134 Best Sights in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

The Plaza de Armas, or Main Square, is a perfect spot to relax. Enjoy an ice cream by the gazebo or a Mexican snack sold by stall vendors in one of the many benches around. The city hall is on one side, the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the other, and, in the background, the malecón. On Thursday and Sunday at 6 pm, everybody dances to the sound of danzón while listening to the Municipal Bands.

Walk around the plaza, where old gents share stories and kids chase balloons. Couples dance the stately danzón on Thursday and Saturday evening as the band plays in the wrought-iron bandstand. The town produces ceramics, saddles, and raicilla, a relative of tequila made from the green agave plant (tequila comes from the blue one).

Presa Corinches, a dam about 5 km (3 miles) south of town, has bass fishing, picnic spots (for cars and RVs), and a restaurant where locals go for fish feasts on holidays and weekend afternoons. To get to the dam, head east on Calle Juárez (a block south of the plaza) and follow the signs to the reservoir. Take a walk along the shore or set up a tent near the fringe of pine-oak forest coming down to meet the cool blue water, which is fine for swimming when the weather is warm.

There's only one beach in San Pancho, aptly called Playa San Pancho. Roughly about a mile long, it has fine sand and clean blue water, but also a strong undertow and shorebreak that can be dangerous when the swell builds up. Swimming is fantastic when the sea is calm, but do be careful if the ocean is rough. You can rent surfboards and surf the break on the south side of the beach, which tends to get busy with locals when the waves are pumping. Amenities: food and drink; parking (free); toilets; water sports. Best for: sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

Adjacent to Miramar Beach is the well-kept fishing village of Santa Cruz. Take a walk on the beach or around the town; buy a soft drink, find the bakery, and pick up some banana bread. Outdoor dances are occasionally held on the diminutive central plaza.

This is the main beach in town. Nowadays it's usually very busy; there are tons of restaurants and shops within walking distance, and the main surf break is right there, too, meaning it's full of surfers and surf schools. Amenities: food and drink; toilets; water sports. Best for: partiers; surfing; swimming.

Singayta is a typical Nayarit village that is attempting to support itself through simple and ungimmicky ecotours. The basic tour includes a look around the town, where original adobe structures compete with more practical but less picturesque structures with corrugated tin roofs. Take a short guided hike through the surrounding jungle and a boat ride around the estuary ($6 per person). This is primo birding territory. The townspeople are most geared up for tours on weekends and during school holidays and vacations: Christmas, Easter, July, and August. The easiest way to book a tour is to look for English-speaking Juan Bananas, who sells banana bread from a shop called Tumba de Yako (look for the sign on the unmarked road Avenida H. Batallón between Calles Comonfort and Canalizo, en route to Playa Borrego). He can set up a visit and/or guide you there. Groups of five or more can call ahead to make a reservation with Juan ( 323/285–0462  [email protected]) or with Santos ( 323/100–4191); call at least a day ahead if you want to have a meal.

Templo de San Blas, called La Iglesia Vieja (“the old church”) by residents, is on the town's busy plaza. It's rarely open these days, but you can admire its diminutive beauty and look for the words to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "The Bells of San Blas" inscribed on a brass plaque outside. (The long-gone bells were actually at the church dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, on Cerro de San Basilio.)

Even though it's not a typical excursion for tourists, the Alta Vista petroglyphs offer an interesting and different day in the outdoors. Discovered by the National Institute of Anthropology and History, the petroglyphs are a series of drawings set in stone in what seems to have been a ceremonial center for the ancient people of the Texcoquines. The petroglyphs possibly represent a 1,500-year historical span. Nowadays, the indigenous Huichol people still visit the site to celebrate different rituals. The self-guided tour ends up at the majestic "King's Pool," a naturally formed pool surrounded by cube-like stones. You can finish your history-rich excursion with a refreshing swim in the crystal-clear waters. This is a hard-to-get place, so make sure you have a reliable guide.

