Rancho Banderas: At ‘home’ in Riviera Nayarit Mexico

From the time we booked it, we knew this trip was different from those of the past. But that was never more evident than as the plane was making its approach at the Puerto Vallarta airport:  We weren’t scribbling a ‘to do’ list of home improvement projects that had to be completed while we were here.

This trip, seven years after the sale of our last home in Bucerias, is strictly for pleasure. We have entered the timeshare world, where those ‘to do’ lists are someone else’s worry.

And while I may have said we like this new lifestyle in earlier posts –  let me tell you this trip has made us realize we are loving it!

We are spending two weeks on Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit, an area just north of Puerto Vallarta. Our time is split between two timeshare resorts, the first is Rancho Banderas on Playa Destiladeras about half way between the town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and Punta de Mita.  (Our deck is to the left of the resort’s restaurant palapa, that conical thatched roof in the photo above and the infinity swimming pools cascade down the cliff side to the right of the restaurant.)

Our one-bedroom unit is located on the top floor of this small development (there are less than 50 units here) and provides us an incredible deck on which we do nothing. Yes, do nothing. We’ve not had time to do nothing before in Mexico and are finding it quite enjoyable.

  Each  day we have walked  the beach, often playing in the warm ocean waters in the late afternoon. We have daily maid service so there isn’t much housework to do. We’ve eaten most of our meals at home (but with a deck with a view  like we have, who needs to go elsewhere?)

Our kitchen and dining room are just the right size as is the living area and bedroom.

The cost of our week’s stay in this ocean-front condo was only the price of a $119 booking fee, or about $17 a day, as part of a promotion offered by our timeshare exchange company, Interval International. 

We will move to our new place at Nuevo Vallarta on Saturday. 

As we made our final stroll on this beach we speculated: Can it get better than this?

Stay tuned, we’ll let you know.