The last few days in Guadalajara were rainy, grey and cold. I had planned to stay there longer, but the weather made me change my plans. Instead of spending more time inland, I’d head straight to the coast. My first stop would be Sayulita, a small surfer town on the Pacific, and then I would visit San Pancho, a few miles further north, even smaller than the already tiny Sayulita, but a few of my friends had spent a winter there a few years back and loved it.
I couldn’t have made a better decision than traveling to the coast. I started my journey on a rainy morning in Guadalajara (it was pouring down the second day in a row) and a couple of hours into the bus ride, the rain stopped and the scenery began to look a lot more tropical. Four hours after hopping on that bus, I was let out on the side of the road right next to a guy selling coconuts fresh off a palm tree. The air felt sticky and hot. This was the climate I felt right at home in.
By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls
Guadalajara Gay Travel Resources
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When I mapped out my Mexico trip and tried to decide which city to fly into, it basically came down to one decision: Flying straight to the coast or visit a new city first. And as much as I was ready for some beach time, my curiosity to explore another Mexican city won. And Guadalajara won for three reasons: It is known to be cultural and artsy, it is relatively close to the Pacific coast, and it is only 70 kilometers from Tequila.
A travel writer I follow on Snapchat had just gone there and her snaps from Tequila looked so gorgeous that I wanted to see the agave fields for myself, and visit a couple of tequila distilleries – even though I am not a big tequila fan (I have a margarita every now and again, but straight up tequila wouldn’t necessarily be my drink of choice).
And so I found myself on a bus to Tequila on my very last day in Guadalajara, excited for agave fields and for an education about Mexico’s national spirit, one that, admittedly, I knew very little about. While the day trip didn’t exactly turn on the way I was hoping for (rain instead of blue skies, too many hours spent on a bus, bad planning), I immediately fell in love with the little village of Tequila. I could feel that we weren’t far anymore when agave fields started to line the street on both sides, with their distinctive green-bluish leaves.
Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay:
Experience ultimate luxury in our large, 5,000 sf villa in the Conchas Chinas Hills. This new, five bedroom, five and a half bathroom villa is in the upscale Amapas area, where you’ll find some of the most beautiful vacation rental homes in Puerto Vallarta.
Villa Encantada is in the middle of a vibrant, tropical jungle, and has panoramic Banderas Bay views. It’s also a great place to watch the sun set from the wide pool deck. When the days are hot, you can cool down in our gorgeous turquoise blue pool, or relax with a drink at the outdoor bar under the shade of the palapa.
Villa Encantada is a great place for families or a group of friends, with 5 elegant bedroom suites, each with private bath, wide balconies, a large sitting room, and a complete staff that make this house a tropical paradise.
Villa Encantada is close to downtown Puerto Vallarta in the Amapas/Conchas Chinas hills. We offer an open air paradise where you can enjoy the warm ocean breeze and the tropical evenings.
The villa is filled with colorful, vibrant art, and the wide open spaces complement the house’s decoration, making this a fantastic vacation destination.
The home was just completed in 2006, and was designed by Arturo Ramos, a well-known PV architect. Three of the guest rooms have kingsized beds, one has a queen bed, and one has two queen beds.
The entire villa has beautiful, warm hardwood doors and windows, and the bedrooms all have a/c. The pool and spa are both solar heated, reducing electricity use and carbon output.
The villa also has satellite TV, telephones (with free calls to tyhe United States), and housecleaning, cooking, and house staff services six days a week. There’s also a fully equipped kitchen, Barbeque, movies, games and high speed wifi access.
For the perfect vacation in gay Puerto Vallarta, stay at Villa Encantada.
The first thing that almost everyone asks when they hear you’ve just got back from Mexico is, “Was it safe?” Apparently so, seeing as we’re still standing! Our standard answer is, “Yes of course.” We then try to resist the urge to show them the Facebook album named ‘Gay Guadalajara’ – because then the next question is usually, “Guadala-where-a?”
Unless your geography is better than most, you may well be asking yourself the same thing. Guadalajara is Mexico’s second largest city, with 4.5 million inhabitants – second only to mega-metropolis Mexico City, at 20 million – and it’s also the capital of the state of Jalisco, which lies mid way up the country’s Pacific coast.