A couple of miles north of La Peñita, a dusty road leads to this long, secluded sandy beach with excellent swimming. The rutted dirt road from the highway, although only about 4 km (2½ miles) long, takes almost a half hour to negotiate in most passenger cars. Enjoy great views of the coastline from one of nearly a dozen seafood shanties. Turtles nest here in August and September. There are rumors of a major development here in the near-ish future. Facilities: Restaurants. Best for: swimming; walking.

Some 30 km (19 miles) north of Rincón de Guayabitos, Chacala is another 9 km (5 miles) from the highway through exuberant vegetation. You can dine or drink at the handful of eateries right on the beach, take in the soft-scented sea air and the green-blue sea, or bodysurf and boogie board. Swimming is safest under the protective headland to the north of the cove; surfing is often very good, but you have to hire a boat to access the point break. The beach is long but rather narrow when the tide is in. Facilities: Food concessions. Best for: surfing; swimming.

A classic in the region's beach scene and favorite of locals, this beach stretches a few miles north of Piedra Blanca headland. It's a wide, 1½-km-long (1-mile-long) beach with powder-soft beige sand and sometimes good waves for bodysurfers and boogie boarders. It's a pretty scene with the blue mountains to the north and south and the area's ubiquitous coconut palms framing views of the sky. On weekends and holidays, vendors prepare and sell yummy barbecue-blackened shrimp and fish kebabs, fresh fruit, and ceviche. A new development called Nahui was built above the beach and it brought with it better facilities for the beach. At the north end of the beach, Punta el Burro is a popular surf spot often accessed by boat from Punta Mita. Facilities: Food concessions, bathrooms, trash bins, parking. Best for: surfing; swimming; sunset.

The most accessible beach at Punta de Mita and considered to be surf central is El Anclote, whose name means "the big anchorage." Just a few minutes past the gated entrance to the tony Four Seasons and St. Regis hotels, the popular beach has a string of restaurants—once simple shacks but today of increasing sophistication and price. This is a primo spot for viewing a sunset. The surf is calmed by several rock jetties and is shallow for quite a way out, so it's a good spot for children and average to not-strong swimmers; however, the jetties have also robbed sand from the beach. There's a long, slow wave for beginning surfers; you can rent boards and take lessons from outfitters in town. Most of the jewelry and serape sellers and fishermen looking for customers have moved—or been moved—off the beach to more official digs in buildings along the same strip or facing the Four Seasons. Accessible from El Anclote (or the adjacent town of Corral del Risco), more than half a dozen great surf spots pump year-round; most are accessible only by boat. Punta de Mita is the northernmost point of Banderas Bay, about 40 km (25 mi) north of Puerto Vallarta. Facilities: Fishing, snorkeling, surfing, paddle surfing; food concessions, showers, parking. Best for: snorkeling; surfing; sunset.

You know how in New York they reserved a huge piece of much-coveted land for Central Park? Well, something like that happened in Puerto Vallarta with the Estero El Salado. This estuary right in the middle of the city has been declared a protected area featuring spectacular examples of biodiversity. Boat tours go deep into El Salado from Tuesday to Saturday at 11 am and 3 pm. Get ready to see plenty of crocodiles up close and personal in their natural habitat, as well as a variety of birds and impressive vegetation. There is a museum and a tower offering stunning views of the estuary and the city. Call or write ahead (via the website) to book a tour.

Officially known as Nuevo Vallarta Norte, Flamingos, as called by locals, is the only beach in the Riviera Nayarit holding the coveted international Blue Flag certification. Located between Nuevo Vallarta and Bucerías, Flamingos is a string of relatively new hotels facing the broad, brown-sand beach that is virtually identical to those of its neighbors to the north and south. Shacks on the sand rent water-sports equipment, while showers serve to clean up guests returning to their high-rise, mainly all-inclusive hotels. At the south end of the beach, driftwood and the occasional scurrying crab are more obvious than in the manicured areas by the hotels. As one approaches Nuevo Vallarta, elaborate homes begin to spring up like solitary mushrooms, inhabited by those who can afford and desire privacy. Facilities: Boogie boards, banana-boat rides, Jet Skis, parasailing; lifeguard, restrooms, showers, food concessions, beachclub, handicap accessible. Best for: swimming; walking; windsurfing.

