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Full-Day San Sebastian del Oeste Tour from Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

San Sebastian del Oeste City Tour from Puerto Vallarta

7 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Visit the historic mining town of San Sebastian del Oeste on a full-day, small-group tour from Puerto Vallarta that explores local food, architecture, and culture. Taste tequila at a distillery and sample coffee in an organic coffee factory, stroll through the cobblestone streets of the center, then enjoy a traditional Mexican lunch at a local restaurant. This 6-hour tour includes pickup and drop-off at hotels in Puerto Vallarta, as well as a buffet lunch and guided walking tour, and it’s limited to 15 people for more personal service.

Explore the local streets on a walking tour of the city
Free hotel pickup and drop-off and buffet lunch included
Informative, friendly and professional guide
Private guide for a more personalized experience

What's Included

Lunch
Driver/guide
Professional guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Transport by private vehicle

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

10:00 AM

Pickup details

Your pick up time will be reconfirmed on a second email, it depends on the hotel you will stay at. *Last minute bookings: please contact the office to confirm your pickup time

What To Expect

San Sebastian del Oeste

3 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Infant seats available
Children must be accompanied by an adult
May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
Not wheelchair accessible

Stroller accessible
Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

260 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 260 reviews

Informative

Janice_C, May 2024

Jorge was Very informative. Lunch was excellant. We learned some new things so can now talk Tequila....

Very Disappointed - Choose another tour company

Paula_B, Apr 2024

We did a full-day San Sebastian del Oeste Tour with another tour company last year and had a great time. This year we were bringing different guests, so we wanted to mix up our experience and try Viator instead. Unfortunately we were VERY disappointed. Not only was the tour just lacking in quality over what we had done before (from start to finish), but my mother-in-law was scammed by one of the vendors that they brought us to and encouraged us to purchase from. Here's the longer story, if you want the details: 1. The tour advertised that it would pick us up at our hotel, and then right before the tour, I received an email saying that our pickup location was about 2 blocks from our hotel. This was unfortunate, because we'd brought older guests with us who have issues with too much walking. But we made it work, and stayed optimistic. 2. From there, they picked us up, then made several other stops picking up others, and then routed us to what appeared to be a bus depot of sorts, and had us unload from the current van, and load onto another transportation bus instead, with no explanation. All this transportation/transferring took up a significant amount of our tour time. 3. It was advertised that we would tour in small groups (15 or less, I think it was). Which was technically true since that was the approximate number on our bus, however the Viator company toured several bus loads of people at the exact same time to the exact same locations, so every stop had a big crowd from the same tour company. It did not feel like touring in a small group at all. 4. One of the stops they made on the way to San Sebastian is a jewelry company where they touted the Mexican opal and how special it is to this particular area. My mother-in-law found an opal ring that she liked there (it was quite expensive, but she was excited about it), but it was too big. They said: no problem, they would resize it and deliver it to her hotel the next day. So she purchased it, and was very excited about it. My husband took a picture of the ring to help her remember what she purchased. 5. The actual tour of San Sebastian was very short, and the guide just took us to more stores there to have them sell us stuff. They really didn't tell us about the town, the history, or anything else. We ended up listening in on another Viator tour guide who had a little bit to say while in the church. But overall our time in the town was very brief and not very informative at all. 6. The day after the tour, guess what? The ring was never delivered to our hotel, and no word from the jewelry company. My mother-in-law tried to contact them with the phone number they gave her, but the number just rang with no answer. She was so excited about the ring though, that she decided maybe there was a delay and she'd try again the next day. But 3 days passed, with no word from the jewelry company. She and our hotel concierge tried contacting them repeatedly through various means to no avail. So finally, she cancelled the charge on her credit card. THEN the jewelry company called her and said, they'd run into complications with the sizing, but they'd deliver the ring the next day. Again, the next day: no word from them and no delivery. So now we're on day 5, and my mother-in-law is feeling quite upset about the whole thing, but has given up. Later that day (day 5), when we weren't at the hotel, someone came to deliver the ring. But we had another family member who was there so took a look at the delivery, and noticed that the ring being delivered looked different than the one that my mother-in-law originally picked out - so they took a picture of it, and told them we could come to them at their local storefront to figure it out the next day. That evening we compared pictures: the one my husband took originally (noted in #4), and the one our family member took of the ring that was delivered. They were vastly different - completely different rings. The one delivered was also much smaller in size: both the stone and the setting design. It was not the ring she purchased, and certainly not of comparable value. But she was still hopeful. So the next day (day 6) we went down to the jewelry storefront to see if the situation could be salvaged, she really wanted her ring, and was willing to figure out how to make it work. Not only do they not have her ring, but they treated her poorly in the storefront strongly pressuring her to just pick out something even though nothing they had compared in size and quality to the original ring. She opted out, and left the charge cancelled. They later called her and yelled at her over the phone for cancelling the charge and not picking out a different ring. The whole experience was awful! *Note that this horrible experience went on for 6 days of our trip and left us with a very unhappy feeling. It nearly ruined our vacation. We've visited Puerto Vallarta several times, and have never been made to feel unsafe or like we're being scammed, except for this. We will never book another trip through Viator for this reason. And we'd encourage you look to another tour company for your next adventure too - avoid the scams that they set you up and lead you through.

