Puerto Vallarta Then and Now

Puerto Vallarta Then and Now

People and Culture

Despite its population of more than 200,000, Puerto Vallarta feels—and thinks—like a small town. People know their neighbors; school chums run the city and the corner taco stand. Although the majority of vallartenses (residents of Puerto Vallarta) are far from wealthy—most are middle class, and securely employed—few of the alms-seekers downtown are locals.

Vallartenses value nice things, but much less so than sharing and socializing with family and friends. In her book The Magic of Puerto Vallarta, Venezuelan Marilú Suárez-Murias aptly describes Puerto Vallartans as "free, proud, simple, noble, friendly, kind, and never in a hurry."

Like many others from around the world, Ms. Suárez-Murias visited in the 1980s and opted to stay. Vallarta has one of the largest English-speaking expat communities in Mexico consisting of Americans and Canadians especially. Expats tend to settle in Old Vallarta or the condos and private homes climbing the ocean-facing hills south of town. Small towns like Sayulita, north of PV, are also increasingly popular.

The Hotel Scene

Choosing where to stay may be half of the equation to having a fabulous vacation. Unfortunately, it's not an easy task since Puerto Vallarta has something for every budget and personality, from cliffside condos with stairs winding down to the sea to classy little cottages surrounded by nature trails. Gran turismo (beyond five-star) hotels and resorts are found up and down the coast; think beachside villa with a private plunge pool. Some of those on the prettiest beaches are in Punta de Mita and the Costalegre, but you'll find them also in the south hotel zone and Nuevo Vallarta, which has mainly all-inclusive hotels. Southern Nayarit State, north of PV, has a sprinkling of small hotels, guesthouses, private rentals, and bed-and-breakfasts, many of them popular with honeymooners, families, and anyone looking for more intimate digs away from large crowds.

The Food Scene

First-time travelers come for the sun and sea, but it's PV's wonderful restaurants that create legions of long-term fans. Only a generation ago, much of the best, locally caught fish was shipped to Guadalajara; Vallartans had to buy it back frozen, or overstock and freeze fresh catches for future meals. Likewise, a variety of vegetables was hard to find. But as the destination has grown in popularity and dozens of excellent chefs have opened restaurants, the culinary outlook has improved exponentially. Now those who know where to look can shop locally for designer greens, baby eggplant, and an increasingly sophisticated range of ingredients.

PV's level of culinary chic is reflected in November's International Gourmet Festival, when dozens of guest chefs bring new recipes and ideas from around the globe.

It's not just foreigners and Cordon Bleu-trained chefs, however, that keep the foodies fat and happy. Seaside family-owned eateries grill fish right off the boat, and tiny city cafés have great eats at bargain prices. And a number of streetside stalls are as hygienic as five-star-hotel restaurants.

The Overall Vibe

Mexico's second-most-visited resort after Cancún, Puerto Vallarta is, without a doubt, "touristy." From the clean streets to the English-speaking personnel and menus, business owners and tourism officials aim to help you feel at home. But you won't feel like a cipher or, worse, a bothersome intruder. Cancún didn't exist before the 1970s, and employees and business owners are imported from elsewhere. In contrast, the majority of Puerto Vallarta's tour companies, restaurants, and hotels are run by local people—proud of their city and happy to have you. Happy, because tourism is PV's only real industry. And though plenty of twentysomethings party all night at Señor Frogs or Carlos O'Briens, this is not a spring-break destination. A sense of decorum and pride in the city keeps things reasonably restrained.

Thinking Outside the Bay

As numerous as the activities in and around Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay are the opportunities beyond its boundaries. Vallarta Adventures and smaller tour operators make things easy with day trips to the mountains, Guadalajara, San Blas, and La Tovara estuaries. While tour companies can design individual, overnight tours, most folks heading north or south of Banderas Bay rent a car (or hop on a bus) and go on their own. But there's plenty to keep you busy in and around Puerto Vallarta, so if your time is limited, establishing a base of operations there is usually the least hassle-free way to explore.

A Brief History

Except for small coastal settlements that subsisted on fishing and a small enterprise importing salt (used to separate silver from stone), the first European and mestizo settlers in the region were miners and mine owners far from the coast, in the mineral-laced Sierra Madre. When mining petered out in the early 20th century, many families moved to the band of rich farmland near the coast around present-day Puerto Vallarta. Tourism along the gorgeous 42-km (26-mi) Bahía Banderas (Bay of Flags), really took off in the '50s and '60s, when a Mexican newsreel showed off its natural beauty and famous lovers Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton brought the paparazzi during the filming of The Night of the Iguana, in 1963.