“Houses can form a neighborhood but only people can make it a community."
Bahia de Banderas Map and Description
NORTH SHORE
 1) Punta de Mita - This dramatically pretty peninsula with absolutely exquisite beaches and sweeping views of both the bay and open water has always been a popular weekend escape from Puerto Vallarta. But since the Four Seasons Resort and Jack Nicklaus signature golf course opened a few years ago in the master-planned resort and residential community called Punta Mita, it is also attracting the attention of jet setters and those seeking the good life — many of whom arrive in their own planes. At the northern entrance to Banderas Bay, the 1600-acre very private and exclusive resort offers 9.5 miles of beach front and uninterrupted views. Other prestigious hotels will open here soon, the beach clubs, villas and services par none and just getting better and better as more high-end boutique hotels and residences come on stream. if you are not a guest of Punta Mita or hold a reservation at one of its restaurants you will not be permitted access to the resort itself, security top-notch. Everyone can enjoy the public beach El Anclote, however, a small, typical Mexican fishing village now getting spiffed up as a result of the recent infusion of sophistication and wealth to the area. So there are some really good but still very neat restaurants to eat at, with palapas and lounges on the beach available for your use at no cost if you patronize them. From this beach you can clearly see the nearby Las Marietas islands and arrange sightseeing trips by boat, rent a kayak, catamaran and snorkeling gear, or hire a panga with a guide to take you out whale watching.
25 miles north of the airport. Reached by public bus, private car and taxi . Small boats can be rented at El Anclote.
 2) La Cruz de Huanacaxtle - Now is the time to discover traditional, laid back "La Cruz" with its small shops and restaurants, unpretentious accommodations and burgeoning music scene. The main square overlooking the ocean is a good place to soak it all in, while watching fishermen mend their nets. Little known to foreign tourists until recently, life in this rustic fishing village still meanders at a leisurely manana pace, but the town is in a state of flux. Still small-town Mexico to be sure, it is soon to be energized — or ruined, depending on your perspective — by a world-class marina being built here with slips for 400 boats, a seaside promenade, outdoor theater, condominiums, shops, restaurants and more that will draw international attention. And luxurious residential communities are springing up to cater to the increasing numbers of North Americans who have already discovered it.
Reached by public bus, private car or taxi
Exit the highway two kilometers after the Punta Mita exit- - Don't miss checking out Philo's, a really neat restaurant-bar that doubles as the local community center, offering language classes, great live entertainment and information about everything going on in town.
 3) Bucerías - The closest town of any consequence to Puerto Vallarta, it offers a great opportunity to check out a much smaller Mexican pueblo with a lot less traffic. Draws include what is by far the longest beach on the bay, excellent eateries of all descriptions, including dozens of funky palapa restaurants right on the beach and the home of a French chef, a lively main square, art galleries, an open-air flea market and an old-fashioned festive feel — some of the reasons why the expatriate community is growing in "The Place of the Divers." Known for freshly shucked, giant oysters and other sublime seafood, there's a diversity of cuisines available, vegetarian and gourmet international among them. The shallow shoreline appeals to families, tentative swimmers, and shell collectors, everyone enjoying lots of space to do their thing. And the constant breeze here appeals to everyone. Sundays are busier than usual, folks from Puerto Vallarta and elsewhere spending the day on the beach, enjoying cold beer and fresh shrimp before heading home at dusk.
12 miles north of the airport. Reached by public bus, private car or taxi
Getting your bearings is easy. Hwy 200 cuts through town, but the places of interest — a fabulous bakery a notable exception — are on the ocean side of it, where a handful of streets run parallel to the beach for about two miles.
4) Nuevo Vallarta / Flamingos - One of Mexico's newest and fastest growing areas, hotel occupancy in the planned resort and residential community of "New Vallarta" is amongst the highest in the country. This is where you find the really big deluxe hotels on sprawling oceanfront properties and residential developments in diverse settings: on golf courses, along canals that evoke Florida, beach front, and on flat smooth roads with very little traffic. In contrast to bustling PV proper, this area is super quiet and peaceful, offering luxurious privacy. Recently coming into its own after a rather slow start about 20 years ago, nicely complementing its wide sandy beach stretching as far as the eye can see are a wealth of services and amenities. Lots of good restaurants and bars, three world-class golf courses, a water park, yacht club, marinas, and an air-conditioned mall with over a hundred businesses, a supermarket, health center, cyber cafés and banks among them.
Reached by public bus, private car or taxi
Although the roads are conducive to easy walking the distances between venues can be considerable, the Nuevo Vallarta bus stopping at every hotel and place of interest. The facilities of a few of the all-inclusive hotels are for the use of their guests only.
VALLARTA CENTRAL
 5) Marina Vallarta - Not to be confused with the Marina Terminal where the cruise ships dock and the majority of tours depart from — although that facility is just a few minutes south of here — this 544-acre planned residential and resort development revolves around Mexico's largest marina and a popular 18-hole golf course. Less than two decades old, Marina Vallarta is modern, clean and quiet, its smooth roads and oceanfront boardwalk encouraging strolling, jogging and biking. And this is where fishing, cruise or sailing charters can be arranged. Along with the luxury hotels, condominiums and villas here there are lots of interesting places to browse including shopping centers, jewelry, clothing and assorted other boutiques, and art, furniture and interior design galleries. You will also find incredibly luxurious full-service spas and restaurants and bars of every description. The two-dozen or so eateries on the 355-slip marina itself overlook yachts and mountains, while those on the beach provide intriguing perspectives of downtown PV and the undulating Sierra Madre.