San Sebastian tour

Sheila_P, Apr 2024

The history from Joge enhanced all that we saw. It was a bit uf history to enlighten the soul. All the stops, the people, the surroundings was amazing.

A great day in San Sebastian!

LynnetteK_L, Apr 2024

We had a great day on our excursion to San Sebastian. Our tour guide was super helpful ,and he made our day trip a lot of fun. We did a coffee tasting, stopped at a tequila distillery, visited a fire opal jewelry store, (where I bought a beautiful ring) and had a great lunch. San Sebastian is truly a "magical" town!

Bring water and walking shoes

BeckyH, Apr 2024

I thought I was doing a city tour but this turned out to be much more educational ! My only recommendation would be … not to get put in the back of the bus (couldn’t see a thing!)

The tour is amazing

Rod_S, Apr 2024

Our guide was so knowledgeable and friendly. The tour is amazing. Drive up was beautiful and it was nice to see the forest and the towns along the way. San Sebastian is a beautiful town. Lovely local restaurant that fed us very well. Exploring the town was very nice with our guide explaining and sharing stories. A must do on your trip to Puerto Vallarta

Delightful day

Stephanie_B, Mar 2024

Lovely day trip. There is a lot of time on the bus but our tour guide David was so knowledgable about the area and it's history as a local. The tequila tasting was great. I bought a beautiful opal ring at a stop. And the Mexican Platter at the food stop was delicious. The town of San Sebastian is small but lovely to walk around.

Long drive, lots of shopping, short time in the town itself

Heather_B, Mar 2024

There is some good here, but I feel it would be best to be prepared. 1. The tour guide is very good. He really is doing his best to keep it interesting when there is a long car ride. 2. Lunch was amazing. One of the best meals on our trip. 3. If you are in the Romantic Zone, expect there to be an *extra hour* of driving each way. It was *three hours each way* for our trip to and from the Romantic Zone. 4. You will stop at a location where they will sell you silver, coffee, peanut brittle, weaving AND toquilla. Those are separate stops that take separate time 5. The air conditioned bus is not to American air conditioning standards. It will be warm. 6. You will get ONE HOUR alone in the town. That is it. That is the entirety of it. ONE HOUR. And it is among the warmest hour of the day 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., so you will be hiding in the shade or roasting in the sun. If you like the group experience with a lot of shopping opportunities and don't mind a warm car, this will be pleasant. If you wanted to get to your destination and explore it, like I did, this will be a disappointment.

Laid back change of scenery

Taylor_C, Mar 2024

We went together with our family who all wanted to see different things, some wanted to see the mountains and forest, others wanted to know about local agriculture (agave), and others wanted a local small town experience. This hit most of our wants. A highlight was the tequila distillery - we liked learning about the process and took time to answer all sorts of questions from our group. We thought it was a personable experience as the tequila tasting was run by the family themselves. We felt the jewellery stop could have been skipped - but the purpose is to support businesses in the area to buy items. We felt there could have been more potential for the coffee place to be more of a personal experience like the tequila distillery. We tried their coffee (it was good) and had an opportunity to purchase it, but it would have been nice to have had more explanation. We had an hour to walk around San Sebastián - it gives an opportunity to see a small town and explore. Overall, it was a laid back experience - and requires time to get to by vehicle so as long as you are wanting that type of experience this tour will be good.

Not worth the time

Jean_B, Mar 2024

Trip was too long on very rough roads- 2 hours going and 3 hours home. Village itself was fine but not worth the journey. Tequila making stop was interesting. Lunch was very good. Coffee plantation stop could have been omitted. No time to be on your own - just 30 minutes at the end but too far to walk for anything. We were the last couple to be returned to our hotel because 4 couples were from Nuevo Vallarta. That stop took at least 45 minutes. Would not recommend this trip.

Educational, fun day!

DENISE_K, Mar 2024

Jorge was the best guide full of information regarding the history, the architecture, the traditions of this area. Wonderful day, would be great if an overnight version of this tour could be arranged.

A well designed day of multiple experiences! Cheers!

Alicia_M, Mar 2024

A well guided and knowledgeable tour! Enjoyed each stop and felt the timing was just right. An interesting ride through the mountains. We appreciated that the guides gauged the number of other tours at the stops and adjusted the route to come back later if it was too busy. San Sebastian is a wonderful town to see. Lunch was delicious! Thank you!

One of Mexico’s Puebloes Magicos, well worth the visit.

