What to See
7 highlights📍 Tap the pin for directions
The Malecón
Puerto Vallarta's oceanfront boardwalk running along the bay through downtown, lined with bronze sculptures, open-air bars, and restaurants. Lively day and night, and the best place to watch the sunset over Banderas Bay. Street performers and live music are common in the evenings.
Zona Romántica (Old Town)
Cobblestone streets, colorful colonial-era buildings, and PV's best concentration of independent restaurants, galleries, and bars. Also the heart of the city's large and welcoming LGBTQ+ scene — one of the most established in Latin America. Wander without a fixed plan; the neighborhood rewards it.
Los Muertos Beach
The most popular in-town beach, at the foot of the Zona Romántica, with beach clubs, water sports, and a lively pier. Not the quietest option, but the most convenient and social — a good default beach day.
Whale Watching
Humpback whales migrate to Banderas Bay to breed and calve from roughly December through March, and PV is one of the best and most accessible places in Mexico to see them. Boat tours (look for ones following responsible-distance guidelines) run daily during the season — sightings are close to guaranteed in peak months.
Yelapa
A small, mostly car-free fishing village reachable only by boat, about 45 minutes south along the coast. Jungle-backed beach, a waterfall hike inland, and a noticeably slower pace than PV itself. Water taxis leave from the Los Muertos pier — an easy half or full-day escape.
Vallarta Botanical Gardens
About 30 minutes south of downtown in the jungle foothills — orchid collections, a river swimming spot, and a restaurant with a view over the tree canopy. A calm, green counterpoint to the beach and boardwalk scene.
ATV Riding in the Jungle & Mountains
The hills above Puerto Vallarta are dense jungle and rugged dirt roads, and riding them by ATV is one of the best active half-days in the area — river crossings, mountain viewpoints, and stops at small rural villages along the way. Estigo Tours is a well-regarded local operator worth booking directly for this — good equipment, experienced guides, and small enough groups that it doesn't feel like a tour-bus experience.