Puerto Vallarta has not one, but TWO Cable TV companies.

If you’re going to be hanging out here in Vallarta for a while, you might like to have some television entertainment besides the 4 broadcast channels your TV will receive here.

Be warned, however, that a majority of the channels offered by the cable companies are Spanish-language…just a few English-language channels are offered, and none of these are USA or Canada ‘network’ stations. So you’ll still be able to watch “The Simpsons” (a big hit down here), but you’ll have to listen to Homer say “D’Oh!” in Spanish (it’s actually still fairly entertaining, even if you don’t completely understand the dialog). You might also want to consider a satellite TV system.

You can contract with Telecable at their office on Columbia Street just 2 blocks south of the Sports stadium, at the north end of ‘El Centro’ (downtown) Puerto Vallarta, or inside the Plaza Caracol Shopping Center about midway along the 'hotel zone'. CosmoRED is the other company, and they also have their offices inside Plaza Caracol. Bring along proof of your address, such as a telephone or power company contract or recently paid bill, and your passport.

One of the reasons many ex-patriots living in Puerto Vallarta get cable service at all is for the super-high-speed cable internet. Note however that Telecable’s and CosmoRED's service has been notably spotty, with internet service down for days at a time in some neighborhoods. High-speed DSL internet service from Telmex (the phone company) is considerably more reliable, but a bit slower. (See TELEPHONES for more info.)