Puerto Vallarta

Best things to do in Puerto Vallarta

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   1. Punta Mita

   • Half a day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Couples

   A 1,500-acre private peninsula on the north end of Banderas Bay in Nayarit, about 16 km north of Puerto Vallarta, home to several luxury resorts. A hilltop archaeological site, Careyeros Hill, has been dated to around 800 AD.

   The source describes a private peninsula of resorts and does not cover public access, tours or prices; check before planning a visit. It is also the closest departure area for the Marieta Islands.

   2,999 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Punta Mita

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   2. Tequila town and agave landscape

   • A full day or more
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Adults
   • Couples

   A town in Jalisco, birthplace of the drink tequila, with an agave landscape and old distilleries listed by UNESCO in 2006. Guided distillery tours are offered, including at La Perseverancia, built in 1873.

   The source gives its distance from Guadalajara (about 60 km), not from Puerto Vallarta, so check travel time before planning a day trip. Check tour bookings with the operator.

   2,725 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Tequila, Jalisco

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   3. Sayulita

   • Half a day to a full day
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • Active

   A small Pacific coast town of about 5,000 people in the south of Nayarit, north of Banderas Bay.

   1,777 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Sayulita

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   4. Bucerías

   • Half a day
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • Families

   A small beach resort town on the Riviera Nayarit, on Banderas Bay between La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and Nuevo Nayarit. Its name means "divers town".

   1,549 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Bucerías, Nayarit

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   5. Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe

   • 30 minutes to an hour
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • No car needed
   • Rainy day

   A Catholic church in Puerto Vallarta built between 1930 and 1940 on the foundations of a chapel dedicated in 1901. It is open daily. Around 12 December, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, there are fireworks after the evening rosary.

   It is a working church; dress and behave respectfully.

   1,195 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Puerto Vallarta)

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   6. Marieta Islands

   • Half a day
   • Book in advance
   • Couples
   • Active
   • Families

   A group of small uninhabited islands about 7.9 km off the Nayarit coast, southwest of Punta de Mita. It is a national park, a Ramsar wetland and a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve. Boats take about an hour from Puerto Vallarta and about 15 minutes from Punta Mita.

   Only a few authorised companies take visitors. Wikipedia reports that the Hidden Beach was closed in 2016 and later reopened with a daily cap of 116 visitors, but access rules may have changed, so confirm current rules with your operator.

   892 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Islas Marietas National Park

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   7. Zona Romántica and Playa de los Muertos

   • Half a day
   • No booking needed
   • Adults
   • Couples
   • No car needed

   The southern part of Puerto Vallarta, also called Old Town, made up of three colonias (Emiliano Zapata, Alta Vista and Amapas) and known as an LGBTQ-friendly tourist area. Playa de los Muertos is the beach in the zone.

   606 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Zona Romántica
   • Wikipedia, Playa de los Muertos (Puerto Vallarta)

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   8. Yelapa

   • A full day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Couples
   • No car needed
   • Active

   A small beach town in the southernmost cove of Banderas Bay. There is no road for ordinary vehicles, so you arrive by water ferry from Puerto Vallarta or Boca de Tomatlán, with hourly sailings.

   The source says ferries run hourly; check the last return sailing with the operator.

   602 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Yelapa

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   9. The Malecón

   • 1 to 2 hours
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • Families
   • No car needed

   A 12-block, mile-long waterfront esplanade through Puerto Vallarta's Centro and Zona Romántica. It crosses the Cuale River by the Puente Río Cuale.

   470 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Malecón, Puerto Vallarta
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    10. Mismaloya

    • Half a day
    • No booking needed
    • Couples
    • Families

    A small village on the Bahía de Banderas coast, south of Puerto Vallarta on Highway 200.

    446 readers a month

    Sources

    • Wikipedia, Mismaloya

Just missed the list: La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (11th by readers; a fishing village in Nayarit); Boca de Tomatlán (12th by readers; a fishing village with beaches)