Visiting Puerto Vallarta - Part 33

Inside the air-conditioned Galerias Vallarta Shopping Mall there are numerous business and shops such as Lacoste, Hang 10, Levis, Pepe Jeans, Undercolors of Benetton, Swarovski, Spalding, Sanrio Smiles, Quicksilver, GNC, Sally Beauty Supply, Bose, Radio Shack, a specialized bike shop, and many others. In addition to a few food outlets on the lower floor, Chili’s Restaurant is on the upper floor. If you are lucky enough to be seated at tables near the window you will have an excellent view of the Maritime Terminal where the cruise ships come in.

The second-floor food court area includes Burger King, McDonald’s, Dominos Pizza, Subway and more. Next to the food court is where the public bathrooms are located. The food court also has floor to ceiling windows on the west side looking out toward the Puerto Vallarta Maritime Terminal. Just off the food court is an exterior balcony where you can walk out to enjoy a nice overview of the area. Additional amenities within the Galerias Vallarta Mall include a Starbucks, Haagen Dazs ice cream, Emotion Casino, a fitness facility, and modern Cinemex movie theatre. You can see current movies in English at half the cost of seeing of the U. S. At the Cinemex ticket counter you can sign up for a free movie discount card to receive special pricing on movies if you are planning a longer stay.

In addition to a variety of stores and various restaurants of all types located along the Hotel Zone strip, there are some larger shopping places which include:

The Walmart, Sam’s Club complex which is directly across from the Maritime Terminal and right next to the Galerias Vallarta Mall.

Plaza Peninsula is located in the middle of the Hotel Zone in the Peninsula condo complex between the Krystal Hotel and the Holiday Inn. There is a Starbucks here as well banks, a few food outlets and some boutique shops.

Plaza Caracol is located across from the Friendly Hotel and Villa del Palmar. This plaza’s anchor store is Soriana, which is a large chain supermarket, another Cinemex, Lans department store, Radio ShackMcDonald'sds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, El Pechugan which offers an excellent take-away rotisserie chicken, banks, as well as other businesses, shops and boutiques.

Costco is located just a few blocks south from the backside of Plaza Caracol in the modern Fluvial neighbourhood. The street Fluvial Vallarta is parallel to Medina Ascencio. There is a traffic light at the corner of Medina Ascencio and Fluvial Vallarta. Just look for the tall, modern, silver water feature that marks that corner. Head down Fluvial Vallarta past an intersection with the light and you will see the big Costco building on the left-hand side on the corner of Fluvial Vallarta and Francisco Villa. Costco is an excellent place to stock up on water and drinks for your holiday stay.

Plaza Genovesa is just a short distance south of Plaza Caracol along Medina Ascencio, but is located across the street on the beach side of the highway. This plaza is within a residential complex of the same name and includes a small number of shops and businesses which includes the office of Mundo Nogalito Eco Adventure Park and tours, Santander Bank, a yoga studio, and an OXXO convenience store.

Continued in part 34.