We did the Marietas Islands snorkeling + Hidden Beach tour and it was a highlight of our trip…read more Booking was easy and Roberta provided lots of great info ahead. (One tip: if you're staying in Sayulita... listen when Roberta recommend getting cash ahead on the way to Sayulita! ATMs in town are often out of cash.) And while I can't remember his name, the guy who got us set up for our trip was also super helpful as was Oscar our driver. The trip itself was awesome! Palma & Edgar were a top-notch team. Palma, our guide, had so much knowledge and a real joy in sharing it. He also really knows how to connect with people, their individual needs, and help make the experience special. And because of this we saw so many different kinds of fish, birds, crabs, whales... and learned about the National Park, the area, etc. I'll have his joy-filled "Look, look... Mira, mira..." in my head for awhile as I explore the world, and that's a good thing. He guided us through Hidden Beach and it's caves and took pictures for us so we could just enjoy. On the ride back Edgar, our awesome captain, and Palma were set on finding whales, and we did! And Palma went around and filmed with everyone's cameras so that we could be in the moment and enjoy all the while keeping his energy and attention on the group experience. We saw the bigger boats out there, with water slides and such, and we were so glad to have this more intimate tour. And we met some great people on our small tour, so having beers and tacos afterward together (set up by the tour) was a great touch.

So fun! The team is great and Stephane showed us amazing wildlife and rock formations! Thanks guys!!read more

We used Sea Nayarit for my friend Nick's bachelor party trip. John and Alisa were THE best! Super…read moreaccommodating and helpful during the booking process including pictures of the vacation rental, status updates, and pictures. We planned to do some spearfishing with John and it was out of this world. He put me on my ultimate dream fish, a 42lb Cubera snapper, on my birthday! The rental house was HUGE! Immaculately cleaned and plenty of bedding, towels, even toiletries just in case. I will definitely be visiting Punta De Mita again and will be going through Sea Nayarit, no doubt! Thank you John and Alisa for making my this trip so memorable!

Best 4 days in Mexico. John and Alisa truly provide the best experience, from surfing, kayaking,…read morespearfishing, and dining. The vacation rental they provided was clean and had a beautiful view of the pool and ocean. Luxury but also the got to enjoy the culture of mexico.

This was such a fun activity during our cruise port call in Puerto Vallarta. In December we took a…read moreMexican cruise to celebrate my 70th birthday and this was our favorite activity off the ship. I'm a little late posting this review!! I appreciated having the crew explain how to operate the ATV, safety advice, and how they followed along with the riders making sure we were all OK and taking photos & videos. The ATVs were well-maintained and in good working order. We had no breakdowns or operational issues among our tour group. We enjoyed the views and the stops along the way where we got to try making tortillas, and having a snack by the cool creek. We also stopped for a tequila tasting, which was informative and fun. The tour started at the Estigo facility in town and we were escorted out of town by the Estigo guides. It's a bit bumpy riding in town on cobblestone roads, but as soon as we were out of town it was smooth riding. We did a morning tour, so I struggled with sunlight in my eyes, which proved to be a bit concerning when rounding corners as we headed up the hills leaving town. I admit to white-knuckling the early part of the ride. Once we were in the foothills, I was able to relax and enjoy the surroundings. I booked this tour on my own through the Estigo website, which made it a much better value than one of the cruise ship excursions. We also had a smaller group and just took a cab from the cruise port to Estigo's faculty. I definitely recommend Estigo if you are looking for a fun activity when visiting Puerto Vallarta!

Great communication through email and phone for reservations. They accommodated our big group of 21…read morepeople. They took many pictures and videos for us for free and we had a great time!

