Five neighborhoods, twelve things worth doing, nine places worth eating, and the field notes we keep from twelve years of living here. Updated weekly.
Where to start
N° 01
Neighborhoods
Where you'd wake up. Amapas on the hill, Zona Romántica at street level, Centro across the bridge.
Jump →N° 02
Things to do
Whale season, Yelapa by boat, the river hike, the mezcal room that fits twelve. Honest picks from twelve years here.
Jump →N° 03
Where to eat
One birria stand with six plastic chairs. Two tasting menus worth the trip. A coffee bar we go to on Tuesdays.
Jump →The neighborhoods
N° 01
The quiet hillside above the Romantic Zone.
Home to Casa Mirador
Read →N° 02
The city's living room — beach, malecón, cobblestone.
Home to Casa Vista
Read →N° 03
Where the city runs out of road. Tidal pools, private coves.
20-min coastal walk from both homes
Read →N° 04
The old city — cathedral, plaza, market, river.
15-min walk across the bridge
Read →N° 05
Big boats, long walks, the best tasting menu.
20-min cab north
Read →Things to do
We’ve lived here twelve years. These are the things we recommend to friends — nothing from a guidebook, nothing that stopped being good in 2014.
N° 01 · Water
Dec–Mar
Humpbacks come into Banderas Bay to calve and mate from mid-December to late March. A morning boat out of the Marina gets you within respectful distance. Book Wildlife Connection or Ocean Friendly — both are biologist-led and keep the mandated 80m.
N° 02 · Walk
Any evening
A mile-long seawall from the Rio Cuale to the cruise pier. Open-air bronze sculpture, street musicians, the best people-watching in Mexico. If you do one thing, do this at 5:30pm. It is free and it is the point.
N° 03 · Day trip
Year-round
A small fishing village only reachable by water, 45 minutes south across the bay. White-sand beach, a palm-fringed river you can swim up to a waterfall, and a fish shack that will grill you the snapper you pick. Leave at 10am, back by sunset.
N° 04 · Market
Daily
The old island market in the middle of the river. Silver, woven textiles, paintings, ceramics. Mostly touristy — but the jewelry at La Reja and the Huichol beadwork upstairs are the real thing. Bring cash. Bargain gently.
N° 05 · Food
Any day
Mexico Cooks (Adrián's kitchen) and the Vallarta Eats day market class are both run by people who cook for locals. You make three courses, you eat them, you take the recipes home. The single best way to understand Jalisco food.
N° 06 · Nature
Cool months
From the bridge in Centro, a trail follows the river upstream into the Sierra — swimming holes, small waterfalls, iguanas sunning on the rocks. Go early, bring water, wear shoes you don't mind getting wet. Four hours round-trip if you go all the way to the second falls.
N° 07 · Beach
Afternoon
Half an hour south by bus. Where Huston filmed Night of the Iguana with Burton in 1963. Snorkel out to Los Arcos marine preserve, eat ceviche from a beach palapa, watch the divers. Come back on the last bus at 8.
N° 08 · Food
Evening
La Cristalera on Basilio Badillo has seventy mezcales, an owner who will talk you through the agave regions, and a room that fits twelve. Go at 7pm. Order the Oaxaca flight. Stay for the second.
N° 09 · Water
Full day
A private 28-foot boat from Paradise Village with captain, snorkel gear, and a cooler of beer is about $450 for six people. You stop at Los Arcos, run down to Quimixto for ceviche at a beachfront shack, swim, come back at sunset. We know two captains; ask us.
N° 10 · Nightlife
All year
The Romantic Zone — specifically Olas Altas, Lázaro Cárdenas, and Amapas — is the biggest LGBTQ+ destination in Latin America. Mantamar beach club on the sand, Paco's Ranch and CC Slaughters for dancing, Blondies for a cocktail that costs too much but tastes right.
N° 11 · Day trip
Nov–Apr
A surf town full of beginner waves, fish tacos, and colored prayer flags. Take a public bus from Walmart for $4. Rent a board for $20, have lunch at La Rustica, walk to Playa de los Muertos. Bus back by 6. Don't try to do Sayulita as an overnight the first time.
N° 12 · Nature
Morning
Twenty minutes south, uphill, in the jungle above the coast. Endemic orchids, Mexican oaks, a river you can swim in. The restaurant at the top is better than it needs to be. Bring binoculars for the birds.
Where to eat
Nine places that survived our last five years. Nothing sponsored, nothing recycled from a magazine, honest prices and honest hours.
N° 01 · Street
Centro
Our regular
Birria · tacos
One room, six plastic chairs, the best birria we've eaten in four countries. Ask for the consomé on the side and the tortilla quesabirria. Cash only. Closes when the meat is gone.
N° 02 · Sit-down
Centro
Mexican · regional
Mexican home cooking done seriously — chiles en nogada in season, cochinita pibil any time, a tres leches that will redefine the dessert for you. Reservations strongly recommended. A date-night staple.
N° 03 · Sit-down
Marina
Coastal · tasting menu
The best tasting menu within four hours of Vallarta. Joel Ornelas sources from Nayarit and the local co-op fishers. Go with an open mind and three hours to spare.
N° 04 · Sit-down
Zona Romántica
Seafood · beach
On the sand, umbrellas, white plates, grilled octopus you will talk about next week. Go at 4pm, order the catch of the day, stay for the sunset. Not cheap, not unreasonable.
N° 05 · Street
Zona Romántica
Our regular
Shrimp tacos
Breaded shrimp taco, the kind Vallarta invented. Plastic chairs on Naranjo. Order three, they are small. Add the green salsa, not the red.
N° 06 · Cafe
Olas Altas
Breakfast · Austrian-Mex
Best breakfast in the Romantic Zone, run by an Austrian man who has been here longer than you. Sidewalk tables. Eggs benedict, a very serious espresso, a pastry case you'll keep looking at.
N° 07 · Street
Zona Romántica
Our regular
Al pastor
There will be a line. Wait in it. The pastor off the trompo is the point. Four tacos, pineapple on top, a Jarritos, no more than $10. If there's a rainstorm and the line clears, eat immediately.
N° 08 · Sit-down
Hotel Zone
Modern Mexican · tasting
The white-on-white Nacho Cadena room. More theatrical than Tintoque, equally serious. The nine-course tasting has held up across twelve years. A meal you book flights around.
N° 09 · Cafe
Zona Romántica
Our regular
Coffee · pastries
The coffee shop on Basilio Badillo we actually go to. Beans from Chiapas, a barista who cares, the pan de muerto in October. Eight seats. Go at 8am before it fills.
From the journal
Neighborhoods · 6 min
The quiet side of the Romantic Zone — cobblestone, bougainvillea, and the whole bay at golden hour.
Neighborhoods · 5 min
The city's living room — taco counters, rooftop bars, a malecón that is always mid-festival.
Neighborhoods · 4 min
Where the city runs out of road. Tidal pools, cliffside houses, and the best walk in Puerto Vallarta.
Neighborhoods · 5 min
The old city. The cathedral. The river. Where locals still live and mariachi bands warm up.