Puerto Vallarta
Destino TuríStico / BahíA De Banderas · Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
A fishing village on the Bay of Banderas in Jalisco that became famous through a film and a scandal: John Huston shot The Night of the Iguana at Mismaloya in 1963, and the affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, conducted here under the world's press, put the town on the map. Sixty years later it is a large resort city that kept its cobbled old centre, a seafront malecon lined with bronze sculpture, jungle mountains dropping straight into the bay, and one of the most established LGBTQ+ districts in Latin America in the Zona Romantica. Humpback whales calve in the bay from roughly December to March and are sometimes visible from the malecon itself. Water taxis run to Yelapa and other beaches with no road access, Los Arcos offers the best snorkelling near the city, and the Vallarta Botanical Garden is worth a half day. Jalisco carries a travel advisory for some areas, so check current state advice and drive by day, though the visitor zone is busy and normal. Choose the old town over the hotel strip.
Malecón, Centro, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, 48300, Mexico
Beaches and the malecón are open access and free - all Mexican beaches are public by law. ⚠ WHALE SEASON IN THE BAY RUNS ROUGHLY DECEMBER TO MARCH; choose operators that cut the engine and keep distance. Water taxis to Yelapa leave from the Playa Los Muertos pier from morning to mid-afternoon. The Vallarta Botanical Garden keeps daytime hours. ⚠ TIMESHARE TOUTS WORK THE AIRPORT ARRIVALS HALL - walk through to the official taxi desk outside. ⚠ OBEY BEACH FLAGS; rip currents occur on the open beaches. ⚠ HURRICANE SEASON JUNE TO NOVEMBER. ⚠ LATE-MAY PRIDE FILLS THE ZONA ROMÁNTICA. ⚠ JALISCO CARRIES A TRAVEL ADVISORY - the tourist zone is normal; no intercity highway travel after dark. ⚠ HOURS AND PRICES NOT VERIFIED FOR THIS FILE.