This tour was WONDERFUL!! Our guide, Agustina, spent time up front with us making sure we were…read morecomfortable with how to operate the ATVs safely and with her hand signals. We were provided with neck gaiters, goggles and helmets. This was a private tour, so just two of us and our guide and a photographer/videographer. (NOTE - make sure you take some photos of your own along the way). So much better than a slow dusty caravan of the group tours. Then, off we went! The first bit of the ride is through city streets to get to the road up the mountain. The cobblestones of PVR gave way to dirt roads and some paved areas at smaller towns along the way. After an hour or so, we stopped at a small bar/restaurant and enjoyed a beverage by a waterfall. We had a great conversation with Agustina about traveling. The road up the mountains has some holes and some puddles so you have to pay attention, and we occasionally encountered some traffic (mostly other ATV tours or buses) and a bull, a donkey, a cat, and several dogs. The speed bumps in the residential areas can sneak up on you, too! The views of the mountains are beautiful and you spend a lot of time running along the Cuale River. We always felt safe and Augustina was a fabulous leader!! When we returned to the office, the videographer had compiled our video and photos to review on the computer. The price was a bit silly $1500 pesos ($100US) for either the photos or the video, $2000 pesos for both. So, we passed on that. We have already recommended the tour to fellow travelers and would even take the same tour again ourselves. Highly recommend!!

Xiutla Riders was an incredible time ! Our guide Sergio was the freakin man! He was funny and super…read morelaidback. His instructions were clear and easy to follow. It put first timers like us at ease. We first traveled through town and small communities. We made our first stop at a restaurant alongside the water to jump in and have margaritas! After that we went up a mountain and got some great photos opportunities. Finally we stopped at a lunch spot where they offered tequila tasting and lunch. We enjoyed the chipotle chicken. I would 100% recommend this tour. Thank you Sergio !

We took a boat to a small town and then a truck up to Los Veranos, where we were greeted by…read moreenthusiastic and friendly staff. My husband and child went zip lining while I enjoyed a couple of margaritas (best I had in PV) and read in the restaurant. The food was delicious, my daughter loved playing in the river, and we got to hold a toucan, a lemur, and a marmoset. Overall, a fantastic experience at a reasonable price! Something to be aware of--the seats on the boat aren't very comfortable and my back and hips hurt a lot by the time we were halfway across the bay. Taking the truck might be better for people who need a backrest and leg room.

This review is specific to the restaurant and animal area. We were on a separate van tour in Puerto…read moreVallarta that ended at Los Veranos for lunch. Our guide told us "go order your food, then go enjoy your photos with the animals while you wait for your food" this was smart advice. I am not one that is a huge fan of animals, but I will say that the staff was very friendly and really was patient with us and the animals. The food was amazing! It may be a little pricer than other areas, but you are paying for the experience with the animals too. There is no cell reception at this location, and there are signs to swim at your own risk in the water below the restaurant. I really wish I could have done a canopy tour that included the zip lining as it looked awesome from afar! But I was still happy to settle for eating sat the restaurant and interacting with the animals. Pro tip: if you're American and paying with a credit card with no foreign transaction fees, be sure to have them charge you in pesos to your card. You'll thank me later

I give a high endorsement to Captain Miguel and Christopher his deck hand. They were very friendly…read moreand knowledgeable. Most importantly, they got us into lots of fish on a slow day. 3 Dorado (mahi mahi), also hooked a marlín and a sailfish. It was a enjoyable day. Also, high marks for Belen who handles reservations. She did not loose patience with us although we changed our minds a few times on dates Lo De Marcos is about a hour north of PV. I have fished out of PV several times and the advantage is that it is out of the Bay of Banderas and closer to the best fishing to the north. There is a beach take off and landing requires which he handled expertly. (mind blowing)

Saw whales and has the best time with the team. Even fished and caught some nice onesread more

