Whether you’re living in Los Angeles or visiting, you’ve likely seen the Broad Museum on multiple lists of must-see places in LA. One of the city’s most noteworthy museums, the Broad is located in downtown Los Angeles and is home to many artworks, including the famous Infinity Mirror Room. 

If you’ve never been to this museum and want to go, I’ll walk you through what you need to know when visiting the Broad Museum for the first time. 

What is the Broad Museum known for?
LA’s Broad Museum is known for hosting contemporary art. They have many works from famed artists like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. 

One of their most famous exhibits is the Infinity Mirror Room, created by Yayoi Kusama. This Instagram-worthy and immersive display is filled with lights and makes you feel like you’re in space. 

The Broad Museum Tickets 
If you’re wondering how much it costs to get into the Broad Museum, the good news is it’s free, and this includes Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room. Getting tickets, however, is a little tricky. 

You’ll want to get tickets specifically for the Broad Museum and Infinity Mirror Room instead of just the Broad. Unfortunately, you can’t get these tickets at any time, either. Tickets are available to reserve online on the last Wednesday of every month at 10:00 a.m. PST. From there, you can pick the upcoming day and time you’d like to go. 

Can you get into the Broad without a ticket?
No, you can’t get into the Broad without a ticket. Instead, you must reserve tickets online to get into the Broad Museum and the Infinity Mirror Room. You may see a line of people waiting outside the museum, but if you have tickets already, you can go up to one of the attendants to check in and head inside. 

The Infinity Mirror Room
This immersive experience is one of the museum’s most popular displays. I expected this exhibit to be in a massive room in which people were crammed in, trying to fight one another for the best photo op. However, kudos to the artist and Broad Museum staff for creating a really unique setup. 

Once you’re in the museum, you can go to the line specifically for the Infinity Room. It’s on the first floor, just before the gift shop, so it’s easy to find. The wait isn’t long at all; I think my husband and I were in line for no more than 10 minutes. 

How it works is that each group gets to go into the room by themselves (with a limit of 4 people per group) for 1 minute. There’s an attendant at the door to let you in, and you can leave your coat/purse/bag with this person if you don’t want to bring them in. 

When you walk in, there’s a short pathway for you to stand and surround yourself with the stunning light display. It was incredible! Not only is the artwork itself amazing, but getting to experience it without crowds makes it all the more special. 

While one minute may seem short, that’s really all you need to get some nice photos/videos and take in the artwork. I’ll add that while it’s worth a photo op, give yourself time to actually appreciate it in person too!

How to Get There
There are several options for getting to the Broad. While you certainly can take a Lyft or Uber there, driving or taking public transportation could be more economical depending on where you live or the location of your hotel.

Public Transportation
This is what my husband and I ended up doing. The great thing about being downtown is that the Broad is near one of the city’s subway stations. 

To get here from the Hollywood area (including Universal City and North Hollywood), you’ll take the subway’s red line toward Union Station and get off at the Civic Center station. From there, walk along Hope Street and then hang a right at 2nd Street until you see the Broad Museum on your left. 

Drive and Park
The other option is to drive and park at the Broad Museum. The parking garage is open on Wednesdays-Sundays from 9 in the morning until 10:30 at night. Here are the rates according to Broad Museum’s official website:

• $17 for 3 hours on weekdays with validation from The Broad (after 3 hours, an additional $5 every 15 minutes, $27 maximum)
• $17 after 5 p.m. on weeknights
• $17 all day on weekends

How long does it take to walk through the Broad Museum?
You should be able to see the Infinity Room and the rest of the museum within 1.5 - 2 hours. The museum’s third floor is only included with the free general admission tickets. However, you can pay extra to see other displays, which may increase your time there. 

If you’re traveling to Puerto Vallarta for the first time or even if you’ve been there already, you probably have thought about what you want to do while you’re there. I recently traveled to Puerto Vallarta for my honeymoon and found new insight into popular spots, including what’s worth doing and what you can skip. 


1. What to Skip

Sayulita
Sayulita may be a popular spot, but what was once a sleepy hideaway for surfers has become overrun with tourists – so much so that you can barely find a spot on the beach unless you order drinks from one of the beach clubs there. To be honest, Sayulita doesn’t feel more interesting than other places in the Riviera Nayarit and isn’t the hidden gem it used to be. While you may see lots of people speak about this area, those of us who knew what it was like 15 or even 20 years ago know that it’s no longer a unique escape.

