The 1st Annual Punta Sayulita Longboard & Stand-Up Paddle Classic (“the Classic”) is set to take place on April 17-18 in beautiful Sayulita, Mexico. The international field of professional surfers from the United States and Mexico is led by Honorary Ambassadors James Pribram of Laguna Beach, CA, renowned Mexican big wave surfer, Carlos “Coco” Nogales of Puerto Escondido and Mexico’s current national longboard champion, Patricio Gonzalez of Sayulita. The field will be limited to 30 competitors made up of both professional invitees and amateurs competing in various age group divisions as well as in the “open” contest for the longboard and stand-up paddle surfing categories. 

President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, the governor Ney González Sánchez, held this Sunday a working tour of Nayarit, where he reiterated his support for further progress in the development of tourism, also inaugurated a plant for wastewater treatment and desalination Litibú project, Riviera Nayarit, all with an investment of 140 million pesos.

The President of Mexico expressed interest in finalizing the draft road Jala-Compostela-Puerto Vallarta, and ratified the next tender warrant of Tepic, in Litibú, project located in the municipality of Bahía de Banderas, President Calderon said that “we are investing as well this year, 925 million pesos in the highway program, and noted that, with direct investment, prepare other federal grant, “which will allow for increased road development.

Puerto Vallarta- A popular, yet unique destination outside of the USA this is the hot spot to go to. One thing that other spring breakers don’t look into when they go on spring break is the safety issue. Puerto Vallarta has already done that, for vacationers. They have great security and want to take good care of the young adults that visit. They offer snorkeling, open water surfing, jet skiing, and not to mention, they can take you whale sighting.

Joe Neisler and his bride, Pantagraph photographer Lori Ann Cook-Neisler, decided no place was better than Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico to have a whale of a good time.

They went to the suburb of the better-known tourist destination, Puerto Vallarta, for whale-watching — a popular wildlife viewing option as the animals migrate along the west coast of Mexico, the United States and Canada.

“Puerto Vallarta’s Banderas Bay is a favorite calving ground of humpback whales,” said Joe Neisler. The couple traveled there on their honeymoon just after Christmas 2008.

Cook-Neisler had photographed the endangered humpbacks more six times on earlier trips to Mexico. Her husband had never been south of the border.

While enjoying temperatures in the 80s, they saw a side of the region most visitors rarely glimpse. Neisler, a professor of music at Illinois State University, likes to ask concierges and local guides to recommend restaurants and out-of-the-way cantinas rather than the ones routinely suggested to tourists.

If you’re heading to Mexico this spring, check out these deals:

Introductory offer

Garza Blanca Preserve Resort & Spa recently opened as a 42-room beachfront hotel in Puerto Vallarta. The resort includes penthouse accommodations with 2,769 square feet of space, in-suite spa services and an atrium with a view of the Bay of Banderas.

To celebrate its grand opening, Garza Blanca offers discounts of 25 percent off regular rates that start at $316 for stays through April 11. The rate includes breakfast.

today’s visitors don’t have to depend on nostalgia or celebrity-watching to enjoy Puerto Vallarta’s charms, even though celebs such as model Claudia Schiffer still enjoy its superb weather and beaches.

Puerto Vallarta is a resort locale that has much more to offer than sandy strands. With cosmopolitan restaurants and nightlife, plenty of marine activities, proximity to rainforests and spectacular mountain scenery, there’s plenty to do besides loll on the beach.

Even more welcoming are Puerto Vallarta’s people, who fully appreciate that their friendliness to tourists is what fuels the city’s booming economy.

Go to its restaurants or on one of the day tours and you’ll understand why the city’s population has grown tenfold in just 30 years to its present size of almost half a million. The city is beautiful, clean, vibrant and safe.

There has been updates to the Webcam on Puertovallarta.net, your source of news of Puerto Vallarta. It now loads faster and shows larger. Feel free to visit and see what’s new.

Puerto Vallarta recently welcomed its newest star, the Garza Blanca Preserve, Resort & Spa, a collection of 42 lavish rooms, suites and penthouses perched above a pristine beach, with stunning views of the destination’s famous ocean arches and the emerald jungles of the Sierra Madre.

Developed in harmony with nature on an 85-acre tropical wilderness preserve and one of Vallarta’s most beautiful beaches—home to the resort’s namesake white herons—Garza Blanca offers guests six categories of guest rooms and suites including the resort’s highlight, 2,769-square-foot penthouses, all with expansive terraces that blur the lines between indoor living and out. The architectural design is sleek and modern, emphasizing horizontal and vertical lines to form enormous windows that serve to frame Mexico’s vivid natural displays.

If you’re the kind of Oakland Raiders fan who would go to Hong Kong or The Philippines just so you could fly on the Raiders-themed AirAsia airplane, a group of ex-Raiders is offering something a little bit closer to home.

The Oakland Raiders have announced the scheduling of the first Raidercruise, a seven-day Mexican cruise where Raider Nation takes over a luxury boat liner along with ex-Raiders and the Raider-Ettes, while making stops at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. Jack Tatum, Ken Stabler, Tim Brown, and a host of other Raiders legends are already on board to join the cruise scheduled to depart May 2.

Sure, the blogs are having a few laughs at the idea of a Raiders-themed luxury ocean cruise. “Will real pirates make an appearance?” Eric Sondheimer writes in the LA Times. NFL humor blog Kissing Suzy Kolber chimes in with “The formal dinner on Saturday is black jersey and silver face paint only.”