This is my first trip report on a forum. I have also traveled to Aruba and St. Martin and benefited from their travel forums. I think it is my turn to write a trip report and hopefully give some future PV vacationers some helpful advice.
We were a group of three couples that stayed at the Villa Del Mar. My wife and I shared a two bedroom unit with another couple. The third couple stayed in a studio. Our two bedroom unit was enormous! It had three bathrooms, two king size beds, and it could of sleep up to six people. We were very happy with the resort! The strength of Villa Del Mar/Palmar and PV in general is the customer service. I have never been to a place where the staff is more than happy to assist you. I tipped the bell boy, Tomas, $5 US for carrying my luggage to the room and I received a ton of appreciation from him. Throughout the week Tomas assisted us with luggage that arrived late from the airport, taxis, and his opinions on restaurants in the area. I should mention that all of the staff were wonderful to work with and not one time during the week did we run into a rude person that served us. For those of you that are bargain hunters, I noticed that the staff at Villa Del Mar doesn’t say anything to those people that bring their own beverages and food on the beach and pool area.
Kathie’s boat
Kathie, Katnscoal, had replied to my pms numerous times giving me information about Villa Del Mar and PV in general. Our group decided to rent Kathie’s boat for the day. The six of us rented the boat for 6 hours and it cost us a total of $240 US dollars. It ended up being our best day in PV! The captain, Alberto, picked us up at the Villa Del Mar beach at 9 a.m. The boat is not fancy by any means, but Alberto made sure we had a good time. We ended up bringing our own snacks and water on the boat. We also had Alberto get us a 20 pack of Coronas for $8 US. The boat ride started with a group of dolphins swimming around the boat. One dolphin even swam right along the side of the boat. Next, we did some sight seeing of PV from the boat on the way to snorkel. At the snorkel area, Marietas, there is an enormous amount of sea life. I have read on this forum that many of you have recommended skipping the snorkeling. If you have snorkeled in the Caribbean, I totally agree with this recommendation. The water in PV is not very clear. We spent about 15 minutes snorkeling and decided to fish. We ended up catching 7 albacore. The albacore were not huge fish, but they sure can fight. While the guys fished, the ladies sun bathed on the front of the boat. We ended up arriving at Las Animas before all of the tour boats. For a little while we owned the beach.:lol: We enjoyed some beverages and the staff at the restaurant cooked our fish and served it with rice and beans for $5 a person. We ended up catching a few more albacore on our ride home. What a wonderful day :D
If I get the opportunity, I will also write about: restaurants, taxis, shopping, Los Vernos, and Gigante.
Dave
We were a group of three couples that stayed at the Villa Del Mar. My wife and I shared a two bedroom unit with another couple. The third couple stayed in a studio. Our two bedroom unit was enormous! It had three bathrooms, two king size beds, and it could of sleep up to six people. We were very happy with the resort! The strength of Villa Del Mar/Palmar and PV in general is the customer service. I have never been to a place where the staff is more than happy to assist you. I tipped the bell boy, Tomas, $5 US for carrying my luggage to the room and I received a ton of appreciation from him. Throughout the week Tomas assisted us with luggage that arrived late from the airport, taxis, and his opinions on restaurants in the area. I should mention that all of the staff were wonderful to work with and not one time during the week did we run into a rude person that served us. For those of you that are bargain hunters, I noticed that the staff at Villa Del Mar doesn’t say anything to those people that bring their own beverages and food on the beach and pool area.
Kathie’s boat
Kathie, Katnscoal, had replied to my pms numerous times giving me information about Villa Del Mar and PV in general. Our group decided to rent Kathie’s boat for the day. The six of us rented the boat for 6 hours and it cost us a total of $240 US dollars. It ended up being our best day in PV! The captain, Alberto, picked us up at the Villa Del Mar beach at 9 a.m. The boat is not fancy by any means, but Alberto made sure we had a good time. We ended up bringing our own snacks and water on the boat. We also had Alberto get us a 20 pack of Coronas for $8 US. The boat ride started with a group of dolphins swimming around the boat. One dolphin even swam right along the side of the boat. Next, we did some sight seeing of PV from the boat on the way to snorkel. At the snorkel area, Marietas, there is an enormous amount of sea life. I have read on this forum that many of you have recommended skipping the snorkeling. If you have snorkeled in the Caribbean, I totally agree with this recommendation. The water in PV is not very clear. We spent about 15 minutes snorkeling and decided to fish. We ended up catching 7 albacore. The albacore were not huge fish, but they sure can fight. While the guys fished, the ladies sun bathed on the front of the boat. We ended up arriving at Las Animas before all of the tour boats. For a little while we owned the beach.
If I get the opportunity, I will also write about: restaurants, taxis, shopping, Los Vernos, and Gigante.
Dave