What to Do Instead

Lo de Marcos
Just further north of Sayulita, you’ll find Lo de Marcos, which is what Sayulita used to be. This town doesn’t have beach clubs along the coastline, which means you can sit and relax anywhere you want to, and if you are hungry or thirsty, you can find local restaurants in town. Lo de Marcos actually feels like an escape and an authentic Mexican village not overrun with tourism. 

2. What to Skip

Las Animas
Many travelers will often take a water taxi to Las Animas, one of the beaches south of Puerto Vallarta that’s only accessible by water taxi (or a hike through the jungle if you’re ambitious). Though it’s a beautiful area, it looks like every other beach and, depending on the day, could get somewhat busy.

What to Do Instead

Colomitos
Rather than go to Las Animas, I recommend Colomitos. It’s a small beach with beautiful teal water surrounded by jungle greenery. To get to Colomitos, you can hike through a jungle trail from Boca de Tomatlan. However, water taxis also stop here now as it’s become more popular in recent years – and truth be told, if you go here, you’ll understand why. Colomitos is more visually interesting, and they have a single restaurant where you can grab food or drinks. Keep in mind that water taxi fares back to Boca from Colomitos are 100 pesos per person, so be sure to have enough money available.

3. What to Skip

Resort Massages
You’ve probably heard resorts tout their fabulous spas, but these can be some of the highest prices around. Sure, the location is convenient, but after paying a good chunk of change for your flight and hotel, this could be a good opportunity to save money by going elsewhere for spa services.

What to Do Instead

Get a Massage in Old Town
Rather than the hotel spa, take advantage of local spas in downtown Puerto Vallarta, specifically in the city’s Old Town neighborhood. My husband and I wanted to get a massage and looked at multiple spas in Old Town, but the best deal, hands down, was the Eclipse Spa. Here, we got a 30-minute relaxing massage for my husband for just 300 pesos (or $17 U.S.) and a 30-minute deep tissue massage for 350 pesos ($20 U.S.). They even give you water bottles to take with you after and provide plenty of other services such as facials and body scrub treatments.

4. What to Skip

Señor Frogs
If this were the 90s or early 2000s, I’d say Señor Frogs is worth checking out. However, the popular venue is long-gone from its popular heyday. My husband had worked on a television show with some scenes that took place at a Señor Frogs, and he was curious to check out the real thing. Unfortunately, it did not live up to the hype. The Puerto Vallarta venue was barely busy and didn’t have the energy it used to. Plus, this is the third location that the nightclub/restaurant has moved to since the 2000s, and over that time, had gotten less and less exciting, unfortunately.

What to Do Instead

Visit a Local Tequila Distillery
OK. So this isn’t a nightclub, but you can get access to fantastic tequila without paying a cent (unless you choose to leave a tip or buy some yourself). Seriously! We visited Oscar’s Distillery in Old Town, a local tequila distillery. Our guide, Javier, was fantastic! I had emailed ahead of time inquiring about distillery tours, and for single groups or couples, we could just pop in anytime between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Well, we came around 11, and Javier greeted us within less than 5 minutes and gave us a tour. We learned a lot about tequila's history and the production process, including what makes good tequila and what makes bad tequila (A.K.A. the kind that makes you sick). At the end of the tour, we tried three different types of tequila and even some tequila straight from the barrel. I would recommend this place in a heartbeat. It’s a short tour that won’t take up too much of your day, and as I mentioned, it’s totally free. That being said, we recommend tipping if you don’t plan to buy a bottle of their tequila.

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My now-husband Tyler and I recently went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for our honeymoon and stayed at the all-inclusive resort Buenaventura Grand Hotel and Great Moments. If you’re looking at resorts in Puerto Vallarta, I’ll share my honest review of this hotel and our experience there.

What We Loved About It

Location
The Buenaventura Grand is located in downtown Puerto Vallarta just before the city’s iconic Malecon boardwalk. This means you’re in the heart of town, and lots of great restaurants, shopping, bars, entertainment, and more are within walking distance – including Old Town Puerto Vallarta (also known as the Romantic Zone). You also have easy access to buses that can take you south and north of the city for daytime excursions. Of course, staying in the city isn’t for everyone, but if this sounds like something you’d enjoy, the Buenaventura’s location is unmatched. 

