Guadalajara Travel Forum

Hi--
My husband and I are going to be in Puerto Vallarta for 7 days. We want to fly into Guadalajara and then eventually take the bus to PV. We plan on staying at a bed and breakfast in Tlaquepaque. We have the option of staying anywhere from 3-5 days to see the Guadalajara area. We are in our 50's just to give you an idea of what type of things we are interested in seeing. We do not spend a lot of time shopping other than to buy some souveniors for our family. We plan on walking through the plazas, taking the Tequila Express tour on a Saturday, and visiting some museums. My husband is a bird watcher and would like to see if he can go on some type of a bird watching tour. I'm not sure how much time we should we should spend in Ajijic, but I would like to go there. I would like to see the Basilica de Zapopan. Does the Teatro Degollado have performances during the day? It sounds like it might be interesting walking through the city parks. I would appreciate suggestions on how many days we should plan for the Guadalajara area. We want to keep busy during our stay there rather than spending time relaxing. We will do that in Puerto Vallarta. Thank you.

2-3 days around the city should be just great, there is tons to do... you can take that double decker tour bus around to get a feel for how large the city is, and it leaves and lands at Tlaquepaque so that's convenient - you can get off/on. The centro historico has alot of what you might be interested in including the incredible Orozco murals - the main walking street is beautiful and leads to the Cabanas arts center. They have movies and exhibitions there. then a few blocks over is the market which is spectacular and has the mariachis (Guadalajara is where that music form originated). The bus station is in Tlaquepaque for a sidetrip to Ajijic or Chapala and for your trip to PV - you can take a night bus also, they are very comfortable and safe and you wake up at the beach!

I will say that 4 days are good for an overview visit.
The doble decker tourist bus can be a good option for an overview of the city. The murals of Jose clemente Orozco, are really worth a visit. I know that teatro Degollado have tours during the day on weekdays, so even if there's no performance you can visit it. Doing the Tequila express is a nice idea, highly recommended (I still haven't, I always go in rush to GDL mostly to visit family and friends ) Tlaquepaque is nice, but a little expensive for souvenirs, so if you want to buy art crafts,etc. try going to Tonala on a sunday (not a fancy place) actually is more like a street market, but you'll get a lot better prices. Also, Guadalajara is well known for their Silver jewelry, so if you want to get some good Silver take advantage of your visit at the historic centre and make a quick stop at the "Centro joyero" you can find some nice "Channel,Tous or Luis Vuiton silver jewelry and watches, for as low as 100 pesos.


For teatro degollado performances check the link.
http://www.ticketmaster.com.mx/venue/163939