Puerto Vallarta surprised me. After growing up in Florida, surrounded by beaches, I don’t tend to find “beach” destinations that exciting. But Puerto Vallarta is so much more than sun and sand. Insanely good food, beautiful architecture, national parks, adventure and relaxation to suit any travel day! With so many options it can be easy to miss out on something fun, so here’s a definitive list with my opinions of each for everything to do in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
1. Chocolate Making
Mexico is the birthplace of chocolate. But you’ll rarely see Mexican chocolate outside of its home territory. Mexico produces around 4% of the world’s supply and almost all of it is consumed within their borders. In my opinion, it’s somehow Mexico’s best kept secret. And Puerto Vallarta is a great place to learn about and experience Mexican chocolate.
There are chocolate making experiences in Puerto Vallarta. I did the one at the Choco Museum and highly recommend it. There, you can try different takes on chocolate through the ages – including the original Mayan warrior drink (sans the blood of your enemies).
2. Taco Tour
This should really be the first thing you do after stepping off of the plane. It’s essentially an upgraded walking tour. You get to know your way around immediately and find a bunch of places you can keep coming back to. I found two places I absolutely fell in love with and would return to for the rest of my trip.
I personally went with Vallarta Food Tours and it was one of the most well-organized tours I’ve ever been on. They even provided paper itineraries so you could remember the addresses and types of food you had at each location. They were also very communicative, answering their email and texts extremely quickly.
3. Marietas Islands National Park/Hidden Beach
So, unfortunately I don’t recommend the Hidden Beach tour. It was kind of a nightmare, and you are truly only there for about 20 minutes. It’s the most expensive tour I saw offered in Puerto Vallarta. I’ll have a full write-up of my experience, but even without the hiccups I just don’t think it’s worth it anyways. The snorkeling isn’t that great in Puerto Vallarta compared to many places in the world. And, it’s quite a journey away (around an hour by speedboat each way). But, if you really like seeing national parks, I do think the islands themselves are gorgeous and the views of the birds were fantastic.
4. Whale Watching – Things to do in Puerto Vallarta
I recommend leaving this kind of tour for near the end of your stay. This is because, if you are in Puerto Vallarta during whale season (normally in the winter) you may just see whales all the time right in the bay. You may not need an expert to help find them. However, some tours offer fun extras, such as microphones that go in the water to hear them, that might still make it worth it. As it was, when my snorkeling tour was cancelled mid-way due to jellyfish, we abruptly pivoted to go whale watching. We got to see a whale leap out of the water, and followed a small family for awhile. I was glad I hadn’t booked a whale watching tour after that, I felt extremely fulfilled.
5. Sayulita and San Pancho
The northern beach towns are fantastic, and you shouldn’t hesitate to visit them. I personally took a tour, but I wouldn’t do that in the future. Both towns are extremely easy to get around on your own, and mini-buses go directly to them. This way, you have your own schedule and you’re not subjected to your 5th unplanned tequila tasting or opal shopping experience. Honestly, I regret not booking to stay a few nights in either Sayulita or San Pancho, I enjoyed my day trip that much.
6. Los Arcos National Park/Mismaloya
This is another one that I think you can skip, to be honest. If you really want to see the islands, check out the bioluminescence tours as I think that is by far the most interesting thing to do at Los Arcos. The snorkeling just isn’t that great. The water is too dark and cloudy to see all that much. The islands themselves are gorgeous, and would be worth finding a beach along the shore to gaze at. It’s fun to take the bus to Mismaloya, but I definitely preferred Sayulita and San Pancho.
7. Tequila Tasting
To be honest, these are almost impossible to avoid! If you don’t know much about tequila or don’t care too much about which brands you try, wait and see on these. You will probably wind up having a tequila tasting included on any other tour you do. But, it is definitely fun to learn how to properly drink tequila and learn about the process.
8. Yelapa – Things to do in Puerto Vallarta
This is such a fun beach town to visit, and you can only visit it by water taxi! No cars! If you like beaches, I found this one to be the best within the vicinity of Puerto Vallarta. Despite there being a fair amount of tourists, the lack of cars keeps things feeling less crowded. It still has a quiet, laid-back appeal. However, it can be a little annoying to get to. The water taxis only run a few times a day in each direction, and it takes around an hour each way. If you miss the taxi home, you’re looking at $200+ to get a private boat back to Puerto Vallarta. You can take tours here, but there’s not much value in them unless you’re worried about missing that last boat!
9. Beach Hopping
Of course, Puerto Vallarta *is* a beach town. To be honest, none of the beaches within Puerto Vallarta itself were terribly impressive to me. But, they are sandy and there are waves. What makes it fun is that it’s relatively easy to spend a day hopping from one beach to the next. There are tours that make everything extremely simple, but you can also just look up “playa” or beaches and scan for ones that sound interesting up and down the coast. Then take buses or Uber to each location on your own schedule. You could start in Mismaloya and watch the pelicans dive for fish and then work your way north.
10. Rhythms of the Night
I‘ll be honest, I haven’t done this. However, I kind of wish I had. Everyone I met who went really enjoyed the experience. It’s a buffet dinner show on an exclusive beach you reach by sunset cruise. It’s definitely more of a “resort” style experience and I didn’t go because I had zero confidence in the meal and it’s quite pricey (around $120). All the same, the price *is* in line with other Cirque-de-Soleil-style shows. If you’re not on a budget (and you skipped the similarly priced Hidden Beach tour as I suggested) you should go. Just bring a sweater for the boat as it can get quite chilly in the winter and spring months!
11. Ziplines and Jungle Walks
While Mexico can’t compare to its much more nature-savvy southern neighbors such as Costa Rica and Panama, there are jungle experiences to be had in Puerto Vallarta. The zipline course runs for 8 stops, which is pretty decent for the average price of around $55-60. There is also a canopy walk which is alright, just don’t expect to see much wildlife. I think this is a great option to get off the beach and have a little adventure.
Just expect the typical crazy photo prices that plague Mexico (around $20 per photo or $90 for a package is apparently…standard o.o). Bring a go-pro or a secure fastener for your phone if you want pictures. I’ve found the go-pro has more than earned its cost if you like having photos of adventure activities!!
Conclusion! Things to do in Puerto Vallarta
And that’s all the things to do in Puerto Vallarta that I recommend! Of course, there is always more to discover – what are your hidden gems?
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