-The Zoo of Nuevo Vallarta, is a sanctuary for animal wildlife, a refuge for nature that also allows the visitor to come closer to animal life. In here you can enjoy, just to mention a few examples, a peaceful ride at the back of an ostrich, the funny demeanours of the monkeys, the fierce looks of a Bengalese tiger or the motherly kindness it bestows upon its kittens.

And while the smaller visitors can spend their time caressing the deer and having fun with the tame raccoons, the sky becomes suddenly filled with the bright colours of a group of airborne parrots. Just one piece of advice, do not come to close to the alligators, by rule these reptiles are not to overly friendly with foreigners.

-Dolphin aquarium Vallarta Adventure, this is the first training centre of its kind around the world, in which the visitors can freely interact with a family of bottle nose dolphins. The overall experience of approaching to these friendly and intelligent marine mammals can only be described as awesome.

The merry dolphins have been located in two ample pools which contain an approximate volume of two million gallons of sea water, which is constantly being purified with sand filters and ozone generators.

The first of these pools was constructed in 1996 and was furnished with platforms whose levels accommodate to the tidal increase and decrease. Some time later, when the family of dolphins grew in number, other areas needed to be supplied in order to bring more room to these handsome animals.

The dolphin aquarium can be found at 38 Las Palmas Avenue in Nuevo Vallarta. While visiting its facilities you would be able to perform the following activities:

• 'Swimming among dolphins', is a rather peculiar experience, a striking close-up view to the marvellous world of the bottle nose dolphins. The visitors will not only be able to swim among them, but to play with them as well, hug them, caress them and even having a ride on their backs and their bellies. This program lasts 90 minutes and starts with the projection of an enlightening video about the peculiarities of the species, teaching us some of the usual tricks and jiving the trainers employ when training them.
  
• 'Encounter with the dolphins', for about 75 minutes you will be in a expressly created pool. There you will observe the physical characteristics of these cetaceans while being able to touch and caress their soft skins, you will also be able to feed them and to put in practice some of the basic signalling performed by the trainers.
  Before getting into the pool, a professional trainer will brief you about the psychology, anatomy and communicating behaviour of the mischievous bottle nose dolphins.
  
• 'Trainer for a day', is an option which allows to spend all of the day in the company of dolphins, sharing all the tasks of the team of experts in care of these animals. The visitor will be allowed to tending and feeding, as well as to learn many other facts about the amazing ways of communication that these intelligent animals possess.
  
• 'Dolphins for kids', is a program created for youngsters between 4 and 8 years old. The kids, pending their parents authorisation, will touch and play with the cheerful dolphins, under the strict gaze of the regular trainers.
  Before leaving the pool, the children will get a hug and a kiss from these friendly animals.

-Turtles, Between June and December the biggest turtle camp of the world is assembled in the Bay of Banderas, in order to protect the eggs lay by the Gulf Tortoises (Lepidochelys olivacea), which arrive three times per season to lay their eggs on the beaches of Nuevo Vallarta.

With each laying, between 80 and 120 eggs per individual are buried in the beach, which are subsequently picked up and transported by caring people to specially made hatcheries located in some of the most important hotels in the area, with the goal of dwindling their chances to become victimised by predators.

Within these hatcheries, the scientists perform many research endeavours with the help of dozens of volunteers, which, besides the help they grant to the studies, have the mission of spreading around the importance of preserving the species. A very complicated task indeed, keeping in mind that throughout the past years, the gastronomic coastal tradition actually includes turtle meat and eggs as one of its main ingredients.

The scientific researches have proved that only five of every 1.000 turtles reaches an adult age. It is also known that the reproductive maturity of these animals is only attained at an age between 8 and 12 years, and that of the 8 known species of turtles which exist in the planet, seven do actually lay their eggs on the Mexican shores, and always on the same beaches.