25 Best Sights in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

If you have to choose just one beach in all of Costalegre, this is the one. Difficult to reach, the unspoiled beauty of the place makes the adventure well worth it. The long wide beach invites peaceful walks. Swimming might be risky here, though. Camping under the stars is highly recommended. Amenities: parking (no fee). Best for: solitude; sunset; walking.

Mayto’s Turtle Camp is a yearslong, well-run project from Universidad de Guadalajara that patrols the beaches of the area in search of turtle nests and their eggs in order to save them from poachers. They constantly receive groups of students from schools in Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, and other cities. With some luck you might get to see the release of baby turtles into the sea.

Since its opening in 1990, the Costa Careyes Polo Club has received players from all over the world. For $500 you can play in one of their two regulation-size fields with greens fees and horse rental included.

Each of the nine islands set in front of Chamela Bay can be reached by boat. However, not all of them have such a beautiful beach as Isla Cocinas. Get a boat from Punta Pérula or Playa Chamela for as little as $15, and in 20 minutes you’ll be sunbathing on one of the most extraordinary beaches you’ve ever seen. The island is uninhabited, so privacy and quiet are guaranteed. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; swimming.

This 35-foot-high, 88-foot-in-diameter, Burning Man–style sculpture is one of the defining sights of Costa Careyes. Created by Gian Franco Brignone, who also founded the Careyes community, it is a representation of a woman getting the gift of life directly from the sun (Copa del Sol means "Cup of the Sun"). During music festivals at Playa Teopa the Copa becomes a very popular meeting point.

South of Playa Mora on Tenacatita Bay, this beach (whose name means "Mouth of the Iguanas") of fine gray-blond sand is wide and flat, and it stretches for several kilometers. Gentle waves make it great for swimming, boogie boarding, and snorkeling, but beware the undertow. Some enthusiasts fish from shore. It's a great place for jogging or walking on the beach, as there's no slope. There are a couple of beach restaurants and an RV park here. The entrance is at Km 17. The place goes completely bananas every year during one weekend in August when the International Beach Festival Boca de Iguanas takes place. Facilities: Snorkeling; camping facilities, restrooms, showers, food concessions. Best for: swimming; snorkeling; surfing.

About 11 km (6½ mi) south of Bahía Chamela, this beach is named for the careyes (hawksbill) turtles that lay eggs here. It's a lovely soft-sand beach framed by headlands. When the water's not too rough, snorkeling is good around the rocks, where you can also fish. There's a small restaurant at the north end of the beach, and often you can arrange to go out with a local fisherman (about $25 per hour). Water-loving birds can be spotted around the lagoon that forms at the south end of the bay. Facilities: Birding, fishing, snorkeling; food concessions. Best for: swimming; snorkeling.

Careyitos is one of the longest beaches in Costa Careyes and, paradoxically, maybe the most private, as there are not many properties on its shore. Its waters are calm and inviting. It's a perfect place for camping. You may want to climb the Morro Prieto hill to reach a lookout that offers outstanding views of the area. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); water sports. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking.

A sylvan beach with no services lies down a rutted dirt road about 82 km (50 miles) south of El Tuito and 115 km (70 miles) south of PV. The road is negotiable only by high-clearance passenger cars and smallish RVs. The reward for 8 km (5 miles) of bone-jarring travel is a beautiful rocky point, Punta Chalacatepec, with a sweep of protected white-sand beach to the north that's perfect for swimming and bodysurfing. There's a fish camp here, so you may find some rather scraggly-looking dudes on this isolated beach. Admire the tidal pools at the point during low tide. Take a walk along the open-ocean beach south of the point, where waves crash more dramatically and discourage swimming. To get here, turn toward the beach at the town of José María Morelos (at Km 88). Just after 8 km (5 miles), leave the main road (which bears right) and head to the beach over a smaller track. From here it's less than 1½ km (1 mile) to the beach. At this writing, an airport was being built near the county seat, Tomatlán, and the beach was slated for hotels not yet named. Facilities: None. Best for: swimming; surfing; walking.

Playa Chalacatepec is a true piece of unspoiled paradise. Miles of white-sand beach extend without any sign of human activity. However, this outstanding beauty could have its days numbered, as there are big projects planned for the area. Talk about building a “new Cancún” is commonplace, as the Chalacatepec lagoon provides a similar setting to that of the Caribbean resort town. It's perfect for camping—just stay away from crocodiles. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; surfing; swimming; walking.

The main beach in the Chamela Bay area is long and wide, with several hotels and restaurants scattered here and there. Lounge chairs and palapas are available for rent on the beach. The sea is good for kids and for swimming, as the islands in front of the coastline soften the surf in the bay. Boat trips to the islands are available. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); water sports. Best for: snorkeling; swimming; walking.

This small beach has the honor of being the first inclusive beach in the Mexican Pacific. You'll see plenty of "floating chairs" for people who need assistance getting into the sea. There are also many nonmotorized water sports options such as kayaks, pedal boats, or snorkeling. The surrounding mountains give it a touch of mysticism. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); toilets; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

This long beach of dark brown sand has a pier and not much more. Access is restricted to some of the most exclusive resorts in the area, and for that reason it has become very popular among boat owners who come to enjoy its green emerald waters and unique beauty. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; sunset; swimming; walking.

La Cruz de Loreto is a little village located 6 km (4 miles) from the coast, where its namesake beach provides an amazing spectacle. The area is inside a nature reserve and home to an estuary, recognized by UNESCO as a birds’ paradise. The area is worth visiting, mostly for day-trips or camping, as there is no infrastructure at all. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; sunset; swimming; walking.

