Of course Sly liked your post, "rough"! Haven't been back to Europe since like 10-12 months before COVID hit. Used to go 2-3 times/year for several years, so I'm excited to go back. But I otherwise don't miss travel. Going to Hawaii 5-8 times/year is good enough for me.
Of course someone had the same thought and the post I was responding to was at the bottom of a page and yours is the first on the next...
Spent an impromptu weekend in Seattle. Forgot how nice this city was. It was suppose to rain but got nice weather the whole time.
PV is known worldwide for its friendly and fun LGBT community! https://gaypv.com/ https://www.travelgay.com/puerto-vallarta-gay-bars/
One of my favorite Mexican destinations, we keep talking about going back but keep finding new places to explore. Me and my wife have dreamt about buying a condo there. The malecon (beach walkway) is one of the best to just stroll up and down every night. You can do a few fun Zipline adventures, one in the filming area of Predator which is fun. There is a hidden beach that looks nice but we couldn't do because my wife got seasick sick on the catamaran on the way there, had to pay some locals on a fishing boat to take us back to the highway then hitched home with her head in a paper bag (it was quite the experience). The romantic zone of PVR is my favorite area but it might be a little to busy and loud for you to stay at so most people end up in Nuevo Vallarta near the nicer hotels. Romantic area has a lot of character, great restaurants and boutique hotels that worth checking out at least. Our next trip we want to go to the town of Sayulita to check out the expat scene there. You should have a great time, I would pick PVR over most Hawaiian destinations.
Another tip for Puerto Vallarta is, if your hotel doesn't have its own beach areas, then pay for one of the beach club lounge chairs. Don't try and save money in the free areas. The clubs are not that much, they keep some of the hawkers off you and you get a on call waiter for beers or food on damand. Totally worth it and it always works out cheaper than expected. Don't pay for a on beach massage from one of the Mexican ladies either. It might sounds relaxing but they usually are terrible. Instead, find a massage place downtown and do a couples massage. Places in nice shops are trained and very affordable. Expect something like $30 each an hour. Your hotel or resort will probably charge US prices for massages.
Interesting you should say that. We're actually staying in Nuevo Vallarta. https://www.vidanta.com/en/web/nuevo-vallarta/the-grand-mayan Thanks for your insights!
So back from Espana. Have a bunch of thoughts. Ibiza was beautiful, hit up Formentera. Water was so fucking clear. The hotel was awesome. Barcelona was great EXCEPT for the 3 incidents where they tried to rob me. 1. We were on a Rickshaw tour, I asked him to take us to a statue by Fernando Botero that was located in kind of shady neighborhood (El Raval). On the way back, the driver said we were being followed by a few guys on scooters. Apparently they had seen my watch. I had him drop me off in La Boqueria market and we lost the scooter guys there. 2. We were walking back from dinner in a nicer neighborhood (the Born). On a street, some young guys started coming up to me and tried to high five me. Then tried to stick his hand in my front pocket where my phone was. Told him to get the fuck away, and they did. 3. We were walking back from dinner the last night. A block from our hotel (it was a nice, 5 star hotel). I noticed that two guys were pacing us behind us. I kind of stopped, then tried to let them pass. He spoke some foreign language I didn't understand (I think they were North African/Morrocan) and then grabbed my watch on my wrist and tried to rip it off my wrist. Also tried to get into my pocket, which he ripped. I started swinging and he ran across the street and we ran back to the hotel. Barcelona is shady, be careful out there!
I learned in the Navy to never wear nice watches or jewelry or expensive cameras when you're a tourist....it's like carrying a thief magnet around....co get a 15 dollar watch if you need to wear one but that's a good lesson for travelers. Also Lonely Planet would love to hear your story...they give travel advice daily on things to watch out for when traveling.Travelers log in and let them know what the scams and red flags are.
Weather was perfect for us. Sunny the whole time, not too hot, not too cold. Got up to the high 80s and high 60s at night. Got an upgraded room (used points for this) in Barcelona. Hotel balcony in Ibiza (we had a hot tub/jacuzzi tub out on the deck too!)
Used chase points for all of that. Transferred points to Hyatt for the Barcelona and booked on the Chase Travel Portal for Ibiza. Forgot how much Ibiza was, but I got a good deal on the Hyatt room. Only 43k points for 2 nights. The CHEAPEST rate for the hotel that night was at least $600, so this room was probably $1k a night or so.
