Puerto Vallarta is synonymous with fun! Visitors can choose from an abundance of activities, from excursions to secluded beaches, floating parties, scuba diving expeditions and romantic dinner cruises to hiking, biking, eco-tours, swimming with dolphins, whale watching and 4-wheeling. How about parachute rides over Banderas Bay or a quick plane ride to a mountain village for lunch? Puerto Vallarta is also known as an artists' mecca with its world-class galleries and organized evening art walks. There is always something exciting happening in this lovely tropical city.
39 Vallarta Essentials: You cannot visit Paris, no matter how brief a stay, and miss the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre, or spend any time in San Francisco without succumbing to the temptation of crossing its majestic Golden Gate Bridge. Each popular world destination has its very own list of must-see/must-do items and Puerto Vallarta is no exception.
Top Ten Puerto Vallarta Landmarks You Wouldn’t Want to Miss: It’s easy to discover Puerto Vallarta’s most important landmarks in a single day.
North Shore Loop: Not too long ago, travel guides and websites referred to Puerto Vallarta as a small village. And while certain neighborhoods in town can still rightly claim a certain “pueblito” feel, you may have to leave our fair city to truly experience one.
Discovering Off-Malecon in Vallarta: Every city has its hidden corners, its unseen treasures. While sculpture is featured on the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta, those who know the city suggest that you not stop there. In fact, some of the more interesting corners are off the main drag. This piece focuses on Vallarta’s off -Malecon sculptures, as well as tidbits and stories related to them.
The Unique Neighborhoods In and Around Banderas Bay: It’s impossible to paint all of Banderas Bay with the same brush, so to help you get a taste of the different neighborhoods around the bay (“colonias” in Spanish), we’ve created this handy list of some of the most popular.
South Shore Loop: Puerto Vallarta’s southern thruway will gradually shift your surroundings from palms to pines in less than an hour.
Surfing: For decades, surfers of all ages have flocked to Mexico’s Pacific coast, long considered to be a destination of choice, in order to benefit from its more than 1,500 miles of beaches, points and reefs. Well-known surf spots from the northern state of Sinaloa all the way down to Oaxaca are awaiting exploration year round.
Casa de Mita: The short drive north from Puerto Vallarta transports you from urban jungle to a unique property exuding innovative design features and secluded luxury.
Bicentennial of Mexican Independence and Centennial of Mexican Revolution: Commemorating two hundred years since the outbreak of the Creole revolution against Spanish rule and one hundred years since the beginning of the Mexican Revolution, Mexico is celebrating the Bicentenario de la Independencia de Mexico y Centenario de la Revolucion Mexicana throughout 2010.
Cajón de Peña: Day-to-day life was largely uneventful in the small town of Santiago in the municipality of Tomatlan back in the early 1970s. That was until progress required its inhabitants to relocate to make way for a new freshwater reservoir named Cajon de Peña.
Petroglyphs in the Region: These stone carvings were a means of communication between indigenous communities and their gods, a physical manifestation of the rites performed to ask for more rain and a better harvest.
La Malagua Inaugurates Isla Rio Cuale Exhibit: During the second Festival Cultural Cuale in January 2010, artist collective La Malagua inaugurated their long-awaited project along Isla Rio Cuale.
International Surfers To Compete In 1st Annual Punta Sayulita Longboard & Stand-Up Paddle Classic: The 1st Annual Punta Sayulita Longboard & Stand-Up Paddle Classic (“the Classic”) is set to take place on April 17-18 in beautiful Sayulita, Mexico.
Ecotours de México: Our great team of expert biologists will lead you through the marvelous humpback world in our specially designed boat for whale watching.
Charter Dreams “Turns Dreams into Memories”: Sport fishing, sailing, snorkeling and cruising charters.
Three Beach Towns in Cabo Corrientes: Long unreachable by land due to unpredictable dirt roads, particularly during summer’s rainy months, the towns of Villa del Mar, Tehuamixtle and Mayto in the municipality of Cabo Corrientes, south of Puerto Vallarta, have been popular among beach and sun worshippers and camping enthusiasts due to their rustic appeal.
Sculpting With Gum: Thomas Adams may have commercialized chewing gum as we know it in 1871, but gum, or chicle, as it is known in Spanish, can be traced back to Aztec times, where it was used as a teeth-cleaning method.
José Luis González: Every day, José Luis González goes to the beach by the Malecon to work on his sand sculptures, as he has done every year since the winter of 2005, when he first visited Puerto Vallarta during a trip with a friend.
Puerto Vallarta as Canvas: More than two years ago, an art project was undertaken in Puerto Vallarta that uses the city’s vacant public spaces as its canvas and concepts from the controversial graffiti art movement as its tools.
Jack Nicklaus Inaugurates Second Signature Golf Course in Punta Mita: A large, enthusiastic crowd of golf lovers gathered on November 16 to watch Jack Nicklaus inaugurate his second golf course in the Punta Mita resort community, located 28 miles north of Puerto Vallarta.
