Memo Lira, the passionate founder of Vallarta 101 Tours, made a better case to get us out to explore the Malecón and Centro. He offers engaging walking tours along quiet, cobblestone streets, popping into the impressive Our Lady of Guadalupe parish, the glittering market stalls, and the sculpture-laden ocean promenade. We visit the giant fig trees on Cuale River Island, the modest houses of Gringo Gulch, and a hidden public viewing deck with a 360-degree view of the bay. Memo also guides us to the Bridge of Love, built by the actor Richard Burton to access the house he bought for his lover Elizabeth Taylor. Burton, who was married at the time, was in town filming the salacious Night of the Iguana, a movie that put Puerto Vallarta on the global tourism map. Paparazzi followed the Burton-Taylor affair, the couple continued to visit PV for decades, and other celebrities followed. The influence of Hollywood royalty can be felt with the city’s eclectic art, its thriving LGBTQ+ community, upscale boutiques, galleries and world-class restaurants. We head into the Romantic Zone, where we dine at an iconic beach restaurant called La Palapa, joining a chorus of applause for another perfect evening sunset. “Life is good in Puerto Vallarta,” explains Memo, and it is easy to see why.

Team Adventure left Team Pool at the breakfast buffet in search of thrills in the Sierra Madre. Canopy River Park is a farmer-owned, protected jungle accessed by all-terrain vehicles and nearly a dozen wild ziplines. We hop into a 4-seat Polaris RZR and blitz along a winding, dusty track, braking to rock jump into a clear, refreshing river.

The climax is a cautious crossing of the Jorullo Bridge; at 470 metres (1542 feet) long and 150 metres (492 feet) high, it’s the longest vehicular suspension bridge in the world. There is barely time to catch our breath before we snap onto the wildest zipline of my career. Typically, zipline tours take their time, but the pace here is wild: zip-zip-zip, we fly across the 11 lines, hurtling from launches with names like Human Bullet and Speedy Gonzalez. The last zip is low enough to dunk us in the river, where we are greeted by stubborn mules on the riverbank, waiting to return us up the steep hill. An elated Team Adventure is in our element.

Velas Vallarta has an excellent Kids’ Club, where staff keep the kids busy just long enough for their parents to attempt to relax. My wife and I booked into an aromatherapy couples spa because I’m determined to show her there’s a time and place for adventure and vacation. Kneaded muscles, wine, and fine single malt accompany the evening’s entertainment in the lobby, where mimes and jugglers captivate our kids before bedtime. Both teams had few complaints.

It took Mexican carpenters seven years to construct an exact replica of the 700-ton Santa Maria galleon. Completed in 1987 to commemorate the voyage of Columbus, the striking ship sailed to Spain and Japan before settling in Puerto Vallarta in 1994. Here, it has found new life as the Marigalante Pirate Ship, a historical party boat departing twice daily into the sparkling Banderas Bay. The day trip is a kid’s dream: think costumed performers, swinging ropes, big explosions, and hammy pirate theatre. Joined by a large family vacationing from Inuvik, clearly enjoying the climate swing from negative 28 to positive 29 degrees Celsius, my kids made fast friends on the boat and beach.