Travel Blog

My daughter and I had the fantastic opportunity to take an adventure tour which included Donkey Riding in Puerto Vallarta and much more while in Puerto Vallarta and I just had to write about it. This was an all-day excursion and really was a lot of fun. If you happened to be in Puerto Vallarta, look up Adventure Tours. They have a lot of different tours you can take and based on the one we took it is definitely worth the money.

Tour Begins at the Marina

Our tour started at the marina in Puerto Vallarta near where the tour boats dock every day. We ordered the boat around 9:30 am and headed out into Banderas bay towards a village/beach called Mismaloya. This was a nice ride and it only took approximately 30 minutes to get there. Once we landed, we then got onto jungle trucks that take you up into the mountains above Mismaloya.

These are open canopy trucks that can navigate some of the more difficult roads as you head up the mountain. We drove for maybe half an hour past a tequila factory ( more on that later) until we stopped at the head end of the trail we were going to take further up the mountain on donkeys.

Donkey Riding in Puerto Vallarta

Now, this is where it really starts to get interesting.  There are about 10 of us altogether and we are each paired up with a donkey and then we head off further up the mountain. I ended up being the first one behind the trail leader and my daughter was at the back. Well, that did not last for long. The guides really liked her and got her donkey running up the trail, passed all of us including me, and of course, my donkey not to be outdone, raced after hers.

Well, all of this is ok, except that I cannot reach the stirrups so I am basically bouncing along on top of this donkey on a narrow trail feeling very precarious, on a trail that is maybe 3 feet wide with a steep drop on my right-hand side. I was really wondering if I was going to fall off the donkey and go sliding down the mountain! I did make it but only after holding on for dear life.

Zip Lining in Mexico

Next, we suited up to go zip lining. Basically, you slide a long cable that is tied to several trees on each end. The trees can be 300 feet apart across a ravine or perhaps down the side of a mountain into a pool of water at the base of a waterfall. We did all of this, it was really safe and when you plunge into the water it is exhilarating and cooling at the same time.

The first time you go zip lining it can be a bit scary, however, after the first one, it is really a lot of fun. We did 7 different lines and one was almost straight down into a pool of water! It was also really hot that day so we enjoyed landing in the water. What great fun!

Late Lunch Back at Base Camp

Once we have finished zip lining we headed back to the base camp for something to drink and to eat before heading off by jungle truck back to the marina. Lunch was nice and we got to chat with the guides and our fellow adventure partners.

Visiting a Tequila Factory

Of course on the way back we passed a tequila factory in the jungle and we talked our driver into stopping for a tour. I think this was all planned and expected. The owner of the tequila factory was all ready for us!

He showed us the agave plants and cut a piece from the plant for us to chew on. They are really sweet and really juicy.  Then we saw the fermentation tanks and he explained the entire process to us about making various kinds of tequila.  We also got to sample some tequila of different flavors.

They had 7 bottles of various flavors of tequila which we got to try.  After 7 shots we were all getting a bit tipsy. This is really what he wanted anyway because we were more inclined to purchase some tequila from him.

Interestingly the tequila factory owner had shot for shot with us and after each one he said, ” I love my job”. Not sure how many tours he had given that day, but he looked pretty sober to me!

After our visit to the factory, we headed back to the marina, which took us about an hour and a half by truck. All in all a great day and exciting to boot!

For more information about this beautiful vacation destination, click here.

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