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| Ranking Among Int'l Cities/Regions: 20 |
| Venturers: 5 |
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| Centrics-Authentics: 7 |
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• John Huston’s “The Night of the Iguana” was filmed in Puerto Vallarta
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• Jalisco, Puerto Vallarta’s state, is the home of mariachi music
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| • Only tequila made in the town of Tequila (in Jalisco) can carry the town name |
| • The local brew raicilla is believed to be the world’s oldest alcohol spirit |
| • Tamales were created by ancient Americans as a portable ration for war parties |
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Three destinations in one
Puerto Vallarta is at once a Spanish settlement with a charming historic section and a beach town with the facilities for all kinds of water-based fun. There is a third element, too — pre-Columbian roots that reveal themselves through art, food and drink, and via the area’s Huichol Indian culture. Tourists are attracted to the pretty setting that is fortuitously combined with perfect weather for outdoor activities on the water or in the nearby mountains. They come for a modern infrastructure that offers up-to-the-minute resorts with the additional diversions of golf, tennis, spas, fine dining and the like.
About Puerto Vallarta
Located on the Pacific coast, Puerto Vallarta sits on Mexico’s largest natural bay, the horseshoe-shaped Banderas Bay, and, as a perfect complement to that, it is encircled to the east by the rugged, tropical Sierra Madre mountains. The bay, with deep waters, gives access to a rich diversity of marine life, as well as tropical lagoons, rain forests, mangroves, waterfalls and the mountains with their own exotic ecosystems.
The city is on the same parallel as Hawaii and so shares its tropical weather. The city counts nearly 300 sunny days a year; temperatures average 82 F, but winter days cool off at night to around 70 F. There is a rainy season — which often means afternoon rains — lasting from mid-June until mid-October.
The lush tropical climate and 25 miles of pristine beaches within Banderas Bay first attracted tourists in the late 19th century. Today, Puerto Vallarta is a city of 350,000 with more than 22,000 hotel rooms. It attracts nearly 3 million visitors a year. Puerto Vallarta offers all those visitors an incredible array of activities, from relaxing days on the beach, soothing sunset cruises and days on the golf greens, to ATV excursions, bungee jumping, parasailing and much more.
But this is not simply a beach resort. Old Vallarta, with its cobblestone streets and colonial buildings, is a favorite with photographers and history lovers. Besides, some of the city’s charming boutiques, cozy restaurants and bars are found in the historic section.
Puerto Vallarta is a shopper’s city, too. It is a place to buy serious art, traditional Huichol crafts, jewelry and tequila, among other things. The national currency is the peso, but many stores accept U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate of the day. Typically for a Mexican city, most stores close for at least a couple of hours daily beginning around 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. The city maintains a tourist police corps whose members provide assistance and directions. Although tap water is touted as “of a very high standard,” tourism officials recommend bottled water. Purified water is standard in the city’s hotels and restaurants.
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• Sign on for a Jeep safari to see out-of-the-way traditional towns and discover the secrets of the Sierra Madre. Or, make an exploratory journey on a dune buggy.
• Scuba dive at El Morro, a series of rock formations that are home to various species including dolphins, manta rays, octopus, sea horses and sharks. There is wall diving here, ideal if you are an experienced diver. Or, move your activity to Los Arcos National Marine Park and dive the Devil’s Drop underwater cliff. This involves a drop of about 1,600 feet to an underwater mountain range.
• Do the town at night. Choices include cold cervezas in a noisy bar or visiting any of a range of music clubs featuring jazz or salsa, reggae or rock.
• Get serious about tequila tasting at the Palapa bar on the Los Veranos ecological reserve three miles south of Puerto Vallarta. Choose from more than 80 different kinds of tequila, and sample the raicilla, which is made from the roots of the maguey plant. Given raicilla is considered the local moonshine, you have an idea what you are in for.
• Bungee jump, if you dare, in beautiful Banderas Bay. For more thrills on the bay, go parasailing or waterskiing.
• For a rich encounter with wildlife, go kayaking, scuba diving or snorkeling on the perimeter of the uninhabited islands that comprise the Marieta Islands Marine Reserve. See giant mantas, sea turtles, colorful tropical fish, an array of birds — blue-footed boobies, egrets, herons and more — as well as humpback whales when they are in the area.
