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How are these tours different form your other adventure tours?
Where do they depart from?
When do the tours run and are the departures guaranteed?
What type of planes do you use and how many people do they seat?
How far is San Sebastian by land? and by Air?
How Far is Guadalajara from Puerto Vallarta?
How Far are Talpa and Mascota from Puerto Vallarta?
Can I book a space on the plane to any of these towns but not take the tour?
How about if I want to fly one day and come back another?
Are there places to stay in San Sebastian?
Where does the Huichol Indian tour take place?
How did you get permission to visit this village?
Does our guide speak Huichol?
Can we take pictures of the Huichols?
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Colonial Treasures:
Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday
$155 USD
San Sebastian By Land:
Mon-Fri
$75 USD
Journey Through Mexico:
Every Monday & Wednesday
$175 USD
Huichol Indians:
Every Friday from Dec-April
$210 USD
Copper Canyon:
This exclusive 2-day tour requires advance reservations
$1850 USD
Guadalajara Shopping:
Every Thursday from Oct-April
$340 USD
Mexcaltitan & San Blas:
Every Monday
$255 USD |
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Q: How are these tours different form your other adventure tours?
A: Vallarta Adventures' cultural encounter series of excursions concentrate on take small groups (no more than 14 people) to more remote areas. The preferred mode of transport is our Cessna Caravan airplane but we also use some land transportation such as air conditioned vans. These tours are led by expert guides with a wealth of experience in their field.
Q: Where do they depart from?
A: All of the flight based tours depart from Aerotron, which is the private hangar at Puerto Vallarta's International Airport. The land based tours such as San Sebastian By Land depart from our offices in Marina Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta.
Q: When do the tours run and are the departures guaranteed?
A: The majority of these tours only run in the winter months as this is when there is more demand and we can make sure we get the minimum numbers to run. In the case of the flights the minimum is typically 8 people but we may run with less. Some of the landing strips for the plane are not negotiable in summer because of the rains - particularly the Huichol trip. San Sebastian will run all throughout the year - either by land or by air.
Q: What type of planes do you use and how many people do they seat?
A: We use a 14 seater Cessna Caravan which is a single propeller turbo prop (12 passengers if you have luggage) and a 7-seat Cessna 402. There are also 2 seats on each of these craft for the pilot and guide.
Q: How far is San Sebastian by land? and by Air?
A: Before the summer of 2005 the land route to san Sebastian used to take 4 to 5 hours. Now it takes approx 1.5 hours on a good road. By air, the journey is just 15 minutes. San Sebastian is still "untouched" by tourism, so no matter which way you get there, you will be impressed by it's charm.
Q: How Far is Guadalajara from Puerto Vallarta?
A: Guadalajara is a 4.5 hour drive from PV. The flight takes approx 50 mins. There are scheduled daily flights to Guadalajara with Aeromexico and Mexicana but they are very expensive and cost approx $350 USD for a return flight.
Q: How Far are Talpa and Mascota from Puerto Vallarta?
A: Mascota is just a 15 minute flight away. By road it is now approx 1.45 hours along a newly paved connection and Talpa is just 15 minutes further.
Q: Can I book a space on the plane to any of these towns but not take the tour?
A: Yes you can, but it would have to be stand-by and you should call us the evening before at (322) 297-1212 to see if we have any unsold spaces on the tour which can then be sold as "flight-only." The price of the ticket would be approximately half of the tour price for a one-way ticket. In order to guarantee a seat on the plane in advance, however, you would need to pay for a full-price tour ticket.
Q: How about if I want to fly one day and come back another?
A: You could purchase a stand-by ticket, again, half-price of the tour ticket, but in order to guarantee your seat on a particular day you would need to purchase a full price tour ticket.
Q: Are there places to stay in San Sebastian?
A: Yes there are a number of very simple hotels and the Hacienda Jalisco. However, none of the hotels have phones and not all have electricity. It is quite an experience to stay overnight, but be sure to plan your return transport to PV.
Q: Where does the Huichol Indian tour take place?
A: We visit the settlement of San Andres de Coahmiata, which is the spiritual center of the Huichol Indians. The village is located on a high plateau in the interior of Tepic. Access by land is almost impossible and would take about 15 hours to drive from PV even though the flight is just 45 mins.
Q: How did you get permission to visit this village?
A: It took Vallarta Adventures more than 4 years to be allowed to visit San Andres de Coahmiata. We are the only tour operator allowed to visit the settlement and we are very careful to keep the number of visiting guests to a minimum each season. Typically we only take 14 people per week during the 5 months [December to April] we visit the village each season.
Q: Does our guide speak Huichol?
A: Your Vallarta Adventure guide will accompany you throughout the day [including during the flight] and will translate everything from Spanish to English [or German, French, and Dutch by request.] You will also have a local guide in San Andres who will translate from the Huichol language into Spanish.
Q: Can we take pictures of the Huichols?
A: The Huichol people in San Andres are a very private people. They do not like their photos being taken and feel that they have been taken advantage of in the past by travelers. It would be considered extremely rude to take photos of them without asking. You may take your cameras however, and if you ask for kind permission they may let you take some photos. | |
