Review: Chicka Locca Beach Resort

Full experience Viator URL: https://www.viator.com/tours/Puerto-Vallarta/Yelapa-All-Inclusive-Boat-Tour-Chica-Limousine-of-The-Sea/d630-24191P16

Viator URL that we booked: https://www.viator.com/tours/Puerto-Vallarta/Remote-Paradise-Beach-Day-Pass/d630-24191P37

Direct URL for Chicka Locca: https://chickaloccatours.com

Transfers arranged through: https://vallartaincentives.com

Choosing this vs the NCL Resort Excursion

There were a lot of factors in this particular choice. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I tend toward self-arranging tours/excursions. I don’t like large group experiences — between being mostly an introvert and having hearing difficulties (too many years in radio), they are just not enjoyable for me. A second factor is the history involved — particularly in Puerto Vallarta (this is where we had to end our 2022 back-to-back on Encore). I didn’t want to do anything resembling that day, to help avoid encountering grief unexpectedly.

The resort experience sounded like a great way to spend the day…and I’ll cut to the chase — it was! Playa Chicka Locca is located a 35-60 minute drive south of Puerto Majico, depending on traffic.

Meeting our Driver

We did not leave the ship through Puerto Majico last time, but were taken directly to a taxi nearly ship-side:

So, let’s just say we were lost for a bit. Fortunately the people at Vallarta Incentives were very helpful. We met our driver, Angelo, here:

This Oxxo is right across the street from where the busses for the ship-sponsored tours are parked.

The ride to Boca de Tomatlan

I found myself, once we got outside the main tourist area, very strongly reminded of my trip to India two years ago. It’s hard to explain, but these were somewhat familiar scenes to me:

The herds of 125-cc motorcycles cutting through traffic and taking off at the stop lights was very reminiscent of the streets of Kolkata. The residential areas I showed would actually be pretty high-end housing in Kolkata.

Waiting on the Boca beach

Our ride — and our chauffers

On the ride out to the resort (about 20-25 minutes), we shared the boat space with the daily grocery run. The bag of onions was fragrant — in a good way…and the bottom of the boat had limes, peppers, cases of water, beer and other beverages — the daily supply run for the lunch we’d enjoy later.

Funny experience: we learned during the car ride we could have ridden with the group on the catamaran and not needed the car! But come to find out, the catamaran was scheduled to be back to the dock just as we reached the final all-aboard time, which was cutting it way too close for us. So we felt fortunate we had arranged the car instead.

Views from the resort and the longboat back and forth

Lunch

A great combination of fajita meat, beans, salsa, guacamole, chips, rice and tortillas was brought to us about 2pm. We actually both tried guac for the first time on this trip…and found we don’t mind it. Neither of us thought we would. The taste was fantastico!

The resort experience

Honestly we didn’t do much, just sat in the shade and enjoyed the rest and people-watching. There’s plenty to do for active travelers, and plenty of space to hang out if relaxation is more your style.

The Bottom Line

The only reason the experience wasn’t a 5-star is the initial confusion about finding Angelo. My plan is to contact both the resort and transfer operators once I get home, and setup a private package I can offer directly to my Puerto Vallarta travelers. And I took extensive photos of the meeting places and how to find the places one needs to find in order to get from the cruise ship to the resort. That will prevent those frustration moments for others! Overall this is a highly-recommended experience!