Puerto Vallarta Holidays & Accommodation
Mexico, Central America
The Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta straddles the Pacific Ocean. Also known as the Mexican Riviera, Puerto Vallarta is a popular tourist destination for both international andr domestic tourists and is especially popular amongst North American retirees seeking a warm home away from their northern winter months. Puerto Vallarta has an old town which features a number of visitor friendly venues. The cobblestone streets are full of delightful little shops and shady trees.
Map of Puerto Vallarta
Mismaloya Beach
Puerto Vallarta Holidays Planner
Puerto Vallarta's main industry is tourism. The charm of Old Town and its Zona Romantica is the main tourist hub for shopping and dining out, while for international retirees with a hankering for the amenities of home, there are more upscale and glitzy venues like Costco and modern air-conditioned malls.
The city of Puerto Vallarta is picturesque, particularly Viejo Vallarta, or Old Town, with its colonial buildings and adobe building style. The shade of the many trees is particularly welcome on a hot day. The city is at the mouth of the Cuale River, and you can cross a suspension bridge on to Isla Rio Cuale, an island in the river which offers some respite on a hot day, markets to stroll through, and the Rio Cuale Cultural Center. The Historic Centre of Puerto Vallarta hosts the Art Walk which showcases local and international art works for passers-by from October to May.
The Malecon is a promenade near Viejo Vallarta, it is a walk that proceeds for several miles along the beach from the Zona Romantica to the beginning of the hotel zone. It passes through an area rich with restaurants, performers, musicians, and art installations. Every night fireworks are set off nearby at a Spanish galleon just offshore. You may even catch a performance of the Voladores de Papantla, this performance has its origins in a pre-Hispanic ritual involving acrobatics performed with a thirty foot pole. Throughout the area are great club venues and bars, no matter what era or genre of music you prefer; many offering live music.
Twenty minutes away from Puerto Vallarta is Nuevo Vallarta, a new development capitalising on the growing population of international retiree residents, and also a popular area for new resorts.
Beyond Puerto Vallarta, you can tour the rainforest with its rich plant and animal life, including crocodiles, iguanas, ocelots, and deer. Perhaps you may opt instead to try scuba diving or snorkelling in and around Banderas Bay, or at Marieta Island, a thirty minute boat ride from Puerto Vallarta harbour.
Around Puerto Vallarta, you may want to visit San Sebastian del Oeste at the top of the Sierra Madre Mountains, here you can escape the hustle and bustle of Puerto Vallarta's entertainment-oriented district and experience the silence of the countryside, but you may want to pack a sweater. You may instead want to take a water taxi to Yelapa, a traditional beach village with a heavy reliance on fishing where you can wade in rivers, and during the rainy season can see a 50 metre waterfall.