Puerto Vallarta- As Told Through Tacos

Outside of Oaxaca and Mexico City at an older age, I never envisioned myself going to Mexico. With all the other destinations on my bucket list, it was never something I prioritized and, to be honest, I thought of Mexico as dangerous, dirty, and scary. I am now completely ashamed of myself for making this generalization and not visiting this neighboring country sooner.

Mexico is home to so many diverse and unique cities, just like the other countries I have fell in love with. Which it is so wrong and unfair that many people make such a terrible generalization of the country as a whole. After now having visited Puerto Vallarta (“PV”), I am so inspired to start exploring more of Mexico (although it will be very hard not to return to PV) and its culture- which can very easily be done through its food.

During my not-long-enough trip to PV, I am extremely glad I took the time to discover the city through its many different tacos with Vallarta Food Tours. Their promise? “Become a local in three hours.” After taking “The Street” evening taco adventure tour, I can attest to that!

The tour guide, Al, led our group of 10 throughout the heart of Puerto Vallarta from street taco stand to stand. I never knew that such a small city could have so many unique, traditional tacos. Each stand brought us to a new family with their own background, story, and offering. Many with no more than a table and a grill, you could almost imagine being right in their homes eating food that reminded you of your grandparents’ home. To me, this is 100x better than any fine dining or Michelin-star blah blah blah. Every taco unraveled more about the city, the people, and the culture. This is what really stood out to me about Vallarta Food Tours.

I have experienced many food tours where the guides are trying noticeably hard to embed history, culture, and city fun facts into their tour. Don’t get me wrong – this is always much appreciated and teaches me what I want to learn, but it can often take away from the opportunity to interact with your fellow tour mates and experience together. This was absolutely not the case with this tour.

Al was a perfect guide, in that he took us from spot-to-spot and gave us all we needed to know about the stand we were visiting, what we were eating, how it came about, and what it meant to the city. He let us eat and share our thoughts with each other while making his way from discussion to discussion to join in. I so appreciated this, as it is really eye-opening to learn how others can feel and taste completely different things than you… just through a bite of a taco!

Not only did I come away from this tour with a greater sense of Puerto Vallarta, but I now have new friends that I plan to stay connected with for the long future ahead. And this is exactly what fuels me to travel. The people.

And I always find that some of the greatest people you meet and experiences you have are found through food and travel. 💕

To book this tour yourself or learn about all of the other Vallarta Food Tours, check out their website here!