It’s Important to Know What To Expect When You Land At The Puerto Vallarta Airport

Being Prepared For Timeshare Sellers at The Puerto Vallarta Airport could mean the difference between a great Vacation, and one that leaves a bad taste in your mouth

Things That May Be Confiscated From You When You Arrive at the Puerto Vallarta Airport

How to Prepare For Mosquitos in Puerto Vallarta

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Hello fellow travelers, welcome to this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel show. I am your host Barry Kessler, and I am just so happy to be introducing you to my favorite vacation destination, and maybe even yours too and that’s Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. That music you were just listening to is performed by Alberto Perez, the owner of the La Palapa Group of Restaurants. La Palapa,

Puerto Vallarta’s Oldest Restaurant on the famous Los Muertos Beach, and The El Dorado Restaurant and Beach Club right next door so you can enjoy that fantastic view of the Los Muertos Pier all lit up at night in beautiful colors, or during the day in its

grand splendor for breakfast, lunch or dinner, seated with your toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. Or riverside at the newest addition to the groupo, The Le Bistro Modern Mexican Café, overlooking  the Rio Cuale on beautiful Isla Cuale. La

Palapa, El Dorado and Le Bistro Jazz Café. They are so romantic, they’re so, Puerto Vallarta, my friends.

Today we are going to be discussing more about what to bring and what to expect when you get to Puerto Vallarta, namely the airport and  transportation to your hotel, resort, condo, timeshare…must I go on?   Well…yes…and if you missed the last episode, we discussed some of the basics. What to pack, the very important issue of exchanging money, cell phone and data plans and so forth so if you missed any of that, I suggest you give it a listen or read the blog at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com. That was very important information so I suggest you go back and do a little catching up.

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In the old days, well, it was not too long ago, you didn’t need a passport to enter Mexico from the USA, but times have changed and all of you foreigners will need passports when visiting Mexico.  So if you don’t have yours or it isn’t up to date, best get that done before you decide to book a trip okay?   Same applies to those of you sailing in on a cruise ship. Get your papers in order first off.

Then we talked about the best time of year to come to Puerto Vallarta and what to pack so I would like to bring in a local expert, JR in PV to give us a lesson on what are the best times to come to PV, and what it’s like during times when tourists are in short supply lets join in on the conversation….

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And thank you JR for the boots on the ground experience and information. Keep in mind that the water is warm, the weather is almost always humid here. You can feel it when you get off of the plane and that brings us to the tropical nature of well, the tropics like mosquitoes and other biting bugs. Now you can and should bring some insect repellent with you. We all have our favorites so bring um if you got um, but if you forget to bring the bug spray, don’t worry, you can buy it just about everywhere from farmacias to little tiendas/ stores, the local OXXO that you will find almost on every corner. Mexico’s version of the 7/11 franchise. You can find insect repellent at any of the big supermercados, even Walmart, Costco, no shortage of very familiar looking shopping venues to choose from here in Puerto Vallarta.

So with bug spray in mind, let’s go right back to our favorite man on the beat, JR in Puerto Vallarta and ask him, what kind of bugs we need to be worried about here in Puerto Vallarta Mexico?

Listen to the Mosquito Interview with JR

Watch the Video Of What to Expect When you Arrive at the Puerto Vallarta Airport! Click Below!

 

Click the Image For The Video

Okay, so now we are all packed. We know what to bring. Passports, pack light, think cool, review what to do about money and your cell phone and internet needs in episode 2. Now you have arrived at the airport. What happens next?

After getting off the plane you will follow the signage to the immigration line.  Depending on how many planes arrive at the same time, the longer the line of course. The flight attendant or an agent at the gate after exiting the plane will hand you a form to be filled out by one family member which you will fill out and hand to a customs agent before you run your luggage through the x-ray machines at customs.  Mexico has stopped asking you to fill out an FMM which stands for Forma Migratoria Multiple. The Puerto Vallarta Airport is currently using digital ID, scanning your passport plus facial and fingerprint recognition upon arrival for visitors who are not residents or Mexican Citizens.  If the machinery is not working which sometimes is the case, it’s the old fashioned way and you will be ushered into a line manned by an immigration agent who will stamp your passport.

You will then be waived on through another very long walkway/corridor to pick up your checked luggage. On the way to the luggage carousels, you will pass  money exchange windows and even places where you can buy cigarettes and booze. You should wait to exchange your money till later. It’s best to use your ATM card at the ATM Machines in the airport lobby.