• Take a mountain biking tour for a personalized way to see the area. Choose the route that suits your ability, from relaxing tracks to uphill and downhill rides. Travel the trails used for silver and gold mining in the 1700s or cross streams under the jungle canopy.
• Learn more about the Wixarika Indian culture with a visit to one of the group’s villages high in the Sierra Madre mountains. The Wixarika, better known as the Huichol people, may be North America’s last indigenous group to live according to pre-Columbian traditions, which involve a number of colorful celebrations and rituals.
• Take a canopy tour, which will have you walking through the treetops above the jungle in the Sierra Madre mountains for a good look at the area’s native birds, including parakeets, parrots and the yellow winged cacique. Make that a canopy walk using zip lines for transport from platform to platform.
• Compete in the Puerto Vallarta Sidral Aga International Sports Classic. Events, for amateurs and professionals, run the gamut from foot races and tennis to the Aerobics Marathon.
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• Focus on the Spanish heritage with self-guided strolls through the historic areas of town. Also, attend a bullfight, occurring Wednesday afternoons November through May.
• Race in the five-mile athletic run or 13-mile half marathon, staged each November in Puerto Vallarta.
• Tequila takes its name from the town where it originates, in Jalisco state. Visit Tequila, the town, to taste the drink at its source. Buy tequila to take home, but remember you cannot tote it in carry-on bags if you are flying.
• Take a half-day or full-day horseback riding excursion along trails of tropical vegetation, canyons and waterfalls. Stop for a swim, or combine your ride with a visit to a working ranch and barbecue lunch.
• Arrive in Puerto Vallarta in your private sailing vessel. You can dock at any of three modern marinas.
• Swim with Pacific bottlenose dolphins at the Nuevo Vallarta Dolphin Center.
• Go bird-watching or hiking the jungle trails — or both — in Las Caletas Islands.
• Hike near the Colomitos beach; take that walk through the tropical forests and over a rope suspension bridge. Then, relax on the beach itself, or stay active with snorkeling or kayaking.
• Try the waters of Banderas Bay for deep-sea sports fishing. If you are in this league, compete in the Sailfish and Marlin Tournament, held each November.
• Shop for Wixarika handicrafts, which are generally yarn paintings and beaded objects. The Wixarika, aka the Huichol, are believed to be direct descendants of the Aztecs.
Also, shop for catrinas, hand-sculpted clay and paper mache female figures; Talavera pottery, a tin and lead-glazed ceramic, and masks of carved and painted wood.
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• Time your visit to coincide with the Virgin of Guadalupe processions, set for a 12-day period each December. Celebrations include traditional floats and Aztec dancers.
• Smoke Cuban cigars, but remember, Americans cannot take them home.
• Schedule a romantic dinner for two followed by an evening of dancing.
• Shop for art in a town noted for its numerous resident artists and galleries that source their collections internationally as well. Join an art walk if your trip coincides with one. Or, picture yourself at the Festival of Erotic and Sensual Art. It is held each October.
• Attend cooking demonstrations and tastings during Puerto Vallarta’s annual International Gourmet Festival, in November.
Or, attend the Tamal Festival, held in May, to celebrate the tamale, a traditional food for at least 5,000 years.
• Set aside one evening for a Mexican fiesta, including folkloric dancing, mariachis, buffet dinner and fireworks.
• Watch humpback whales play in Banderas Bay between December and April. The huge creatures come to the bay each year to breed.
• If your trip is timed right, participate in an annual release of baby turtles into the ocean. The Olive Ridley marine turtles, which lay their eggs on Puerto Vallarta’s beaches between July and November, are protected under a government-sponsored program.
• Relax on the beach, or make that a day (or more) of golf.
• Take a daytime sailing cruise, or take a romantic sunset cruise. Vendors for all cruises provide a briefing on the sport of sailing to ensure everyone can participate in the ride.
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For more information, consult the Puerto Vallarta Tourist Board at www.visitpuertovallarta.com and the Mexico Tourist Board at www.visitmexico.com, where you choose your language.
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