Boat ride to Yelapa

thompsonwayne1 · Post by **thompsonwayne1** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 8:00 pm

We had a great time in Puerto Vallarta and can't wait to go back. All the sales people are a little tiring but not too bad.
The one experience we had that wasn't too good was a boat trip to Yelapa.
As far as we know there are 2 ways to get to Yelapa by boat. There is the water taxi that leaves from the pier in old town for $20 round trip. They really pack them in and there is a real shortage of life vests.
We decided to take a larger boat (40 bucks) that served "breakfast" (fruit, coffee and juice) and they said lunch also. They also stopped on the way down to let us snorkel.
Well after you swim or snorkel you get hungry and it's about noon time, but no lunch. You take off in the boat again and get to Yelapa about 1 o'clock, and you're real hungry, but no lunch.
You get lunch when you get back on the boat at 3:30 and it's a sorry a$$ little piece of warm chicken, some rice, and a lettuce salad.
What you do get at 1 o'clock when you get to Yelapa is dropped off on the beach where there are 2 or 3 total rip-off restaurants. 8 bucks for a cheese quisadilla and that's about the cheapest thing on the menu.
It's so obvious, they postpone lunch and drop you off at these places.
Many people just resign themselves to paying at these places, but I said screw this and started looking for other tourists who had been there a few days and knew their way around. Got some good info this way.
Stand on the beach and face the sea. On your left is a lagoon. On the other side of the lagoon is a cafe called the Vortex. It's run by a delightful woman who speaks excellent english. You can get a BLT sandwich and fries for $4.50 american.
She'll tell you how to get up the hill behind her restaurant to the "town" You should see that while you're there.
Got back to the beach at 3:30 and waited for the shuttle boat to our boat. Sat in the chairs at one of the cafes there to wait, but was told that our boat "didn't have chairs" and if we wanted to sit we had to buy something. The place was practically deserted. The boat people and those restaurant people were such dicks.
This was our only bad experience in 10 days, everything else we loved.

katnsocal · Post by **katnsocal** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:38 am

What you do get at 1 o'clock when you get to Yelapa is dropped off on the beach where there are 2 or 3 total rip-off restaurants.

Sat in the chairs at one of the cafes there to wait, but was told that our boat "didn't have chairs" and if we wanted to sit we had to buy something. The place was practically deserted. The boat people and those restaurant people were such dicks.

I agree that some of the resturants are over-priced but if you read what you wrote what did you expect to have happen?

Sounds like you went to the resturant already upset because you were hungry and the "boat" had not fed you. Not the resturants fault, then you decide they are a rip off and you take off to find a "cheaper" place to eat. Fine, that was your choice. BUT when you came back to wait for the boat you get mad because the resturants you walked away from and did not consume lunch at did not welcome you to sit and rest in their chairs and still not consume anything? How many resturants in your home town let you go sit at their tables and not purchase anything. So I cannot agree with your statement that "the people were such dicks", that statement could have applied to you, expecting to have the use of their facilities free.

rcracing · Post by **rcracing** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:19 am

out of coriosity......was this a tour boat/party barge that you went with or something else?

kcowan · Post by **kcowan** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:46 pm

We have done Yelapa with the water taxi. The trip through town to the falls is great (just look down when on the trail). Beer at the base of the falls. (Falls is an overstatement during the typically dry weather there.) Several inexpensive restaurants on the town side of the lagoon. Then head back to the pier (or get wet trying to board the water taxi from the beach).

They will try to assign you a guide for the falls when you get off at the pier. It is not necessary and a big tip is expected. Leisurely pace and the total hike takes 45 minutes.

thompsonwayne1 · Post by **thompsonwayne1** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 3:36 pm

It was a tour boat that left from the marina. I don't remember the name of it. We bought the tickets on the beach from a licensed vendor. Paid $40 each. Other places may sell them for more.
We were on 3 different boats during our stay there. The other 2 were fine but we didn't care for this one. Bathrooms were dirty, broken toilet seats, toilets didn't flush properly.
What happened on the beach was there were some of those fold up beach chairs that belonged to the restaurant. They were way down by the water, where you wait for the shuttle boat, away from the restaurant. Nobody was using them and the restaurant was almost empty.
When we were told we couldn't use them we went and sat on the sand.
If it was my restaurant I wouldn't have a problem with people using them as long as there were not any paying customers.
But then if it was my restaurant I wouldn't be charging 8 dollars american for a cheese quisadilla that you can get in Puerto Vallarta for about a buck.

Jennybean · Post by **Jennybean** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:10 pm

If you know where to get a quesadilla in Vallarta for a dollar, share that info my friend, because in 7 years and nine trips I've yet to find ANY place that sells them that cheap. I can't even make them in my hotel room kitchen that cheap! LOL

That being said, the quality of a boat tour will almost always directly coincide with how much you pay for it. For $40, don't expect much, because that money is barely paying for the gas, boat insurance and the tour permits, let alone a substantial meal of any quality.

thompsonwayne1 · Post by **thompsonwayne1** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:54 pm

In the old part of the city,a street on the south side of the hotel Playa Los Arcos. It runs between the beach and the main drag which is one street up from the beach. About half way up that street on the north side of the the street, a little hole in the wall cafe. And I do mean hole in the wall, it's about as big as a large closet. It only has about 3 or 4 stools to sit on. Cheese quasadilla, served with a little slice of avacado and some lettuce, 10 pesos.

katnsocal · Post by **katnsocal** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:31 am

I agree with Jennybean, the price of the boat tour does pretty much dictate the service and quality of the trip. As I said before, there are some resturants in Yelapa that are overpriced. We steer our customers to other establishments, but I still think the comparison of a quesadilla from a hole in the wall, closet sized resturant with three chairs and a beach resturant with umbrellas, a bathroom and more than three chairs is like comparing apples and oranges.

billybob · Post by **billybob** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:22 am

Sounds like the boat we were on called Princess Yelapa, bathrooms were disgusting and out of order from the start. The beach restaurant we ate at was also rude. Maybe they have some unfriendly people running things now.

Boat ride to Yelapa

Quesadilla

Boat to Yelapa