There is also a veterinary office where you check in with Fido or Tigger.

Things You Shouldn’t Bring Through Mexican Customs When Traveling to Puerto Vallarta

• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
• Meat Products
• Open Packages of Food
• Your Medical Marijuana
• Your Vaping Pen and Vape Juice
• Feathers (believe it or not)

And From The Mexican Government Website

• Firearms, except for hunting purposes, as long as the rules indicated in.
• Live predatory fish in their fingerling, juvenile, and adult stages.
• Thallium Sulfate
• Totoaba, fresh or refrigerated (fish)
• Insecticide (Isodrin, Aldrin, Heptachloro, Drinox, Endrin, Mendrino, Nendin, Hecadrin, or Leptofos)
• Frozen Totoaba (Fish)
• Turtle eggs of any kind
• Poppy seeds (Opium Poppy)
• Imide of N-phtalylglutamic acid (Thalidomide)
• Poppy seed flour (Opium Poppy)
• Marijuana (Cannabis Indica) seeds and spores, even when mixed with other seeds
• Heroin, base, or Diacetylmorophine hydrochloride
• Marijuana (Cannabis Indica)
• Medicinal preparations based on marijuana (Cannabis Indica)
• Opium juices and extracts prepared for smoking
• Medical preparations based on acetylmorphine, its salts or derivatives.
• Extracts and juices derived from marijuana (Cannabis Indica)
• Turtle or Green Turtle skins
• Mucilages and thickeners derived from marijuana (Cannabis Indica)
• Stamps printed in colors or in black and white, presented for sale in envelopes or packets, even when they include chewing gum, candy, or any other type of articles, containing drawings, figures, or illustrations that portray childhood in a denigrating or ridiculous manner, in attitudes which incite violence, self-destruction, or any other type of anti-social behavior, know as “Garbage Pail Kids”, for example, printed by any company or commercial denominations.
• The Ministry of Agriculture prohibits the following goods since they represent a great risk for the introduction of pests and diseases: earth, straw, padded containers of hay, straw decorations without processing; homemade foods; flours of animal origin; fresh, dry, canned or frozen meat and meat products, such as smoky, salted and mature sausages that have been prepared in countries under absolute quarantine (Europe, Africa, Asia and South America).

Customs Website Mexico

After you collect your luggage you will be asked to proceed to the customs lines where you will work your way up to the front of the line. While you are in line the airport has agents who will be asking you and looking at what you have in your hands and bags  to see if you are bringing in fresh fruits and vegetables and, or meat products. They are looking for open packages of food. They won’t allow you to bring any of that into Mexico. They have drug and food sniffing dogs that they occasionally run past the line, so don’t think you can sneak something past them.  Don’t bring in your medical marijuana from the US or Canada. It’s not allowed, and they will find it, (but don’t worry, you can buy the stuff when you are in Vallarta). Don’t bring your vaping pen or vape juice. They will confiscate it.

Once you arrive at the front of the line the nice National Guardsman will ask you for your customs declaration form that you filled out while waiting in line. The form that you were given by the flight attendant or an agent at the gate. He will then instruct you to run your luggage and bags on a conveyor belt through their x-ray machine.

 Now. This is the moment you have all been waiting for. This is it ladies and gentlemen. If you listen to all of my podcasts and get absolutely no information from any of them, this is the part that you must listen to. After you escape the customs room you will go through some glass sliding doors and you will find yourselves in a place, nicknamed in a most loving terms of endearment, The Shark Tank. You will be walking through a corridor where  on either side counters and tables and very official looking people nicely dressed, some in uniforms will try to be getting your attention. They will ask you if you need a taxi. They will say to you that they will arrange a taxi for you. They will ask you where you are staying and try to strike up a conversation with you. They will attempt to offer you things. Do Not Stop. Do not Engage These People. They are attractive, they are smiling big white toothy smiles. They look so harmless…they want to help me with my trip? They want to help me with a ride. DONT STOP!

They are there to sell you a timeshare. They are there to rob you of your greatest commodity. Your time. Time is precious Folks, and your vacation time is sacred. Don’t let these sharks rob you of one single moment of your hard earned vacation. Please, push through. Smile and say no thank you. Tell them you already have a condo, tell them you are not interested and walk on by.