Less than a mile south of the airport. Reached by public bus, private car or taxi.
 6) Hotel Zone - The wide sandy coast stretching south from Marina Vallarta to El Centro is where many hotels and resorts are found, along with shops and restaurants catering to visitors. Residential high-rises and developments recently added to the mix are dramatically altering the skyline here, this area now one big construction site, with three major new housing developments, a new road and plaza, bridges being widened, and the Marine Terminal being expanded. This is where you will find Sam's, Wal-Mart, the recently expanded Plaza Caracol, Gold's Gym, Office Depot, Burger King and more, as well as the most popular Latin dance club here, JB.
Reached by public bus, private car and taxi
7) El Centro - The heart and soul of Puerto Vallarta, this is where the action is, a sensory and cultural feast never to be forgotten. Eclectic and bohemian in feel with world-class offerings, its dining and art scenes are extraordinary, the nightlife abundant, no visit here complete without a stroll and people-watching session on the popular oceanfront Malecon. Dotted with fascinating monumental public art, one side is lined with intriguing shops, restaurants and bars, a gorgeous bay vista on the other. The local color here so rich it's absorbed by osmosis, performances of all stripes take place here every evening, spectacular events frequent at the Los Arcos outdoor amphitheater across from the main plaza — all free of charge. El Centro's narrow cobblestone streets are great fun and can be challenging to navigate, especially those running east to west up the mountainside in the El Cerro and Gringo Gulch neighborhoods — the latter where Liz Taylor and Richard Burton lived. The tiny island at El Centro's south end, the Isla Rio Cuale, offers a flea market, restaurants and shops as well as an interesting museum, an active cultural center, and relaxing green spaces.
Reached by public bus, private car and taxi. Once here you can walk to everything and taxis are readily available. Don't miss checking out the oft-photographed Lady of Guadalupe church with its crown of angels. On Sunday evenings the Malecon is definitely the place to be.  8) Downtown South - Known as Old Town, or the Romantic Zone, the atmospheric Isla Rio Cuale naturally divides downtown, this part south of the island. Vallarta at its funky best, it has swinging bridges, the bay's most popular beach, thriving English-language theater and gay scenes, and what many consider the town's best restaurants, bars and specialty shops. What's especially neat is that this is clearly a real neighborhood, one of PV's oldest. One can see Mexican families going about their day-to-day lives as they always have — women washing clothes in the river while their kids play in it, gas and water trucks announcing their arrival with bells and loudspeakers, and burros hauling goods the same way they did a century ago. The new Malecon extension and pedestrian bridge mean you can walk all the way from the Hotel Rosita to near the south end of Los Muertos along it, a very pleasant stroll indeed. There's a wide range of places to stay, bed and breakfasts, small- to medium-sized hotels and rental apartments and condominiums, long-term rentals common where so many snowbirds roost every winter.
Reached by public bus, private car or taxi. Buses are always circulating but this is a great walking area.
SOUTH SHORE  9) Conchas Chinas - Considered the Beverley Hills of Vallarta, this upscale residential neighborhood has both upper and lower sections, sprawling villas and condos on the mountain offering breathtaking bird's eye views and the grand Old Vallarta-style homes south of the highway right on the beach or with direct access to it. The steep winding roads are an adventure to explore, as are the small sandy beaches, rock grottos and hidden coves where you can hunt for Chinese Shells — the literal translation of Conchas Chinas. Close to town, mere minutes from everything yet a world apart, this is a haven for those looking for peace of mind and a refined lifestyle. Properties tend to be expensive, many of them bought as second homes and rental properties. Hacienda-style architecture with domed cupolas and integrated palapas predominate, built on several levels to optimize the views and the mountainside lots.
Reached by private car, taxi, or by taking a public bus and then walking. Don't miss the chance to take spectacular photos from here of the town, bay and jungle.
 10) Mismaloya - Best known as the setting for the movie that put Puerto Vallarta on the tourist map, director John Huston's "The Night of the Iguana," this is a beautiful small bay framed by tropical rainforest-blanketed mountains. On the beach are lots of rustic palapa restaurants and a large hotel, inland a small village with country-style restaurants and a small hotel that's fun to explore, especially on horseback. Nearby rock outcroppings define the Los Arcos National Marine Park, a super place to snorkel, scuba dive or bird watch — even the whales in Banderas Bay from November through March seem to favor this area. This must be the reason movie director, John Huston, chose Mismaloya for the famous film the set of which is now a landmark restaurant and favorite place for weddings.
11) Boca Tomatlan – From here the coast road turns inland to continue toward Manzanillo. Continuing South on the shore of Banderas Bay, is an area full of coves, small bays, rivers, and secluded, remote beaches accessible only by boat. Here the jungle creeps to the beach, making it a perfect tropical setting.
26 miles from Puerto Vallarta. Reached by public bus, private car, taxi or water taxi caught at the Los Muertos pier. |