Travel

Dolphin Discovery Aquaventuras WaterPark – Family Adventure in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico #pvpresstrip

Dolphin Discovery Aquaventuras Waterpark Puerto Vallarta tops my list of favourite things to do with family in Puerto Vallarta. Recently I travelled through Puerto Vallarta with my daughter. We were on a press trip that delivered tonnes of fun and adventure for everyone.
Dolphin Discovery was one of our favourite excursions. This is why we loved this family waterpark.
Dolphin Discovery Aquaventuras Waterpark Puerto Vallarta
Where can you pet a sea lion, be propelled through a pool like a Superhero with dolphins beneath your feet and race watersides all day? I am talking about Dolphin Discovery and Aquaventuras Waterpark in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico of course.
Dolphin Discovery Aquaventuras Waterpark Puerto Vallarta
Lucky for us, we spent a large portion of one day here at Dolphin Discovery Aquaventuras in Puerto Vallarta on a press trip earlier this month. Now, I have to tell you we once did an excursion similar to this in Jamaica that went under a different name. That time, a few years back, my children, my husband and I literally just stood in water and petted some rescued dolphins. I thought that was what we could expect in Mexico too. So, how extremely surprised were we both when Payton and I both realized the Puerto Vallarta version of swimming with dolphins was much bigger than we ever expected?

dolphin_discovery

We started the adventure in life jackets with a quick lesson about littering and what that means to oceans and ocean creatures. My kids are typically pretty sensitive to this and they try to protect the environment. One of my daughters cleans up her school yard at recess. But back to the dolphins. We were all a tiny bit apprehensive watching the dolphin handlers feed the mammals and run them each through a series of activities while we were in the water.

 

 

Then the trainer let us pet the two dolphins while they swam around and were fed fish. That’s not the interesting part though. In couples we swam out into the pool and were told either to make a T shape or a pretend Superman position in the pool where we waited. The dolphins then each responded and propelled people through the pool. I opted for a T shape and the dolphins pulled me through the salty water. It was refreshing and a lot of fun. I was scrunching my mouth shut because I didn’t want to drink salt water. The swim with dolphins portion of our visit to Dolphin Discovery went on for easily an hour, and it was really so much more than I expected.
 dolphin_discovery
But wait that’s not all.
Payton getting propelled through the water like a Superhero was the highlight of our first morning in Puerto Vallarta. We had a chance to kiss some sea lions and we sampled the food at Aquaventuras, which was incredible and fresh and healthy, authentic Mexican tortillas and seafood and vegetables. It’s worth going just for the food. Service also was friendly and efficient.

 

Frankly, I was a bit taken aback by all the Canadians I met working there, or should I say Mexicans who lived in Canada for several years and moved back home for a career in tourism and family reasons. Throw in the watersides and honestly I can’t think of much that could top this. Also, for me this was a unique  attraction. I have been to many other resort areas throughout the Caribbean, Mexico and South America and we’ve not had a family excursion that was this top notch until now.

 

Dolphin Discovery and Aquaventuras is a must see for any family travel experience in Puerto Vallarta. This was an amazing day for both of us. The watersides were fun, but we barely had a taste. Even a taste was enough to know we wanted more. This is a spot I would happily bring the entire family to in the future. You can follow Dolphin Discovery on Twitter @dolphin_swim.

 

My daughter (12) zip lined, swam, snorkelled, rappelled and did a zillion other things while we visited Puerto Vallarta. We had a truly amazing time, but this swim with dolphins was the experience she keeps telling everyone was her favourite part of the entire trip.

 

READ more about where to stay while in Puerto Vallarta.

 

Reasons to visit PV:
On Mother Daughter Trips:

 

Until the end of the month of May you can get 50 % off your Dolphin Discovery tickets for Puerto Vallarta!!
And here’s the link to save money on Playa Del Carmen Dolphin Discovery.

Dolphin Discovery

This post may contain an affiliate link to help you book a similar excursion at no extra cost. We were guests part of a travel bloggers trip. Many thanks to the Marriott staff, the staff at Dolphin Discovery and Aquaventuras and the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board for a great stay. My opinion is all my own. 

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.

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