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Cowboy Concierge

Your Guide to New Experiences

Category: Travel Tips

Common Tourist Scams: Pickpockets 0

Travel Planning / Travel Tips

Common Tourist Scams

You can travel the world over, and in every corner you’ll find some people who want to part you from your possessions. But many of the techniques are similar, no matter where you are. These are the most common tourist scams worldwide. See how many you recognize. Common Tourist Scams: ATM/Banking The Skimmer. This technique has been around for a while. It involves an electronic device that fits over the slot where you insert your credit card. This device reads your card information and the scammer then uses that to purchase items online. Fortunately, the newer cards with chips inserted...

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Nuevo Vallarta / Puerto Vallarta / Travel Tips

Is Mexico Safe for Travel?

Is Mexico Safe for Travel? We get this question all the time. The answer is both simple and complex, and it really depends on what you’re looking for in your trip to this vast and amazing country. Is Mexico Safe for Travel? Our Experience Dwaine and I have been traveling to Mexico for about 15 years now. We bounce back and forth between the Puerto Vallarta area in Jalisco state and the Riviera Maya in Quintana Roo. And in all those years, we’ve never had a single problem of any kind. Not to say that things never happen in Puerto...

Flight Delay 0

Travel Planning / Travel Tips

Should You Buy Travel Insurance?

Should You Buy Travel Insurance? You’ve saved for months or years for that fantastic cruise or resort stay.  You’re packed and ready to go – and then disaster strikes.  A close relative becomes ill.  You fall and injure yourself.  Or you’re already on the road and the plane has a mechanical problem, causing you to miss a day or two of your trip.  Your luggage winds up in Toledo, Ohio and you’re in Toledo, Spain.  Or – worst of all – you need medical attention while on your trip and your own health insurance won’t cover you. These are all...

Mexican Pesos and American Dollars 18

Travel Planning / Travel Tips

Should I Get Pesos Before Traveling to Mexico?

One of the most common questions we’re asked when sending clients to our sunny southern neighbors is Should I get pesos before traveling to Mexico?  And if the answer were simple, it probably wouldn’t be asked so often. The answer is, “It depends.” In this article, I’ll go through some of the ins and outs of Mexican currency exchange to help you decide what’s best for you. First – What kind of trip are you taking? If you’re going for a week, and your destination is an all-inclusive resort where you plan on parking your behind on a lounge chair all day, sipping those...

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Nuevo Vallarta / Travel Planning / Travel Tips

Traveling to Mexico in the Age of COVID-19

We often have friends who ask, “Are you still traveling these days?” The answer is “Yes” and “No.” Yes we are still traveling. We just returned from a trip to Palm Springs to visit friends there. I traveled to Georgia to help a friend who’d had surgery. And in November, we will make our annual pilgrimage to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. But No, we aren’t traveling as much, or in exactly the same way. We’re much more careful when moving through crowded areas, such as airports. We think about the type of experience we want to have and match it up...

Packing List 0

Travel Planning / Travel Tips

What to Pack for that Warm Weather Vacation!

Packing for your vacation is usually one of the last things you work on before your trip, which makes it very easy to forget things.  In that last-minute rush, with all the other considerations on your mind, you can leave your pills on the counter or your must-have pair of shoes under the bed.  This Packing List for Vacation can help you run through everything a few times before that final Zip-Up-the-Bag moment. Different vacations call for different lists.  Dwaine and I have traveled all over the world, on tours, cruises, resort stays and independent trips, so we’ve been able...

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Nuevo Vallarta / Travel Tips

Puerto Vallarta Travel Tips

Planning a trip to Puerto Vallarta?  Here are some Puerto Vallarta travel tips to help you as you make your plans. Time Zone: The entire state of Jalisco is on Central Time, as is the southern part of the State of Nayarit, starting from San Blas in the north. Buses: A system of urban buses with different routes can bring you from one end of the bay to the other and all the spots in between.  if you’re going further than San Pancho, head to the main bus terminal to catch a “Pacifico” bus.  Current fare is $10 pesos. Click...

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Travel Tips

How to Call the US from Mexico

If you travel a lot, you know that making a phone call from another country to the US isn’t as simple as dialing the usual phone number. We travel most often to Mexico, so I’ll deal with that first. Calling Cell Phone to Cell Phone or Land Line Within Mexico. This is the easiest – just dial the 10-digit number like you would anywhere.  In Mexico, the saying is “He who calls, pays” (el que llama paga).  Calls to cell phones cost more than calls to regular land line phone numbers. Calling Land Line to Cell Phone Within Mexico Going...

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Travel Planning / Travel Tips

Should I Choose an All-Inclusive?

Should I Choose an All-Inclusive? People like the idea of an all-inclusive vacation, right?  They imagine arriving at the resort, throwing the bags in the room and hitting the beach or pool, ready to eat and drink to their heart’s content without a second thought as to what the bill might be at the end.  After all, you’ve paid for it all up front so there’s nothing to think about, right?  But have you ever done the math on the total cost of a Puerto Vallarta All-Inclusive?  I’ve done it here for you so you can see it’s just not...