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In some beach vacation areas you’ve got one strip and that’s it, so choosing your location isn’t all that important. Puerto Vallarta, the popular Pacific Coast sun and fun getaway spot in Mexico, is a whole different animal. Visitors walk out of the buzzing airport here and fan out to multiple sections of this region, from Punta Mita many miles to the north (in Nayarit state) down to Mismaloya to the south. In between you’ve got a whole string of beaches and a downtown, all very different in character and appeal.
Secrets Puerto Vallarta
Here’s the lowdown on the appeal of each part of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, as well as some top hotels to consider in each place.
Puerto Vallarta Center Hotels
If you’re more into strolling, shopping, nightlife, and restaurants than you are into sitting on a beach, head downtown. This is where you’ll find many of the top places to eat and drink, the lovely cathedral, and the attractive malecon filled with sculptures. Even in you stay elsewhere, come here for a day at least. If you’re staying at a hotel with no beach, you can still get a day pass at one of the beach clubs like Mantamar. (Some are gay, some are straight or for both.)
Or in front of beachfront Playa Los Arcos Hotel near the pier, two of you can just hang out using the beach chairs all day if you order at least 400 or 500 pesos worth of food and drink, the equivalent of $30 or less. That’s not hard if you’re hungry or thirsty. So you could stay at one of the boutique hotels listed below and just spend the day on the public beach when you want to be close to the water.
Top boutique hotel choices: Hacienda San Angel (see a detailed review here) or the newer Casa Kimberly (see the review)
Top resort/all-inclusive hotel choice: Villa Premiere Boutique Hotel
Puerto Vallarta Beach Area Hotels
Heading north from the center toward the airport, there’s a string of probably 30 hotels before getting to the marina. Villa Premiere (see a link to our review above) is close enough to still walk downtown and we did that twice when we stayed there. But most of the others will require a taxi ride to get to the center.
The Banderas Bay water in this area is not as clear as when you get further away from the center, especially during rainy season, and beaches are inconsistent, so pay attention to online reviews before choosing. There are a few big chain hotels like the Sheraton and a lot of small independent ones or low-end Mexican chain resorts, none of them very memorable until you get to Secrets.
Top hotel choice: Secrets Puerto Vallarta all-inclusive pictured above. This once had a Now Amber on one side, but that’s been downgraded to a Dreams. Secrets is adults-only, the other is geared to families on vacation. (See a detailed review here).
Puerto Vallarta Marina Area Resorts
Just past where the cruise ships, fishing boats, and sightseeing boats dock is a section of land with a strip of beach, several hotels, condos, and a golf course. This is an area where you can actually go for a walk or run: much of it is residential around the course and there are commercial stores and some great restaurants around the Marina.
There’s a Marriott here, a Westin with the best swimming pool complex in Puerto Vallarta, and two great Velas all-inclusive properties we’ve reviewed in detail. See our Marina Marriott review here and then picture yourself here as the sun goes down…
If you want a nice all-inclusive property though, check out Velas Vallarta a bit further down on the beach. Or go classy with a stay at adults-only all-inclusive Casa Velas that faces the golf course.
Top resort choices: Velas Vallarta and Casa Velas
By the way, the airport is near this area and if you just need a place to stay in Puerto Vallarta proper before you head out, there are two IHG properties that are just across the street from the airport rental car entrance. As in you could walk to the airport and some of the rental car offices if you’re not too loaded down. There’s a Holiday Inn with a huge pool and a Holiday Inn Express. I have stayed in both more than once.
Mismaloya Hotels
There’s a specific spot called Mismaloya, but for the purposes of this list consider it the area south of Puerto Vallarta’s center, heading toward the big Los Arcos of Mismaloya rocks sticking out of the water. These are mostly self-contained resorts meant for people who don’t plan to be out and about very often: they’re not convenient for zipping in and out of town since access is on a hilly two-lane road.
The water is gorgeous here though and the views are more dramatic. There are a few chain resorts like Hilton, Hyatt Ziva, and Barcelo, as well as some smaller hotels and condo buildings scattered along the coast. The best luxury options though are pictured above, these two:
Top resort choices: Hotel Mousai and Garza Blanca (located together)
Nuevo Vallarta
Sometimes called Riviera Nayarit, Nuevo Nayarit (which doesn’t make any sense), or just “the beaches north of the airport,” this part of the coast has some of the whitest sand and clearest water in the immediate area and is loaded with huge all-inclusive hotels. These range from the low-end ones filled with high school groups and budget vacationers to ones for those who think nothing of dropping $1,500 a night to relax in their private whirlpool facing the water.
If you’re looking for the prototypical beach getaway experience you’d find in any major resort area, this is your place. There are a lot of timeshare resorts along here too, plus locally-owned condos where you may be able to get a weekly rental with a kitchen.
Just understand that this is not Puerto Vallarta, even though you’re flying into that airport. This is in a different state of Nayarit instead of Jalisco, so although everything bleeds together, it’s on the other side of a state border.
Top resorts: Grand Velas for luxury (review here), Hard Rock Vallarta for partying.
Punta de Mita Hotels
If you’re part of the elite 1% or just have something big to celebrate, then head 40 minutes or so north to the planned Punta Mita development on its own peninsula. Nestled among the two PGA golf courses and mansions costing millions are two premier resorts—Four Seasons and St. Regis—that pour on the pampering. The town of Punta de Mita has a few small hotels, but those two are the only resorts inside the gate at the time of writing.
The W Hotel Punta de Mita is on the way there though, on a lovely stretch of coast, and is a fun and stylish party place. A new Conrad Punta de Mita by Hilton has opened up in the same general area past the Peninsula, an Auberge resort opened up a resort recently near the W. On the other side of that peninsula before the Conrad is one of our favorite boutique all-inclusive hotels that we’ve stayed at a few times: Casita Mia de Mita.
The beaches in this area tend to be nicer than the ones closer to Puerto Vallarta and the water is clearer. There are also some good beaches for surfing around the Punta de Mita Peninsula. You tend to get a high-level, well-trained staff at these high-end resorts.
Top resorts: Four Seasons Punta Mita and St. Regis Punta Mita (See detailed reviews here and here)
If you head north from there, it’s a wilder coast with jungles and secluded beaches, with luxury boutique hotels like Imanta. A One&Only resort is about an hour and a half north of the airport, without much else around. If you want a more authentic vibe, head to Sayulita or San Francisco (San Pancho) and to truly get away from it all, check out hidden Punta Monterrey.
At Sayulita you’re at least an hour from the airport, depending on traffic, and further still from Puerto Vallarta itself, so most people who head up to this area are experienced travelers coming back for their third or fourth time. Or they loved it so much they decided to stay!
This is just a quick overview of what’s available, so if you like it, maybe explore a different area the next time, There’s also a whole host of interesting, secluded places to stay in the Costalegre region that stretches a couple of hours south of Puerto Vallarta. Las Alamandas is the top luxury resort there, but a Four Seasons just opened next to the El Tamarindo golf course.
See more reviews here of the best luxury hotels and resorts in Puerto Vallarta. Get info on things to do in this Best of Puerto Vallarta story or at Visit Puerto Vallarta.
Article and photos by editor Tim Leffel, who has been to the region at least 10 times on travel writing assignments, for conferences, and for family vacations. Over the years he has been hosted at some of the hotels mentioned here.
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