If I could give negative stars, I seriously would. This is one of the worst experiences that I…read morehave ever had with both diving and customer service. We were in Puerto Vallarta over Christmas where my 17-year-old son was going to do his open water certification. He did his first 2 dives with Silent World Divers (who, by the way, are AMAZING: professional, gracious, honest: everything Chico's is not) but was not feeling well on the scheduled second day. We scrambled to find another SSI dive shop, and Chicos said that they could take him for his third and fourth certification dives. We clarified that with them both on the phone and it was clearly written on the receipt when we gave them our money. Then ensued a comedy (or, rather, tragedy) of errors. We were told to go down to the peer and look for Eric on the Chicos boat. We could not find the boat, but overheard some other people talking about Chico's and they turned out to be other divers on her trip also looking for the boat. We finally found the boat, and after we had left the pier the sole dive instructor on the boat introduced himself as Raul. I quickly piped up and said, "I thought we were diving with Eric." "Eric's not coming," Raul replied. I explained that my son needed to get his SSI certification, and Raul said that that would not be possible because he himself was not an SSI instructor. Eric was the only SSI instructor at the shop. Raul then said that my son was welcome to dive, even though he wasn't yet certified, wouldn't get certified, and there were four other divers (in addition to us, at various levels of training/certification) also on the boat. I protested, as we were leaving in a couple of days to fly back to the Pacific Northwest and this was my son's one shot to get certified. Then Raul offered to have Eric sign my son's checkout form, even though Eric was not on the boat and would not have witnessed any of my son's skills. I I observed that that was terribly unprofessional, and after some further back-and-forth we requested to go back to the dock without diving. I would have been willing to chalk that up to an unfortunate misunderstanding, except that when we went back to the dive shop to get our money back they refused to refund it. We spoke to Eric on the phone, who said that we had been given an option of diving, but that it had been our decision not to proceed. I reviewed multiple times that we had specifically signed up for SSI certification and that they were unable to provide that, but he steadfastly refused to refund the money for the dive we never did. I am a very kind person, and it takes a lot for me to lose my temper. I probably raise my voice once every 2 or 3 years, and this was the once every 2 or 3 years. I was very forceful and saying that if he did not refund my money, that I would write negative reviews on every review site that I could find documenting what happened that day. He finally relented, and told me that I would need to come back to the dive shop (which was very distant from where we are staying) in a few hours when he was able to get there. I pushed back again saying that that was not the way we wanted to spend our vacation, and this led to an approximately 1 month ordeal of back-and-forth and supposed transfers of money that finally came through a couple of days ago. So I would say that if you do not value safety, honesty, or integrity, you might want to dive with Chicos. Otherwise, go with Silent World.

We booked this with our hotel, Villa Del Palmar. Was a bit apprehensive after reading reviews but…read morefelt we would give it a try. Arrived early at the pier and spoke with two of the boat taxi guys who said they would let the dive shop know when they arrived. Right on time Eric and one other gentleman showed up to offload gear and park their truck. Walked us down to the boat and off we went. We had an excellent time and Eric did a great job with us. Give them a try.

Marc and his crew (Chuie, Herman, Bill and Captain Emiliano) were excellent communicators and…read moreexperts in Los Arcos scuba diving. Marc is a lanky Brit who has lived in PV for 17 years and has learned fluent Spanish. He has put together a wonderful business and has a great respect for all people and nature. I was part of an inaugural diving trip for Queer and Trans divers hosted by Narwhal Divers (https://www.narwhaldivers.com/). The founder of Narwhal, Niko, has been diving with Marc for many years. (Marc had a number of repeat customers on every dive/snorkel excursion.) Marc and the crew were respectful to us all. They were precise with correct pronoun usage and helped everyone feel welcome. While Marc comes across as a jokester on land, as a dive master he was calm, patient, organized, and safety-focused. He made efficient decisions and clear instructions. The visibility in the water varied dive to dive and a few of us got separated from the group at various times. As Marc had done a safety briefing on the boat, each of us knew what to do and all remained well. When I got separated, I didn't panic, started my ascent, and Mark located me during my safety stop. (Other dive boats in the area had helped him locate me by my air bubble stream. Clearly a community that all looks out for others!) Marc and I returned to the group and the dive continued without issue. We even saw a massive turtle on our final dive!!! [Even with marginal visibility, other sightings included many octopuses, a baby jellyfish, sea urchins, sea snakes, sting rays, sea cucumber, eel, nudibranchs, lobster, starfish, fresh coral and soooooooo many fish. Marc clearly knew the seascape well and was able to guide us to incredible underwater moments!] I look forward to diving with Marc and his team in the future!

Did 4 dives over two days with PV Ocean Tours. Crew was laid back, yet super professional and safe…read more All 4 dives were fun. Saw a shark, octopus, turtles, sea horse, manta and more! Highly recommend Marc and his team.