Debra_W, Mar 2024

Our tour guide was amazing. He described the vegetation and history of the area on the drive up to San Sebastián. He gave us a real flavour of the area. The tour of town made us want to stay longer. If there was a tour package that included the trip to and from San Sebastián, the tour of the town AND an option to spend the night we would have signed up without hesitation. I have one recommendation. If you stop at the Opal/Silver store at the entrance to town try to take your purchases with you. I bought a beautiful ceramic. I was told that the store would wrap it and deliver it to our hotel by 9 AM the next morning. Sadly it didn’t arrive before we had to leave to catch our plane (12:30 PM). I contacted my credit card company and they refunded my money. I didn’t deduct any stars because the rest of the tour was so amazing and I got my money back.

Great trip to San Sebastián

John_D, Mar 2024

We had a great guide shared a lot of local history and culture with us. We visited a coffee factory, and a tequila distillery. Since Sebastian is very nice.

Chaos

Therese_H, Feb 2024

The day started out well with a nice van, picking us up at our hotel to take us to the meeting point for the tour. It was overcast, and they had predicted rain. I was surprised at first, because we were put on a bus with a lot more than 15 people as advertised. But I thought once we got there, we might be split into two different groups. First, the bus needed some work as the window I sat by for the hour and a half trip Was smeared and looking out of it everything was blurry. Being short, I could not see over the seat in front of me but the windshield that I could see was cracked… so much for a view of anything out the front. The air-conditioning on the bus was going full blast, we asked that it be turned off because everyone was freezing. The guide said he did not know how to work it. (As an aside, and a future suggestion … when you are telling people their pick up time three and four times the day before you should mention you are going up to a mountain and it will be cooler up there to maybe bring a jacket.) And since it was raining, and it was predicted to rain, you could’ve added to bring an umbrella if you had one. Once we arrived at San Sebastian, it was chaos. We were told we were going for lunch, but there was no room for us at the time. Our guide took us across the street to see a little conservatory. Then he went back across the street to check on the lunch, came back and said our lunch won’t be ready for another hour so we could go scout out the town, but be back in an hour … which meant our “lunch” was now going to be at 2:15. Now it is raining by this time and we were sent off on our own. We never saw our guide again until we got back on the bus. We never saw him at lunch, which we were not happy with because we were seated outside in the rain. We saw a table being set up when we got back to the restaurant after the hour and assumed that was ours. But we were shuffled outside to sit under umbrellas... We were cold, wet and thought we’d at least be able to sit inside a warmer place. It said buffet lunch .. not so … our food was brought out to us one dish at a time and our whole table (12 of us) was not served equally 8 of us got our first dish and the other 4 had to wait at least another 5 minutes to get anything to eat. Ridiculous! Our ‘guide’ was no where to be seen while we ate. We went through the town on our own, no ‘guided tour’ to explain anything. No guide at lunch and we had to find our own way back to the bus. Then the van that took us back to our hotel was rickety and also had a cracked windshield. This was a fiasco — don’t advertise a guided tour with 1-15 people when in reality we had 27 people in our group. Provide lunch at a decent time. We had to be ready at our hotel for a 9:20 pickup and then not be served lunch until 2:15. We would like to go back to San Sebastián some day but will not do this particular tour again. It was a beautiful little town even in the rain and would have been great to learn more about it. So disappointed.

San Sebastian: lovely hill town with interesting history

Arne_L, Feb 2024

Loved learning about the history of San Sebastian. Loved getting out of the city to learn more about non-coastal towns in Jalisco. Well-organized transportation. Good food. Fun!

Tequila tasting, sight seeing and much more!

Elizabeth_W, Feb 2024

Our guide, Jorge, was truly excellent. His enthusiasm for the trip, the local flora and fauna and the way he brought it all to life made it an excellent day. The lunch stop was also very good and if that wasn’t enough, we had a fabulous time tequila tasting! San Sebastián del Oeste is also a very pretty town to visit and the local artisans were full of enthusiasm for their crafts.

Great trip to San Sabastian

Pamela_H, Feb 2024

We enjoyed our tour guide. So engaging and entertaining. When we stopped for lunch he made sure I and another travler had something vegartian to eat. San Sebastian is such a cute town, we had a tour there, stopped for a tequilla tasting and a jewelry store to look at the beautiful opals. He also gave those travelers who wanted more independence to be on there own in town. I believe his name was Omar??

Great full day excursion to San Sebastien

Ken_E, Feb 2024

We had a great time. The communication was clear and timely, there was a reminder as well. The bus picked us up at our resort at the scheduled time. Our lunch was wonderful, the host pointed out many areas and added historic background of the area as well as amusing folklore stories.

Meet experienced guide not only talkative one!!

Dongryong_K, Jan 2024

This trip was ok. Tequila taste was fun. But visiting the coffee shop and silver jewelry store were not good just wasting time. Also our guide Daniel was not great because he didn’t explain the history of the town. We just wandered small town while he sat in the bench until we got back with exhausted leg.

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