Gone Fishing (and Surfing)

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Gone Fishing (and Surfing)
By Kimberly Lisagor

We are probably heading for Puerto Vallarta, but I am looking for some out of the way accommodations with cooking facilities and beach access with decent snorkeling and a pool for the kids. Am I asking too much? We do not want to stay in PV but some place on the fringe. Can you suggest some nice little beach bungalow - either north of south of PV?

— Laurel Grande

Adventure Advisor:

As beach resort towns go, Puerto Vallarta ranks among the least obnoxious. Its beaches are clean and calm, if a bit rocky. And on the far north end of town, you might even find some solitude. Still, Vallarta evenings tend to be dominated by tequila poppers and blaring rock music. So if thats not your idea of a tropical paradise, it's wise to go elsewhere.

The alternative: Playa Chacala. Less than two hours north of Vallarta, Chacala's only sign of foreign tourism is its one hotel, Mar de Jade (www.mardejade.com). The beach itself is a soft strip of sand lined with palm groves and seafood palapas. The thatched-roof hotel sits unobtrusively at one end, with an open-air deck that looks out onto fishing boats and gentle waves (Chacala's locals boast that they spend half the year fishing and half the year surfing).

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Courtesy of Mar de Jade

Playa Chacala: a half mile-long stretch of pristine, sandy beach and warm ocean water.

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