Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta sits on the Bahía de Banderas, one of the largest bays in Mexico, with the Sierra Madre dropping into it so steeply that the southern coast has villages reachable only by boat. The old town, the Zona Romántica, keeps cobbled streets, tiled roofs and the crown-topped church tower that is the town's emblem, along with a seafront malecón lined with bronze sculptures. It has been an established gay destination for decades and is comfortable with it. Water taxis run south to Yelapa and Las Ánimas, small beach villages with no road access, and in winter humpback whales come into the bay to breed, sometimes visible from the shore. Behind the town the jungle rises fast into coffee country and river canyons.

History

Archaeological finds suggest people have lived here continuously since about 580 BC. The first official Spanish expedition, led by Francisco Cortés de San Buenaventura, a nephew of Hernán Cortés, entered the valley in 1524, and by tradition the bay's name, Bahía de Banderas or Bay of Flags, comes from the banners his soldiers carried. The town's official founding story dates it to 12 December 1851, when Guadalupe Sánchez Torres and his family settled here and called the place Las Peñas de Santa María de Guadalupe; it grew in the 1860s as the mouth of the Cuale became a supply point for the Unión en Cuale company, and by 1885 had about 250 homes and 800 people. It is named after Ignacio Vallarta, a former governor of Jalisco, and the El Salado wharf, opened on 1 June 1970, made it Jalisco's first harbour town (Wikipedia, Puerto Vallarta).

What's there

• The Zona Romántica - cobbled old town, the church tower and the malecón sculptures.
• Yelapa and Las Ánimas - roadless beach villages reached by water taxi.
• Humpback whales - breeding in the bay from December to March.
• The Sierra Madre - jungle rivers and canyons immediately behind the town.

When to go

November to April is the dry season and the reason for the high season; summer is hot, humid and wet, with the hurricane season from June into October, though the bay is fairly sheltered. Whales are in the bay from about December to March.

Practical notes

The hotel zone north of the old town is a wall of resorts and the airport road is charmless; the Zona Romántica is where the character is. Timeshare touts at the airport and on the malecón are aggressive and practised. Beach vendors are constant. Summer humidity is heavy and afternoon storms are the norm.

Nearby

Sayulita and San Pancho are up the coast in Nayarit; the Marietas islands are a boat trip out.