Travel Advisor: Vanessa Cole

Travel Advisor: Vanessa Cole

The owner of the company, Vanessa Cole, lived in Puerto Vallarta for 10 years and Cancun for 2 years. She has worked in Luxury Villa Rentals since 2001.

Puerto Vallarta: You Can Find Almost Anything Here!

You Can Find Almost Anything Here!

When we first moved to Puerto Vallarta, we lamented over not being able to buy Campbell’s Tomato Soup, because it was our main comfort food with grilled cheese sandwiches and we missed it terribly on occasional dreary days. Mexican cheese wasn’t a good fit for the sandwich either and real cheddar was nowhere to be found. The day a friend visited with a bag from the grocery store Rizo, was very exciting! Imagine getting so thrilled over a can of soup. Rizo, the grocery store in old town where expats shopped is gone but tomato soup is now in plentiful supply  in every grocery store, including many small corner tiendas. Cheddar and other foreign types of cheese are available everywhere, too. So is vegan, which is kind of counterintuitive, but does exist and we can buy it in Puerto Vallarta.

Do a little bit of research, ask around, and you will find there are very few items you can’t purchase in Puerto Vallarta. Horseradish, gluten free breads, high-quality printer paper, a tasty hamburger, russet potatoes, high-thread-count sheets, mattress protectors, Andouille sausage. In the past, when vegetarian friends came to visit, our fear that we wouldn’t be able to eat out or eat in was founded in the fact they got tired of the same fare and it really wasn’t that long ago; choices were limited. No more. Our favorite restaurants now serve an amazing variety. Times have changed.

The inclusion of expats is, of course, largely to account for many products and foods available but Mexicans in Puerto Vallarta have also adopted vegetarian and vegan diets. Costco and Sam’s Club have brought immense change with the introduction of products that are not found elsewhere. The modernization of giant malls and smaller shopping centers that have long been commonplace in central parts of Mexico, have reached the beach area of Puerto Vallarta, along with massive movie theater complexes and abundant pet stores. We’ve not sacrificed either; we can still get a dollar beer on the beach, taco stands are on the same corners they’ve always been, all the familiar Mexican merchandise is still accessible but choices are more diverse. It’s a great mix of the new and old. We still have a knife sharpener who comes down our street with his recognizable whistle, the ice cream man selling paletas in every neighborhood and the tamale lady on the corner.

Que cómo es es.


Thanks to our Guest Blogger Adam Garcia for this great article!  (Opinions expressed are his own…)


About Vacation Villas of Mexico Founder, Vanessa Cole

The founder of the company, Vanessa Cole, lived in Puerto Vallarta for 10 years and in Cancun for 2 years. She has worked in Luxury Vacation Villa Rentals since 2001.

Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Vanessa earned a degree from the University of Texas in Austin, majoring in International Business and Latin American Studies.  Fluent in Spanish, she has worked and traveled all over Mexico and South America.

This is the type of experience you can count on to assist you with your vacation villa rental in Mexico…. [su_button url=”https://www.vacationvillasofmexico.com/contact-vacation-villas-of-mexico/” target=”blank” style=”glass” background=”#7796ab” size=”7″ wide=”yes” icon=”icon: calendar”]Contact Us Today![/su_button]

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