Not your usual holiday destination? Perhaps not for Brits – but tourism from North America is big business to Mexico. Many head for coastal resorts, including Puerto Vallarta, where gay and lesbian tourists have been flocking for decades. But Jalisco’s main city also attracts its fair share of visitors.
Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay:
Puerto Vallarta was listed by LatinTimes in the top 10 destinations for solo travelers for Spring/Summer 2016. People who have traveled alone often describe their first solo vacation as a religious experience. Alone getaways gives you the chance to think, relax and recharge energy from your daily routine, also; these types of trips helps travelers to meet new people and gain some sense of independence while vacationing in exciting destinations. Puerto Vallarta has much to offer solo LGBT travelers and holds its own against cities like Ft Lauderdale, Curacao, South Beach Miamia, and Aruba.
Puerto Vallarta for LGBT Travelers. Puerto Vallarta is home of Mexico’s only 
We were fortunate to get a few minutes with Michael Lucas, Founder and CEO of Lucasentertainment.com. He was just back from his Christmas vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Q: You just came back from vacationing in Puerto Vallarta Mexico where you stayed in Piñata PV Gay Hotel (
Our friend Dolly is on the go again, this time in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico:
Buenas Tardes,
Now I must switch to English. I have exhausted my Spanish vocabulary.
Frank and I decided we needed another vacation; therefore, we flew down to Puerto Vallarta on Friday.
We arrived at our hotel around 6:00 p.m., after spending almost 2 hours going through Immigration and Customs. The lines were long, but progressed smoothly. No one seemed to be upset or angry. Eventually, we retrieved our bags, ran the gauntlet through time share salesmen and found our taxi. We arrived here, at Club Regina, in time for Happy Hour. Our timing is impeccable.
The hotel sits among lush green gardens, palm trees and swimming pools. At the western edge of the property is the Pacific Ocean. The setting is so peaceful and relaxing, although the buildings are painted white with bubble-gum pink accents, interspersed with bright yellow accents. I think that design is to keep the guests from getting too bored.
After we got settle into our room, Frank and I walked down to a bar to have an evening cocktail. Frank could not get a martini, as the bar did not stock vermouth. We settled for a glass of Chardonnay each, as the bar did not have Pinot Grigio, either. Hmm. This could be a long week. We did have a delicious seafood dinner, though, and as we were both tired, we turned in early for a good night’s sleep.
Yesterday, we went into town. The concierge told us we could get a taxi to town for about 100 pesos, which is a bit under $6.00 US. I asked if there wasn’t a bus that went to town. Yes, there was. We found the bus, paid our 7.50 pesos. ( 45 cents US). Not that we are cheap, but I thought the experience of taking local transport would be interesting. That it was.
The buses run every 15 minutes, and are an efficient mode of transport, but we had to hang on tight, as the young driver weaved his way through traffic. Oh, to be young and fearless. We made it to our destination, though, safe and almost sound.
Our destination was the Malecon, which is a one mile, 12 block promenade that borders the sea.
This esplanade is traffic free, flowers and trees planted in a median all along the route. There are many sculptures in this area, as well as some innovative sand sculptures.
Eventually, we reached the southern end of the Malecon. We knew there was an excellent restaurant nearby, and we found it.
We went into an almost empty restaurant, as it was about 4:00 p.m by then. The waiter was very gracious. We told him we had been there before, several years ago. He was pleased that we remembered his restaurant and that we came back.
After our late lunch, we then caught a bus going back toward our hotel. Another adventure. We got off the bus this time at Walmart. We wanted to buy some groceries, so we didn’t have to eat out every meal. Of course, our grocery bags were so heavy when we left, we got a taxi back to the hotel, for a cost of less than $4 US.
We bought a papaya, a pineapple, some little limes, a couple of pastries, to make our breakfast this morning. The fruit was so delicious…we have enough papaya to last the rest of the week.
The rest of our day was spent just being lazy..we watched football…(.hey, did the Seahawks get lucky, or what?) later, I went down to one of the pools. Nothing like floating on my back, looking up at palm trees and wispy clouds to relax the mind.
We are having Happy Hour in our condo, then we will go down to a restaurant for dinner. Maybe. We have fruit, bread, cheese and wine here. Who could ask for anything more.
So I will say, Adios, till next time. More adventures to come, I am sure.
Your traveling blog writer,
Dolly