Puerto Vallarta - the home of Tequila and Mariachi travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

By reputation the second of Mexico’s beach resorts, Puerto Vallarta is smaller, quieter and younger than Acapulco. It lies in the middle of the 22-kilometers wide Bahia de Banderas (the Bay of Flags), the seventh largest bay in the world, fringed by endless sandy beaches and backed by the jungly slopes of the Sierra Madre. Once but a tiny fishing village, Puerto Vallarta is now a world class resort that has retained all of the quaint charms of the original village yet embodies all of the characteristics you’ve come to expect in a modern resort.

Puerto Vallarta is one of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations - equally popular with both national and international visitors. Puerto Vallarta has been consistently voted by Conde Nast readers as one their top ten favorite international destinations for years. Puerto Vallarta really is the destination where Mexico comes to life, and there’s a little something here for everyone! Dozens of restaurants feature cuisine from around the globe. It’s a shopper’s paradise with traditional market stalls as well as designer boutiques, fine art galleries and handicrafts from every corner of Mexico. With several different environments close together, Ocean, Beach, Jungle and Mountains, there are many tours and excursions available in Vallarta. Vallarta offers championship golf, tennis tournaments, mountain biking, hot air ballooning and more for the active traveler! Where ever you are, there are tours for you on the water, the beach or land. Day trips range from a flight to a mountain silver mining village to a cruise to the island preserve of many endangered species, from booze cruises to dolphin and whale watching, canopy zip line tours, scuba diving and snorkeling, fishing, bay cruises, hiking, sailing and horseback riding.