big you ask? 50 miles (80 km) by 7.8 miles (12.5 km). Yep! It’s a biggie!

At one point, we’ll enter a small lakeside town and then hop on a boat for a ride to Mezcala Island. There we will encounter a big abandoned fortress. Our guide will give us a little history of how years ago, the local folks with rocks and slingshots fought to fend off the Spanish with their muskets and small cannons. Note: Bring plenty of water if it is a hot day as there is not much shade on the island.

After getting back to the mainland, the rest of the day will be invested in exploring two different lakeside towns; Chapala and Ajijic. As we stroll around, we may very well run into US, Canadian, and other foreign expats who now live full or part time there. This lake region holds one of the largest concentrations of expats living in México. 

Later, we’ll return again to Guadalajara.  (B,L)

This morning we’ll check out and head west.

As we have all seen in photos or maybe in person, many of the archaeological sites located throughout México have triangular-shaped pyramids. However, today we’ll get to explore a ruins site which breaks the mold. At the Guachimontones Archaeological site, our guide will lead us around its ancient ceremonial center which has a round pyramid.

After exploring this interesting ruins site and learning a little bit about its history, we’ll head over to another México Magic Town; the town of Tequila. We will have lunch there and check into a local hotel. The rest of the afternoon and evening are free to explore this town made famous by – you guessed it – the Tequila drink. 

We will sleep here for 1 night. (B,L) 

Today is all about TEQUILA!

One of several Tequila distillery companies headquartered here is the José Cuervo Company. After lunch, one of their knowledgeable guides will lead us on a Tequila Tour starting with a visit to Cuervo’s agave fields. We’ll get to see up-close how blue agave is grown and harvested. Next, we’ll head back into town to tour their processing facilities and of course, we will have the opportunity to taste test the different kinds of Tequila they produce.  

At the conclusion of the tour, we’ll drive west all the way to the Pacific coast and to the well-known resort city of Puerto Vallarta. There we will check in to one of the beachside resort hotels for the next 4 nights.  (B,L)

This morning we can all stretch our legs as our guide takes us on an orientation tour of the central area of Puerto Vallarta. In this way, we can get an idea of the “lay-of-the-land” as well as view some of the main points of interest. 

We’ll then have the rest of the afternoon to relax on the beach, by the pool, and have lunch at our resort or one of the many nearby restaurants.

In the evening, we will all gather for a farewell dinner with our guide as he will be traveling back to Guadalajara in the morning. Before he leaves, he can suggest some ideas of activities and places to visit in and around Puerto Vallarta.  (B,D)  

After the past days of touring the Best of Guadalajara and the Land of Tequila, it will be time to switch from “Travel Explorer”  to “Beach Resort Vacationer” mode.  

Breakfast will be included on days 8, 9 & 10 at the resort and all the other meals will be on our own. With so many nice restaurants to select from, it may be a challenge to decide which ones to try.

Relax and Enjoy Puerto Vallarta!  (B)

This is the official last day of this tour. If you are flying out today, you can make arrangements with your hotel’s front desk for securing a transfer to the Puerto Vallarta Airport. 

Of course, if you like, you are welcome to stay longer in Puerto Vallarta. We will be happy to help you with the accommodation arrangements. If you would like to continue your exploration vacation to visit another area of México, just let us know and we can help design an extension trip for you.  (B)

Buen Viaje!