You may be asking why would they let people in the airport that could ruin your vacation from the get-go?  When I first came to Puerto Vallarta in the mid 80’s, everywhere you turned there was someone, usually a young gringo manning a booth along the Malecon or along one of the streets in Old Town hounding everyone to take a timeshare tour and sit for a presentation. Today there are fewer traps like that in town, but I will tell you about where they are now and how to avoid them, but for some reason, the powers that be figured it would be all right to put the timeshare folks right there in the airport. I’m sure they have a deal worked out between the airport commission and the timeshare companies. Just do yourself a favor and just say no.

Now I’m sure there are going to be those of you out there who will walk right up to one of these guys who offers to get you a taxi or give you a ride and just forget everything I just told you. All I can say is I told you so. Now you are asking me Barry, what can these people do to me that can be so bad? So you’re the curious type huh? Willing to tempt fate?

That reminds me of a story from way back on my honeymoon. Debbie and I had just gotten off the Star Ferry From Kowloon to Hong Kong Harbor. When we got off the ferry I told her not to look at the rickshaw drivers. Don’t look them in the eye I warned her before she got off the ferry, don’t give them the slightest hint you are interested in a ride. Well, what do you think she did when she got off the ferry? That’s right, she looked at a rickshaw driver and that’s all  she wrote. He rolled his cart right behind her and pushed her into the seat. Then he ran to the front and grabbed the handles, like the handles of a wheelbarrow and lifted up, making sure his passenger, my new wife was forced back by gravity into her seat As she tried to stand up in protest, he would lift the rickshaw handles up, spilling her back into her seat. She was looking back at me and I’m sure she was expecting a different reaction from me besides laughter. I had already resigned myself to the fact that I would be paying this rickshaw driver for his services. I figured I might as well take some pictures.

Okay, that episode cost me about $5 and about 5 minutes of my time, but these guys, they want much, much more. I’ve heard stories about people who were practically held from their hotel till they agreed to go on a timeshare presentation and much worse. If you have a timeshare horror story to tell, send me your story by going to www.puertovallartatravelshow .com  and clicking on the contact us page, and send us your story.

So go straight do not stop in the Shark Tank. Instead, smile and plow straight forward to the exit lobby where you will see some booths where they are selling tickets for rides from the airport to your hotel, condo etc.  This will probably be the most expensive taxi ride of the trip unless you hire one to take you to a far away place. The airport taxis are regulated and prices are fixed and you pay in pesos if you have them, in your own funny money if you don’t just remember you get the best exchange rate at Bank affiliated ATM machines.

You tell the nice lady behind the window where you are headed and she will charge you accordingly. If there are 1-3 people in your group, you most probably be taking a taxi, 4 or more passengers will be taking a van. The person behind the window is not charging per person for the taxi ride, but for the taxi itself.  She is going to ask you what zone you are going to.

I have a list attached with prices of zones and what hotels are in what zones but they are as follows….

Wow, seems like we’ve gone a too little long, next week we will talk with JR about taking buses in Puerto Vallarta. Just join us and let us be your guides.

Until then, remember, this is an interactive show where I depend on your questions and suggestions about all things Puerto Vallarta. If you think of something I should be talking about, please reach out to me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending us your message.

And if you would like to purchase a copy of Alberto Perez’s song, Samba da Puerto Vallarta, or any of his other fine tunes you can click on my links page at www. Puertovallartatravelshow.com and you will find a link to buy his music as well as links to the La Palapa group of restaurants. And speaking of websites…if you are considering booking any type of tour while you are in Puerto Vallarta, you must go to Vallartainfo.com, JR’s website and reserve your tour through him, right from his website. Remember the value for value proposition. His experience and on the ground knowledge of everything Puerto Vallarta in exchange for your making a purchase of a tour that you would do anyway, you’re just doing it through him as a way of saying thank you. It costs no more than if you were to use someone else so do it. Really. And when you do take one of these tours, email me about your experiences. Maybe you can come onboard and share with others what you liked or didn’t like about the tour. Again contact me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending off a message.

And one more favor please, if you like this podcast, please take the time and subscribe to my podcast and give me a good review on iTunes if you would. It would be so appreciated if you would just take the extra time to do that for me. That way we can get the word out to more and more people about the magic of this place.

So, thanks to you for listening all the way through this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show. This is Barry Kessler signing off with a wish for you all to slow down, be kind and live the Vallarta lifestyle. Nos Vemos amigos!

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