Puerto Vallarta beachfront
 

Here I go again...I have been reading so much info on this site, and I just read that the beaches in P.V. (i.e. water) was polluted and not great for swimming...which really doesn't matter to me because I stick to the beach and pool area. But...just wondering if that is true. Is the water there known to be polluted?

Laurie, <BR> The Bay of Banderas is actually pretty clean comparitively speaking. If you hang around the downtown beaches the water is not very clean. The further south you go the better the ocean water quality. The Bay of Banderas is full of varied sealife. If the water was really foul none of these creatures could survive very long. General rule is thumb are; never swim at the mouth of a large river outlet. <BR> Please enjoy Puerto Vallarta, Ricardo

Here we go again. many people coming here see the very common, natural occurrence of sea foam (actually a sign of a healthy environment). Because the color is light brown some people assume it is connected with sewage. This is totally untrue, our sewage works are run buy an English company and the water that they put back in the bay is as clean as can be. <BR>This sea foam occurs all up and down the coast and is due to nutrients and shell molts welling up from the deep. <BR>Hasta, <BR>JR

We find our vacations to PV the best! Can't beat the location and value. It is true that the farther you get away from the downtown area, the clearer the water. The river emptying into the ocean and the cruise ships coming and going tend to stir up the water. However, the beaches are not nasty. But be realistic with yourself...PV does not have the crystal clear turquoise blue water that you may associate with other beach areas. If that is what you want, you may be unhappy with PV.

Laurie: If water quality doesn't matter to you, i think PV is A great vacation selection. I took my wife and 10 year old daughter there for A five day vacation, and really enjoyed the city and area. I had assumed the brown foam in the ocean was connected with sewage. However, now that JRinPV has explained this situation, I see I was probably mistaken ( I bet I still wouldn't swim in it, though ). I know there are A lot of Puerto Vallarta lovers who may disagree with me, but I will take my vacation dollars elsewhere for this reason.