Since Jacques Cousteau pointed out the amazing biodiversity of this pair of small islands, they've been designated a protected area by the Mexican government and have become a must for snorkelers and divers who favor the relatively clear waters and abundance of fish and coral. In winter, especially January through March, these islands, about a half hour offshore from El Anclote, are also a good place to spot orcas and humpback whales, which come to mate and give birth. Las Marietas is the destination for fishing, diving, and snorkeling; in addition, sea-life-viewing expeditions set out from El Anclote and Corral de Risco as well as from points up and down Banderas Bay. Don't miss the Love Beach, a secluded stretch of sand only accessible by swimming or snorkeling; the legend says that it was created during a weapon test by the Mexican army, which made a hole in the island and created a unique beach. Truth or not, it's a piece of beauty. Facilities: None. Best for: snorkeling; solitude; swimming.

Contiguous with Guayabitos, at the north end of the Jaltemba Bay, La Peñita has fewer hotels and a beach that's often abandoned save for a few fishermen. Its name means "little rock." The center for area business, La Peñita has banks, shoe stores, and ice cream shops; a typical market held each Thursday offers knock-off CDs, polyester clothing, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Facilities: None. Best for: walking; swimming.

About 8 km (5 mi) north of San Pancho, Lo de Marcos is a humble town of quiet, wide streets. It fills up on weekends and holidays with Mexican families renting the bungalow-style motel rooms that predominate; a few RV parks on the beach attract long-term snowbirds. The town's main beach is flat and dark, but the sand is generally clean. There are small waves, not big enough for surfing but just right for splashing around. A small restaurant on the beach serves sodas, snacks, and the usual seafood suspects. Note that the once-popular playas Las Minitas and Los Venados are closed for private development. Facilities: Food concessions. Best for: walking; swimming.

Between the beaches of Quimixto and Yelapa and about 35 minutes by boat from Boca de Tomatlán, this small beach is the playground of people on day tours and guests of the exclusive Majahuitas Resort. There are no services for the average José; the lounge chairs and toilets are for hotel guests only. Palm trees shade the white beach of broken, sea-buffed shells. The blue-green water is clear, and there's sometimes good snorkeling around the rocky shore. Facilities: None. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

This group of small islands laying just in front of Punta Mita at the northern end of Banderas Bay has been called "the most idyllic bomb site," because they were once used for military testing by the Mexican government. But the incredible caves created by the bombings are now the delight of tourists. Today the islands are protected, declared an area of great biodiversity by world-famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. Only a 20-minute boat trip away from Punta Mita, here you can practice snorkeling, scuba diving, and paddle surfing, and visit "Love Beach," a hidden artificial beach only accesible for those willing to get off the boat and swim to reach it. During winter season, a visit to the islands almost certainly guarantees a glimpse of humpback whales rejoicing in the warm waters of Banderas Bay.

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.

Eight kilometers (5 miles) north of Nuevo Vallarta, the substantial town of Bucerías attracts flocks of snowbirds, and this has encouraged the establishment of rental apartments and good restaurants. The surf is usually gentle enough for swimming, and a small shore break is sometimes suitable for body surfing. Beginning surfers occasionally arrive with their longboards. It's Banderas Bay's chosen beach for kite surfing, and hosts the largest national tournament of this sport in May. Backed by a fringe of beautiful coconut palms, the long beach is wide enough that it remains viable even at high tide. There are beautiful views of the arms of blue Banderas Bay to the north and south. The town is divided by an arroyo (dry river bed). On the north side, small shops face the main street, Avenida del Pacífico, while restaurants face the beach; many have tables on the sand. As the bay curves north toward La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, these businesses soon give way to small hotels, condo complexes, and single-family homes. If you have a car, parking is easiest south of the arroyo, where streets off the main beach access road, Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas, dead-end at the beach. From the south end of Bucerías you can walk all the way south to the Nayarit–Jalisco state line, created by the Ameca River. This walk of several hours takes you past the high-rise hotel developments at Flamingos and Nuevo Vallarta. Bucerías beach has been recently certificated by the federal government as a "Clean Beach." Facilities: Food concessions, restrooms, lifeguard, trash bins. Best for: walking; swimming; windsurfing.

