Puerto Vallarta Walking Tours
WELCOME TO VALLARTA!
Get an Insider's View of Puerto Vallarta
Immersing yourself in a place helps to discover its culture. Walking enhances this experience. My name is Sandra Cesca. Welcome to my walking tours. My love of photography and history has helped develop my business over the last 12 years. As you read the descriptions of my walks and view the photos in my gallery, you will get a sense of the experience you will have with me. Finally, go to my BLOG TAB where you can read stories of some of the people you will meet.
Why walk with me? Only informative small groups, visit workshops and markets, meet artisans and vendors, hear interesting history, visit places you may not find on your own. Time for questions and conversation. For customer reviews, go to Trip Advisor.
BOOK NOW gives immediate reservations, online payment, and email confirmation. Only available up to 24 hours in advance. Book early to ensure your choice is available. Walks are about three hours long except for San Sebastian and El Tuito. All prices are in USD.
Questions? Contact me on WhatsApp or at sandra.learn.vallarta@gmail.com
Custom tours: contact me to discuss.
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This roll and stroll tour is specially designed for wheelchair visitors and their companions. We begin at the north end of the Malecon and head south, passing many of the bronze sculptures that Vallarta is known for. As we head into the inner streets, you will hear about Vallarta’s history while observing its Spanish colonial architecture and the iconic Guadalupe Church. Along the way, we pass shops and workshops offering authentic Mexican crafts, including Huichol beadwork and thread paintings, ancient milagros, Talavera pottery, Zapotec tapestries, and a leather museum of authentic costumes from the past 300 years. We will take a break at a chocolate production kitchen, where you will hear about the origins of chocolate, vanilla, and coffee. Next, we go to Rio Cuale Island, ending at the John Huston statue placed in memory of the director of the famous Richard Burton 1964 movie “Night of the Iguana” filmed here in Vallarta while his lover, Elizabeth Taylor, kept watch over Richard. Meet at the beginning of the Malecon across from the Hotel Rosita. Rolling strolling time, 3 hours.
See the Wheelchairs Welcome
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This is my most popular walk. If you have taken this walk before, come again. I have revised the route, adding several new locations. This walk covers the oldest and most historic part of Vallarta on the north side of the Rio Cuale. From the Central Plaza, we walk the surrounding cobblestone streets with its old colonial architecture and new urban art. You will hear about Vallarta’s history, Talavera pottery, origins of chocolate, vanilla, coffee, Huichol beadwork, ancient milagros, and more as we stop in some of these specialty shops. We will take a break at the Chocolate Factory to sit and ask questions. Then a stroll through Gringo Gulch, famous for Elizabeths Taylor’s house and villas built by Guillermo Wulff, who also built the sets for the movie “Night of the Iguana” in 1964. We end at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Meet at the Los Arcos Amphitheater on the Malecon across from the downtown Central Plaza. Walking time, 3 hours.
If you like to explore a place on your own at your own pace, my AUDIO VERSION is for you! You get to walk the route I use and listen to my voice sharing the history and stories of this exciting town. Take this walk any time of day, although shops typically open at 10 am. Stop to shop or eat, then start again at your leisure. Once you have downloaded the app on your phone or computer, you can purchase my walking tour and hundreds of others worldwide for under $10 USD per tour and watch virtually if you are not in the actual tour location.
AUDIO VERSION will take you directly to my walking tour page on VoiceMap. Follow the directions to create a free account, download the app, and purchase the tour. Now you can walk the tour using the GPS on your phone. If you are not in Vallarta, watch it virtually. Once you purchase my tour you can use it as many times as you wish.
See the Historic El Centro photo gallery
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From the Vallarta Cigar and Chocolate Factory at the foot of the Insurgentes Bridge, we head over the Cuale River for the Emiliano Zapata Colonia on the Southside. As we walk through local cobblestone neighborhoods that are a mixture of old homes and new rentals, you will visit Vallarta’s largest central produce/fish market; meet the chicken lady; taste tortillas hot off the cooker or a free chocolate truffle that melts in your mouth; see Oaxaca tapestries, a renovated eclectic historic hotel, Banderas Bay’s largest ceramics factory where artists paint colorful tiles; find old-world antiques, folk art, and then step upstairs into Alfonso’s museum of hand-made leather where over 40 mannequins display historical clothes and headpieces all sewn by Alfonso. Walk time, 2.5 hours.
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This tour has been revised to include several more interesting stops. El Tuito is a 500-year-old rural pre-Hispanic mountain town one hour south of Vallarta nestled in beautiful agricultural and ranch country. Our first stop is the famous family-run panaderia, where we sample empañadas baked in a wood-fired brick oven. Then across to Mi Pretexto, a small family raicilla farm started 20 years ago, to observe how raicilla is made. Next several stops include the brickyard where hundreds of hand-made bricks are made and fired daily; the plaza; 200-year-old church; local outdoor pottery studio; coop art gallery featuring over 500 paintings; behind the scenes in a tortilla shop and local cheese factory. Hear the history of this town since the days of the Spanish conquistadors. We end with lunch (fee not included) at a local family restaurant. Then a stop at the cemetery on our way back to Vallarta.
RT transportation from Vallarta in private AC car. Groups of 2-3 people.
NOTE: this walk is not suitable for those with mobility or balance issues.
See the Rural El Tuito photo gallery