This beautiful, 2-km-long (1-mi-long) beach is little more than a kilometer (half a mile) in from the highway, near the southern edge of Bahía de Tenacatita, 193 km (120 mi) south of PV and 25 km (15½ mi) north of Barra de Navidad (at Km 14). Informal hotels and restaurants are interspersed with small businesses and modest houses along the town's main street. Rocks dot the gray-gold sands and edge both ends of the wide beach; facing the sand are attractive, unpretentious vacation homes favoring a Venetian palate of ochre and brick red. The bay is calm. At the beach road's north end, gigantic, rubbery-looking crocodiles lie heaped together just out of harm's way in a mangrove swamp. The fishing here is excellent; boat owners on the beach can take you out for snapper, sea bass, and other pescado for $20–$25 an hour. Facilities: Fishing; food concessions. Best for: swimming; walking; sunset.

Right in the middle between La Cruz de Loreto and Chalacatepec, you’ll find this magnificent white-sand beach that stretches for miles in parallel with the Estero Majahuas formed by the Tomatlán River. Basically, you have the sea on one side and the beach and freshwater estuary on the other. This area has been targeted several times for new tourism development due to its rare beauty. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.

This long, coarse-white-sand beach is beautiful and has gentle waves. Restaurants, small hotels, homes, and tall palms line the beach, which slopes down to the water. Fishermen here will take anglers out in search of dorado, tuna, swordfish, and mackerel. The best swimming and boogie boarding are about half the length of town, in front of El Dorado restaurant. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); water sports. Best for: snorkeling; surfing; swimming.

Twenty-one kilometers (13 mi) south of La Manzanilla, Bahía de Navidad represents the end of the Costalegre at the border with Colima State. First up (from north to south) is San Patricio–Melaque, the coast's most populous town, with about 12,000 people. (It's actually two towns that have now met in the middle.) While parts of town look dilapidated or abandoned, its long, coarse-white-sand beach is beautiful and has gentle waves. Restaurants, small hotels, homes, and tall palms line the beach, which slopes down to the water. About 5 km (3½ mi) east of Barra de Navidad, which shares Navidad Bay, Melaque's beach curves around for several kilometers to end in a series of jagged rocks poking from the water. If you plop down in a seat under a shade umbrella its owner will soon show up. Pay about $5 and stay as long as you like. Fishermen here will take anglers out in search of dorado, tuna, wahoo, swordfish, mackerel, and others. The best swimming and boogie boarding are about half the length of town, in front of El Dorado restaurant.Facilities: Banana-boat rides, boogie boarding, fishing, Jet Skis, kayaking, snorkeling, beach umbrellas. Best for: surfing; swimming; snorkeling.

Near the north end of Playa Tenacatita, this pretty stretch of sand has a coral reef close to the beach, making it an excellent place to snorkel. Local fishermen take interested parties out on their boats, either fishing for tuna, dorado, or bonita or searching for wildlife such as dolphins and turtles. Facilities: Fishing, snorkeling; food concessions. Best for: snorkeling; swimming; walking.

This is the main beach in Barra de Navidad, and it has a laid-back attitude just like the town. At any time but high tide you can walk between San Patricio and Barra, a distance of about 5 km (3½ miles). This is a sloping brown-sand beach where surfers look for swells near the jetty, where the sea enters the lagoon of Navidad. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); water sports. Best for: sunset; surfing; swimming.

Also on Bahía de Chamela, this lovely beach is fringed in lanky coconut palms and backed by blue foothills. There are camping and RV accommodations and plenty of opportunities for shore fishing, swimming, and snorkeling. Almost every pretty beach in Mexico has its own humble restaurant; this one is no exception. Facilities: Fishing, snorkeling; camping facilities, food concessions. Best for: swimming; snorkeling; walking.

The handful of islands just off lovely Bahía de Chamela, about 131 km (81 mi) south of PV, protects the beaches from strong surf. The best place on the bay for swimming is wide, flat Playa Perula (turnoff at Km 76, then 3 km [2 mi] on dirt road), in the protective embrace of a cove just below the Punta Perula headland. Fishermen there take visitors out to snorkel around the islands (about $45 for up to 10 people) or to hunt for dorado, tuna, and mackerel (about $23 per hour for one to four people); restaurants on the soft beige sand sell the same as fresh fillets and ceviche. Facilities: Fishing, snorkeling; food concessions. Best for: swimming; snorkeling.

Named for the bay on which it lies, Tenacatita is a lovely beach of soft sand about 34 km (20 mi) north of San Patricio–Melaque and 172 km (106 mi) south of PV. Dozens of identical seafood shacks line the shore; birds cruise the miles of beach, searching for their own fish. Waves crash against clumps of jagged rocks at the north end of the beach, which curves gracefully around to a headland. The water is sparkling blue. There's camping for RVs and tents at Punta Hermanos, where the water is calm and good for snorkeling, and local men offer fishing excursions ($50–$60 for one to four people) and tours of the mangroves ($27). Of the string of restaurants on the beach, we recommend La Fiesta Mexicana.Facilities: Fishing, snorkeling; camping facilities, food concessions. Best for: swimming; snorkeling; walking.

Here, you can walk south from Playa Careyes along the dunes, although guards protect sea turtle nests by barring visitors during the summer and fall nesting seasons. A road from the highway at Km 49.5 gains access to Playa Teopa by car; ask the guard for permission to enter this way, as you'll need to pass through private property to gain access to the beach. Facilities: None. Best for: swimming; walking.