The Service
The service here, particularly from the waitstaff in the restaurants, was incredible. Every time I go to Mexico, the kindness of the Mexican people is always one of the best parts. Every time we had a meal, the servers went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and cared for. 

The Food
One of my favorite things about travel is the food, especially considering the food in other countries is way more fresh. With Puerto Vallarta, not only do you get access to authentic Mexican dishes, but you also can indulge in delicious seafood that would otherwise cost a fortune back home. The Buenaventura Grand’s food selection was impressive, but the access to fresh seafood really stood out for me. The food here was unbelievable, from ceviche, mussels, and seafood pasta at lunch to an entire night dedicated to seafood dishes. Other specific foods at the hotel we loved were the tortillas, soups, French toast, and fresh fruit (the papaya especially!). Honestly, though, there are so many great choices, including the two specialty restaurants, that you’ll never go hungry. And if you need a break from hotel food, just walk out the door, and you’ll find dozens of local restaurants in the city to check out.

The Honeymoon Suite
When traveling on a particularly special trip like a honeymoon, it’s nice to feel special. So we booked the honeymoon suite for this trip and were really happy with our room. The Buenaventura’s honeymoon suite included an ocean view room, private balcony, in-room jacuzzi, king-size bed, unlimited toiletries, and a complimentary mini-bar with daily refills on soda, water, and beer. Best of all, you could hear the ocean at night while you sleep – not a bad way to relax after a busy day. The only downside was that there was likely a second honeymoon suite across the hallway that had a better view that I had seen in pictures online. Also, the hotel advertises their honeymoon suite as including a canopy bed, but that isn’t accurate (it’s a standard King-size bed).

What Could Be Improved

Better Welcome at the Hotel
When we arrived in Puerto Vallarta, we took a bus from the airport to our hotel,  but we weren’t entirely sure where to get off. As it turned out, we saw a couple of Buenaventura employees on our bus (they were wearing their work uniforms with the logo, which was how we knew). They were on their way to work and were more than happy to help us get there, even taking my luggage as we got off the bus and bringing it to the resort. 

After a smooth check-in, though, we were immediately greeted by one of the timeshare salespeople. Somewhere along the lines, these hotels figured out that the word “timeshare” scares off people, but I knew that’s what the conversation was about. Here’s the thing: rather than trying to sell us a sales pitch, we would have preferred to be given a tour of the hotel grounds. No one explained to us where things were, particularly the specialty restaurants, and we felt kind of lost those first few days. 

Nightly Entertainment
Daily activities at the Buenaventura are much like any resort, but the nightly entertainment left much to desired. The only night they had an actual “show” was the Mexican-themed night. Other than that, it was just music in the hotel lobby or sometimes karaoke. The nice thing about being downtown is that you can just go out on the town after dinner, but one thing I’ve always loved about all-inclusive resorts is the nightly entertainment. That being said, I think the resort’s location probably makes it difficult to stage nightly shows since they don’t have the space for a permanent stage area. 

More Pool Access
OK. So this isn’t necessarily the resort’s fault, but it is something to keep in mind. Toward the end of our trip, the majority of guests at the resort switched from families with lots of kids to big groups of older adults who’d reserve a bunch of pool chairs for themselves as early as 8 in the morning. That means if you’re not the type to ‘reserve’ your chair at the crack of dawn, you may be out of luck if you want to lounge by the open pool areas. However, there were more available chairs on the beach, so when the pool areas were full, we’d just head down to the beach.

The Rockiness of the Beach
While the beach was lovely, if you plan to actually go in the water, you’ll probably want some water shoes as the ground there was very rocky. Again, this isn’t a fault of the resort itself, but if swimming in the ocean is a high priority, this could be a drawback. 

More Dairy-Free Options
My husband is vegan, and while the hotel had some things he could eat, the options were very limited. So, if you have food restrictions like that, you should look at Puerto Vallarta hotels that are explicitly marketed to provide more vegan or dairy-free options. 
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Would I recommend the Buenaventura Grand Hotel and Great Moments for a honeymoon?
We had a great time regardless, but I would suggest looking into more romantic Puerto Vallarta hotels or even ones catered specifically for couples. The vibe at the Buenaventura was more fitting for families and groups of older adults. We were one of just a few couples here.