I just read a post stating that the beaches in the P. Vallarta area aren't that great. Yippee. We are visiting in March. Come on - are they really that bad? The reason we picked this area was to experience a bit of paradise-which absolutely means great beaches, as far as I'm concerned.<BR>HELP!

The beaches in Puerto Vallarta are definitely Pacific coast style, not the white sand, turquoise waters like you find in the Caribbean or in Hawaii.<BR><BR>But the beaches are good fun anyway... What they look like physically depends on exactly where you are staying around the Bay of Banderas (Playa Los Muertos main local beach in the south part of town, behind the various properties in the Hotel Zone, Nuevo Vallarta, Camino Real, each are different).<BR><BR>You can easily take great day trips by bus, boat, or car depending, to Yelapa, Destiladeras, Playa Anclote, Bucerias, Sayulita, Boca, etc. to find very pretty and less crowded beaches.<BR><BR>I've spent 15 vacations in PV, so granted, I am prejudice (in favor!) of the place.

Thanks Susan. Good to know. We are trying to decide between a villa in Bucerias, Sayulita, or San Pancho. We are traveling with a 15 year old who likes to surf - doesn't need big waves- and a 3 year old. Any recommendations? Can you at all surf in the Bay of Banderas?

Was there is Nov, a few weeks after hurricane. Damage seemed to have been done to water pipes which may well have been the cause of dirty scum patches that we regularly saw around the town beaches and south to Mismaloya. Overall water seemed OK, but certainly seen better. I watched Night of Iguana a few weeks ago and though black &amp; white movie, the water looked much clearer than what I saw - so maybe accumulation over the years or just hurricane damage?.

There was no damage to any water pipes, what you saw was wash off from Kenna, mostly what the waves washed out.<BR>Clarity of the water here relies on many things, wave action, currents, up-welling and temperature. All of these vary. Of course in the rainy season the is a lot of run-off from the rivers.<BR>39 years ago (when the movie was shot) the town was VERY small.

I think it is important to just realize as it has all ready been said this is just the regular Pacific Ocean. It is not the Caribbean at all. I saw an advertisement from a hotel write up boasting about the turquise waters. This is not true. My girfriend from the east coast vacationed to PV for the first time. Her first words when she returned was how dissapointed she was in the water. She was expecting the Caribbean type water. Pv offers many things. It is a interesting destination but if that is one's list of priorities you are better off with PDC or the Mexican Riviera locations. I would not classify PV as having great beaches opposed to other Mexican/Caribbean destinations. Something Chuck should also consider.

Hate to sound negative but if you want great beaches with a mexican flavor, you should definitely go to Cancun. If you stay on the gulf side, where the hotels are older, you get calm, beautiful water. If you stay on the pacific side, which is where I stay, you get fabulous beaches where you can walk for miles, but the waves can be high and you need to obey the flags that are posted. Nuevo Vallarta is supposed to be nicer than most places in PV. We stayed at La Jolla DeMismaloya about 5 years ago and they had a crab infestation in the waters surrounding that area. The hotel was great but I would never stay there again because of the ocean conditions and our family loves the ocean. Check out the mexican riviera, too.

The beaches in PV are very nice..... they are not white sand with clear blue water but they are nice and warm and the sand very smooth.

The beach in Puerto Vallarta is one of my favorite places in the *world* to be! But as others have mentioned it ain't Tahiti.<BR><BR>There are many spots with wonderful palapas (palm umbrellas) to sit under with chairs/tables and food &amp; beverage service right on the sand &amp; cheap.<BR><BR>It *is* a bit of paradise (IMHO).

I know not to expect Caribbean water. T Is the water in Puerta Vallarta clean? Do they have problems with sewage runoff? We were disappointed to have this problem in Key West. We will make our first trip to PV in February.

Here in Vallarta we have a 'state of the art' sewage treatment plant run by a British company BiWater. The General Manager is a friend and told me that the water they put back into the bay is cleaner than the fawcet water in Mexico City.

Better than Cabo. They have a sewage system that can't handle the flow with overflow gurgling up thru the grates and into the streets. Only about 45% of population hooked up to it so the rest is going into the ocean ,creek beds, septic , ditch or bucket.<BR><BR>Something they don't put in those fancy brochures. Just think of dryed up faeces in the desert air blowing every where even on the tamale plate.

Mike, We're talking about Puerto Vallarta here, not Cabo.