Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta is home, and it is — without argument — the most complete beach destination in Mexico. It does not have Caribbean water or Cancún's party scene, but it has something none of the others manage: it is a real city, with a historic centre, a life of its own and people who live here year-round, set on an enormous bay with the Sierra Madre dropping straight into the sea.

Why Vallarta and not somewhere else

The short answer: because you never run out of things to do and because it does not feel invented for tourism. Vallarta grew as a town before it grew as a destination, and you can tell — in the cobbled centre, in the Guadalupe church with its crown, in the neighbourhood markets and in the fact that ten minutes from the hotel zone people are buying tortillas.

The other reason is geography. Banderas Bay holds nearly 100 kilometres of coast and changes completely from one end to the other: rocky, jungle-backed coves in the south reachable only by boat; the city in the middle; kilometres of flat sand up north in Nayarit. On a single trip you can snorkel, surf, eat seafood on the sand, drive up to a mountain mining town and have a white-tablecloth dinner.

The beaches

Playa Los Muertos, in the Zona Romántica, is the liveliest and the one most people visit first. South of it, Conchas Chinas is the best snorkelling without getting on a boat, and Mismaloya — where The Night of the Iguana was filmed — is still one of the bay's postcards. Past Boca de Tomatlán the road ends and the good part begins: Colomitos, Las Ánimas, Quimixto, Majahuitas and Yelapa, all boat- or foot-access only.

The full list, with boat schedules and honest warnings, is in our guide to the best beaches in Puerto Vallarta.

When to come

From November to May the weather is practically perfect: warm days, cool nights and almost no rain. From December to March humpback whales come into the bay, which is one of the best things this place offers. July to September is hot and humid, with heavy afternoon rain and everything turning green; there are far fewer people and prices drop considerably. November is, in our opinion, the secret month: still green, no rain and no crowds.

Getting there and around

The international airport (PVR) sits inside the city, twenty minutes from downtown, with direct flights from much of the US, Canada and all of Mexico. Once here you do not need a car if you stay in the Zona Romántica — everything is walkable. City buses run the coast south (Mismaloya, Boca) and north (Bucerías, Punta de Mita) for very little. For the deep south, take a boat from Boca de Tomatlán or the Los Muertos pier.

Where to stay

The Zona Romántica is the best base for a first trip: you walk to the beach, the restaurants and the nightlife. Downtown and Cinco de Diciembre are quieter and more authentic, with good views from the hillsides. The hotel zone and the marina work if you travel with kids and want all-inclusive. And Nuevo Vallarta, across into Nayarit, has the longest beach and the deepest supply of beachfront rentals — that is where we check vacation rentals in Nuevo Vallarta before committing to a hotel.

If your plan is longer than a holiday, we wrote separately about what living in Puerto Vallarta is like: annual rentals, the fideicomiso, humidity and paperwork.

What to eat

Seafood, first of all: shrimp aguachile, ceviche tostadas and zarandeado fish up the Nayarit coast. Then late-night taco carts, neighbourhood bakeries and a chef-driven scene in the Zona Romántica that has grown enormously. All the detail is in our guide to where to eat in Puerto Vallarta.

One piece of advice from someone who lives here

Do not try to do the whole bay in three days. The distance from Yelapa to Punta de Mita is real and the transfers eat your hours. Pick one area, stay there, and use a single day for the long excursion. Vallarta is far better slowly.