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.

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.

Ten minutes north of Sayulita is the town of San Francisco, known to most people by its nickname, San Pancho. Its beach stretches between headlands to the north and south and is accessed at the end of the town's main road, Avenida Tercer Mundo. At the end of this road, on the beach, a couple of casual restaurants have shaded café tables on the sand where locals and visitors congregate. You'll sometimes see men fishing from shore with nets as you walk the 1½-km-long (1-mile-long) stretch of coarse beige sand. There's an undertow that should discourage less-experienced swimmers. A small reef break sometimes generates miniature waves for surfing (especially in September), but this isn't a surf spot. In fact the undertow and the waves, which are too big for family splashing and too small for surfing, have probably helped maintain the town's innocence—until now. Popular with a hip crowd, San Pancho has just a few hotels but a growing number of good restaurants. Facilities: Food concessions, showers, toilets. Best for: surfing; walking; sunset.

The increasingly popular town and beach of Sayulita is about 45 minutes north of PV on Carretera 200, just about 19 km (12 mi) north of Bucerías and 35 km (22 mi) north of the airport. Despite the growth, this small town is still laid-back and retains its surfer-friendly vibe. Fringed in lanky palms, Sayulita's curvaceous beach hugs the small bay. A decent shore break here is good for beginning or novice surfers; the left point break is more challenging. Skiffs on the beach have good rates for surfing or fishing safaris in area waters, and you can rent surfboards and snorkeling gear. Facilities: Fishing, snorkeling, surfing; food concessions, restrooms, showers. Best for: surfing; partiers; 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.

On this crescent of soft, gold sand half a mile long, kids play in the shallow water while their parents float in the calm green water without a care. Cold drinks and so-so food are served at several seafood shacks on the sand. Protected by the Piedra Blanca headland to the north, the beach is at the northernmost edge of the town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. Named for a cross made of superresilient wood (huanacaxtle, which translates to "ear pod," "elephant ear," or "monkey ear tree"), most people simply call the town "La Cruz." What was a rough little fishing village now has a 400-slip private marina aptly named Marina Riviera Nayarit at La Cruz (www.marinarivieranayarit.com). It was launched in 2008 as part of the Riviera Nayarit development plan. Like it or not, homey La Cruz is growing and becoming more sophisticated. Facilities: Beach umbrellas, boating, fishing, inner tubes; food concessions, parking. Best for: walking; sunset.

There's lots to do besides sunbathe at this beach and town 15 minutes south of Boca de Tomatlán. Framed in oak, coconut, and pink-flowering amapa trees, the brown-sand beach is named "The Souls" because pirate graves were reportedly located here many years ago. Along the 1-km-long (½-mi-long) beach are piles of smooth, strange rocks looking an awful lot like petrified elephant poo. Because of its very shallow waters, Las Animas is often referred to as la playa de los niños (children's beach), and it tends to fill up with families on weekends and holidays. They come by water taxi or as part of half- or full-day bay cruises. Five or six seafood eateries line the sand; a few will lend their clients volleyballs to use on sand courts out front. You can also rent Jet Skis, ride a banana boat, or soar up into the sky behind a speedboat while dangling from a colorful parachute. Facilities: Banana-boat rides, boating, Jet Skis, parasailing; food concessions. Best for: swimming; walking; sunset.