Puerto Vallarta and the Central Pacific Coast Travel Guide

Planning a trip to Puerto Vallarta should always include consideration of what kind of atmosphere you’re looking for. February and March mean spring breakers, and May and June mean few tourists at all. Traveling closer to summer usually means lower prices, too, if budget is a concern. The most obvious thing to do around here is to take to the water. Miles of sandy beaches await for swimming and sunbathing along the coast. There are also quite a number of adventure outfits, many of which are eco-friendly, for snorkeling, scuba-diving, fishing, and parasailing excursions. For less-watery activities, visit one of the many art galleries around town, attend the theatre, or go to a club featuring a local band. The Botanical Gardens are also worth a visit for a taste of the local flora, or go even further and hike up into the Sierra Madre. There are plenty of tours to go on for both shorter hikes and longer ones for more practiced hikers. You can also just head out with a backpack. Keep in mind, though, that it’s frequently hard to tell if you’re traipsing through private land, and although this area isn’t known as a dangerous one there’s always a risk of encountering trouble. Make sure you know enough Spanish, get permission whenever possible, and bring plenty of water, and you can find quite an exciting adventure of your own making in the mountains beyond the beach.