Looking to go there for a mini getaway. Any advice (or hotels/restaurants to avoid)? Will probably be booking with UA Vacation (already checked SunTrips and Apple Vacations), but I'm really weary of the horror stories I read on TripAdvisor re: local "resorts," and I wonder if all the raves are from 20 year olds who will give 5 stars as long as there are free booze and all the rants are from crusty retirees who shouldn't be traveling to third-world countries to begin with.
i backpack thru mexico for a couple weeks every summer and i spent a week in p.v. two years ago. there is a river which splits the town in two. north of the river is all the toursity places to stay. american hotels, wal-marts, outback steakhouse. south of the river is a plethora of cheap hotels and restaurants. this is where the mexican toursits stay. we had a 3-bed room (very clean) in a nice hotel about a 10 minute walk from the beach and it was only $25/night ($8 each!). they had a cool rooftop terrace that gave a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and the ocean. i cant remember the name, but i think it was hotel azteca. i can find out for sure if you are curious. i do remember that it was on madero st. though, about one block from the river. eat lots of seafood there too. fresh and cheap. you can buy fish steaks or grilled shrimp on the beach for about $2. beaches are great, but you cant go 1 minute w/out some vendor comming by to sell his crap. gets annoying after awhile. p.v. is in the middle of a bay. if you go south along the bay, there are some really cool secluded beaches and small fishing villages. make for great day trips. yalapa was the town i went to. you can get naked at some bad-ass waterfalls up in the hills. very chilled out beaches there too. pv is really touristy, but i had a great time there. very relaxed. prefect place to just lay on the beach all day drinking pina coladas and eating grilled shrimp. if you dont want to see a bunch of hairy dudes in revealing bikinnis, than i advise you to stay away from la playa de azules sillas (blue chair beach). p.v. has a vibrant gay scene and this beach is the epicenter.
i wouldnt call mexico a 3rd world country. its not india or somalia or anything. lets call it 2nd world! and i would avoid all the touristy crap like the "booze cruise", where you pay like $25 bucks and they take you out on a boat ride w/ free alcohol. vacation like the mexicans, not the gringos. avoid wal-mart and mcdonalds and the mariot. basically, lodge and eat south of the river.
