Top 5 rea­sons Puerto Val­larta loy­al­ists keep com­ing back

1. Beaches:

PV’s beaches are hubs of activ­ity for every­thing from para­sail­ing to get­ting a henna tat­too under your palapa. There are no pri­vate hotel beaches because, under Mexico’s con­sti­tu­tion, all Mex­i­cans are guar­an­teed the right to free beach access.

The beaches get bet­ter the fur­ther North or South you wan­der. The North Shore of Puerto Val­larta is a penin­sula called Punta de Mita which fea­ture some of the most exquis­ite and diverse beaches in Mex­ico with a suc­cu­lent array of sandy coves between majes­tic cliffs with long gor­geous stretches in-between.

The super deluxe high end mar­ket is easy to explore at this web­site spe­cial­ized for the Punta de Mita penin­sula:  http://puntademita-realestate.com

The Four Sea­sons and St. Regis, Punta Mita Resort is the new stan­dard bearer and most of the devel­op­ment in the area is zoned for exclu­sive low den­sity and high end all the way.

This means the best pro­tected beaches inside the Bay of Ban­deras won’t be spoiled by overzeal­ous Mex­i­can devel­op­ers who build thou­sands of time­share hotel rooms  to churn and burn.

Beaches past La Cruz de Hua­nacax­tle, like El Banco, Pon­toque, Los Ven­eros and El Anclote are amaz­ing fam­ily friendly clean azure waters that you will surely savour.

On the South shore of Puerto Val­larta, the jun­gle truly meets the sea. There are only small “secret” roads that access the beaches past Mis­maloya and Boca de Tomat­lan. From here you will need a water taxi to Playa Cab­balo with the swoon­ing giant palms and per­fect sand.

The only left surf break in the bay is at Quim­ixto, Las Cale­tas hosts Val­larta Adven­tures events, Maja­juas is a sweey lit­tle hotel spot and the famous Yelapa is known for the chic hip­ster trav­eler who is into dress down tourism with­out slum­ming —  at Ver­ana: http://www.verana.com

2. Moun­tains:

The Sierra Madre moun­tains that hug Puerto Val­larta and ring the Bay of Ban­deras glow with ver­dat green around the city year-round and are a con­stant fix­ture in your view. It is a not-so-subtle reminder of jsut how gor­geous this place is.

Take a day trip to the  eas­ily acces­si­ble hills by rental car, Jeep or van.

What lies along the bumpy roads are quaint moun­tain vil­lages where life slowly car­ries on far from the pulse of its urban neigh­bour. Tours of all types are avail­able, includ­ing jun­gle tours with stops along the way at a typ­i­cal moun­tain home to watch the matri­arch of the fam­ily make tor­tillas and end­ing the day with a swim in the ocean and a lunch at Las Caletas.

You can also take Val­larta Adven­tures tours into the moun­tains by mas­sive jun­gle truck on the Sierra Madre Expe­di­tion
http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/tours/sierra-madre-expeditions

Or take a quick flight on a Cessna up to the quaint moun­tain vil­lage of San Sebas­t­ian del Oeste
http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/tours/san-sebastian

Or explore the moun­tain jun­gles via the exhil­a­rat­ing canopy adven­ture park
http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/tours/canopy-adventure-park

3. Tequila:

You could sam­ple tequila at any num­ber of shops in Old Town, but for a more authen­tic treat take a city bus to the town of Mis­maloya, a 30-minute ride from the city.

As you enter the dusty road into town, you’ll notice a brick build­ing with a mural of a woman on– its side. Mama Lucia’s is a small family-run tequila mill where the pale amber liquor is made by hand.

Free tours are con­ducted on a reg­u­lar basis (except on Sun­days) and you’ll learn how tequila is made from the spiky agave plant right through to the dis­til­la­tion process.

Mama Lucia’s makes and sells tra­di­tional tequila as well as orange, almond, choco­late and cof­fee flavoured tequila-based liqueurs in the accom­pa­ny­ing gift shop.

That brand is not avail­able any­where else.

Click here to read more about the Mama Lucia tequila distillery

4. Cul­ture:

Unlike some tourist des­ti­na­tions in Mex­ico, Puerto Val­larta is not a planned resort town, says Veron­ica Rivas of the Mex­ico Tourism Board.

Mex­i­cans live, work, play, and go about their daily lives, right along­side the tourists.

“It’s dif­fer­ent, Rivas says, “because you really have a sense of Old Mex­ico. You don’t feel you’re in a huge city. It’s more than just stay­ing at a resort, you meet the real people.”

For a taste of Mex­i­can cul­ture and his­tory, set out on a unique cock­tail sun­set cruise. This one has the dis­tinc­tion of an adven­tur­ous trop­i­cal destination.

After a two-hour boat ride, dis­em­bark in the dark in Los Cale­tas, a dreamy beach des­ti­na­tion by day.

Torches light the way along the trail where you’ll be seated for a din­ner of Mex­i­can cui­sine by candlelight.

After din­ner, you’ll be led to a lushly treed, open-air the­atre and the show begins. Fire, drum­ming and mod­ern dance tell the story of Mex­i­can Aztec war­riors and ancient cul­tures and customs.

The trop­i­cal set­ting draws you into the story of ancient Mex­i­can civilization.

On the boat ride home, a rol­lick­ing party atmos­phere breaks out and everybody’s danc­ing and, yes, drink­ing more.

5. Art:

Art per­me­ates Puerto Val­larta, from its con­tem­po­rary sculp­tures by local artists along the Male­con to dozens of gal­leries around town, offer­ing tra­di­tional to ultra-contemporary works.

In its 12th year, the Old Tow– Art Walk is held Wednes­day nights from Octo­ber to May.

With more gal­leries than any other Mex­i­can coastal city, this tour runs from 6 to 10 p.m.

Peruse the sculp­tures, paint­ings and bead work while enjoy­ing cock­tails and meet­ing some of the artists. (pvscene.com)

Puerto Val­larta Art Walk
http://www.vallartaartwalk.com/

Par­tic­i­pate in the Art Walk
http://www.virtualvallarta.com/puertovallarta/read/readartandgalleries/lets-go-on-a-downtown-art.shtml