Ultra low-cost airline, Viva Aerobus, is adding a new flight destination from Austin to Mexico.

Travelers will soon be able to fly direct to Puerto Vallarta, the airline announced Monday. The tickets prices start at $9.99, plus taxes and fees.

Before John Huston’s 1964 film Night Of The Iguana, Puerto Vallarta (PV) was a sleepy fishing village. Now it’s one of Mexico’s most thriving destinations. Although airports, hotels and golf courses have supplanted palm groves and jungle, PV still retains its colonial charms.

At the Crown Paradise Club the philosophy is if the little ones are happy, then so is everyone else. The all-inclusive package features kayaking, sailing, windsurfing, pool scuba lessons, volleyball and an aqua park with nine slides, castle and pirate ship. Naps and storytelling are part of the Baby Paradise program for infants and toddlers. At the Kids Paradise club youngsters can swing from a rope, watch movies, go on treasure hunts and strut their stuff at the mini-disco. Child-care professionals supervise programs.

Harness up for parasailing and a bird’s eye view of Banderos Bay at Los Muertos Beach, then head into the Old Town where there are plenty of casual taco joints that don’t charge gringo prices.

Putting money out for your holidays in these uncertain times of increasing fares and flight options is like buying stock when the market is down. But don’t let the uncertainty keep you from checking out some great buys offered by hotels, tour operators, cruise lines and tourist boards as they try to keep the flow of tourists coming this fall.

The higher-priced holiday options are often the best buys as prices are reduced to attract new clientele as some regular customers decide to skip holidays this season.

Looking for the sun? Travellers planning on a holiday in Mexico should check the special rates offered by Hacienda San Angel.

With few dive spots and only several day trips around, it’s better to move on to the south, and we headed for Puerto Vallarta. Two hours out of Puerto Vallarta are Las Tres Marietas. These islands, also a national park, have a good anchorage on the southern side (20’ 40.95N 105’ 36.20 W) in 15m. Ashore – with a permit! – there are nesting boobies and frigates wheeling overhead. What superb photo opportunities here. Good swimming and diving but no Jet Skis or fishing. It’s not to be missed. Do not, repeat do not pass between these islands and Punta Mita as there is a shallow rock in the middle of the channel and it’s not marked on most charts.

NUEVO VALLARTA, Mexico — Rob and Mary Ladner pictured their dream retirement as a sailing trip around the world. But everything changed when they cruised into the big, balmy bay of Puerto Vallarta 10 years ago.

Seduced by swaying palm trees, colorful markets and cheap beachfront housing, the Ladners dropped anchor. The couple bought a corner condominium in a master-planned community 1,500 miles from their native California, but with nearly all the amenities of home.

Crossing the border to find a better life, the Ladners are in the first wave of what some are comparing to a reverse migration flow.

“Perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrro,” I stuttered, failing completely to roll the r’s as my 8-year-old daughter laughed with glee.

“No, it’s perro,” she said in a perfect Spanish accent. “Like this.” She twittered like a bird demonstrating how to do it. “You need to practice.”

“Do you think I can learn?”

“Yes. Practice all the way home.”

So I did, spewing spittle left and right as I tried to trill my r’s to my daughter’s delight. All the way home – which meant a 10-minute walk from the beach in Puerto Vallarta to our rented apartment deep in the old part of town- I was a blithering idiot cut loose from some overcrowded psych ward, but Érne loved it. She couldn’t wait to tell her sister and mama.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is one of the favored destinations for U.S. and Canadian retirees. Although it’s difficult to corroborate exact numbers, estimates are that one million American and Canadian retirees live in Mexico at least full- or part-time. The Lake Chapala area, south of Guadalajara in the middle of Mexico’s central highlands, is home to the largest concentrated population of U.S. and Canadian retirees living outside the U.S. and Canada.

Mexicana Airlines offers the most attractive promotions. Flying is just a click away with Mexicana Airlines. Look here for promotions in fares, vacation packages, and hotel only reservations, you will find attractive benefits for you.

San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta From: 03/08/2008 To: 30/10/2008

Starting from $150 USD one way

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico S.A.B. de CV (PAC: News ) reported that its August 2008 total terminal passengers decreased 13.9% compared to the previous year.