134 Best Sights in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Playa los Ayala has a level beach, mild surf, and an excellent view of Isla del Coral, to which glass-bottom boats ferry passengers for about $9 (100 pesos) per person. There are small hotels and plenty of seaside palapas for shade and basic sustenance. On weekends, holidays, and in high season take a ride on a banana boat; most any time you can find a skiff owner to take you to Playa Frideritas or Playa del Toro, two pretty beaches for bathing that lie around the headland to the south and are accessible only by boat. You can walk, however, over the hill at the south end of the beach to a seafood restaurant on a small scallop of beach called Playa Frideras. Facilities: Banana-boat rides, boating; food concessions. Best for: swimming; walking.

Thirty-eight kilometers (23 miles) down a passable road from El Tuito, this gorgeous beach is several miles long, embraced on either end by a rocky point. The sand is grainy but clean and slopes down to meet the rough to semirough surf. Despite the slope of the beach, this is a great place for a long walk or shore fishing. In late summer and fall there's a turtle camp where volunteers protect the eggs of the black and olive Ridley turtles that nest here. The Hotel de Mayto has rooms at modest prices and offers massage; next door, the friendly folks of El Rinconcito have a small store and a few rooms to rent as well as four-wheelers and horses (200 pesos per hour for either). Facilities: ATVs, horseback riding, kayaking; food concessions, camping. Best for: solitude; walking; sunset.

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.

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.

On 20 acres of land 19 km (12 miles) south of town, the Puerto Vallarta Botanical Gardens features more than 3,000 species of plants. Set within the tropical dry forest at 1,300 feet above sea level, its trails lead to a stream where you can swim. You can also see palm, agave, and rose gardens; a tree fern grotto; an orchid house; and displays of Mexican wildflowers and carnivorous plants. There is free parking and a free guided tour daily at 1 pm, from December through Easter. The lovely, open-sided Hacienda de Oro restaurant serves an array of starters as well as pizza and Mexican dishes. Beverages include wine and a full bar. Visit the website to arrange a four-hour birding (via ATV) or hiking tour with lunch, for $85 per person. A taxi here will cost about $20, but for less than a dollar, you can take the "El Tuito" bus from the corner of Aguacate and Venustiano Carranza streets. Slather on insect repellent before you go, and take some with you. This is the jungle, and jejenes (no-see-ums), mosquitoes, and other biting bugs will definitely attack.

Between the sandy stretches of Las Ánimas and Majahuitas, and about 20 minutes by boat from Boca de Tomatlán, Quimixto has a narrow, rocky shoreline that attracts few bathers. Tour boats stop here, and their clients usually have a meal at one of the seafood eateries facing the beach. Horses by the dozens are standing by to take passengers to Quimixto Falls (about $13 round-trip). It's only slightly longer than the 25-minute ride to walk there. You can bathe at the base of the energetic falls; the pool is enclosed by sheer rock walls. Be careful of the current during the rainy season, when the water crashing into the pool tends to push swimmers toward the rock walls. Before proceeding to the falls, have a cool drink at the casual restaurant; consuming something is obligatory to gain access. During stormy weather or a full moon there's a fun, fast wave at Quimixto's reef, popular with surfers but, because of its inaccessibility, rarely crowded. Facilities: Horseback riding, surfing; food concessions, toilets. Best for: surfing; walking.

A little over a mile north of Los Ayala along the highway, Guayabitos bustles with legions of Mexican families on weekends and holidays; foreigners take up residence during the winter months. The main street, Avenida Nuevo Sol, has modest hotels, inexpensive restaurants, and scores of shops that all seem to sell the same cheap bathing suits and plastic beach toys. One block closer to the sea are more hotels along with some vacation homes right on the sand. Colorfully painted stands on the beach sell fresh chilled fruit and coconuts; others serve up fresh grilled fish on the cheap. This lovely beach bounded by headlands and the ocean is tranquil and perfectly suited for swimming. You can also arrange turtle and whale-watching excursions as well as boat rides to explore the coast or to Isla del Coral, just offshore. The boatmen who ferry passengers for a few hours' sunbathing on Isla del Coral may fail to mention that the restaurant there opens only in high season. Although there's usually a lady or two on the sand selling ceviche, bring a picnic lunch just in case. Facilities: Boating, fishing, snorkeling; food concessions. Best for: swimming; snorkeling; walking.

Just over 2 km (1 mile) from Mayto, Tehuamixtle is a sheltered cove with a few basic rooms to rent. The area is known for its oysters, which you can sample fresh from the sea at an open-air restaurant facing the fishing fleet. The surf here is very gentle and lacks currents, making it popular with local children. The pristine beach invites snorkeling and diving (bring your own equipment). Fishing boats bob at one end, below the restaurant; from here, the beach curves along in a sandy brown arch to a large green headland at the other end of the cove. Tehua, as locals call it, is about the same size as Mayto: 100 people. This fishing village has only had electricity since the turn of the 21st century. There's a beach road that connects Tehua with Cruz de Loreto, about 1½ hours to the south; otherwise go out through El Tuito. Facilities: Fishing; food concessions. Best for: swimming; surfing.

On the nine-hour Tequila Express train ride, blue agave fields zip by as you sip tequila and listen to roving mariachis. After a distillery tour, there's lunch, folk dancing, and charro (cowboy) demonstrations. Make reservations up to a month ahead; from outside Mexico you'll need to use Ticketmaster, which adds an 8% surcharge.

Four kilometers (2½ mi) beyond Tehuamixtle, Villa del Mar is a beautiful virgin beach on a broad sweep of bay. Several miles long, flat and sandy, it's great for long walks; turtles nest here in late summer and fall. At the south end of the beach, a huge estuary surrounded by coconut palms invites kayaking. The sandy streets in and around town and the beach are great for mountain biking, and local people will rent horses for a ride on the beach or into the countryside. Facilities: Horseback riding.