Town Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco Municipality of Cabo Corrientes Banderas Bay
The quiet, ochre-walled seat of Cabo Corrientes, up in the pine-and-agave hills an hour south of Vallarta: plaza, Sunday market, local cheese and raicilla.
From Puerto Vallarta: 50 min by car (49 km by road) How to get there ↓
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Plan your visit to El Tuito
Where to stay near El Tuito
Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in El Tuito.
Tours to El Tuito
Day trips around Talpa de Allende sometimes stop in El Tuito; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
1/2 Day Puerto Vallarta Botanical Garden tour
★ 5.0 (12) · From US$60
How to get to El Tuito
- From Puerto Vallarta: about 50 min by road (~49 km)
- Nearest airport: Puerto Vallarta (PVR), 2 h 23 min by car to Talpa de Allende
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Popular tours to El Tuito
Tours, prices and ratings from Viator, checked weekly. We may earn a commission if you book.
About El Tuito
El Tuito is the municipal seat of Cabo Corrientes, a small farming town of about 3,800 people (2020 census) at roughly 600 m in the foothills of the Sierra Madre, on Highway 200 about 40 km of winding road south of Puerto Vallarta. The road climbs there from the coast at Boca de Tomatlán through the Horcones valley, past the Vallarta Botanical Garden, and as it rises the palms give way to oaks, pines and fields of agave. The name is usually traced to Nahuatl and explained as "place of God" or "place of beauty".
The area was taken by the Spanish captain Francisco Cortés de San Buenaventura in 1525, and the town was settled in the 16th century with Tlaxcalan families who brought Nahuatl with them. In 1858 Benito Juárez sheltered here at the house of Pablo Ríos, the local liberal leader of the Reform War, whose name the main street now carries. El Tuito changed hands between Autlán, Mascota, Tomatlán and Puerto Vallarta until 1944, when it became the head of the new municipality of Cabo Corrientes; its foundation is celebrated every 1 April.
Today it is a place to slow down rather than to sightsee. Ochre-tinted streets lead to a leafy plaza with a bandstand, the town hall and the yellow, twin-towered parish church. On Sundays a small market fills the cobbled lanes with embroidered clothes, cheeses, bread and street food, and raicilla, the agave spirit of the Jalisco coast, is made nearby: at Hacienda El Divisadero, on the road towards Chacala, you can see it made and taste it. El Tuito is also the gateway to the wild Cabo Corrientes coast: the dirt roads to Mayto, Tehuamixtle and the villages of the sierra start here.
How to get to El Tuito
Drive from Puerto Vallarta: 50 min, 49 km
El Tuito is on Highway 200 (Puerto Vallarta to Barra de Navidad), about 40 km and under an hour's drive south of Puerto Vallarta: follow the coast past Mismaloya to Boca de Tomatlán, then climb inland past the Vallarta Botanical Garden at km 24. Buses to El Tuito leave from the corner of Carranza and Aguacate in the Zona Romántica every half hour, on the hour and half hour, from about 7 am to 9 pm; the ride takes about an hour (about 45 minutes to the Botanical Garden, which costs 50 pesos). From El Tuito, dirt roads continue west to the Cabo Corrientes coast; Hacienda El Divisadero is at km 9 of the road to Chacala, about 15 minutes by car.
Directions to El Tuito on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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From the nearest cities to El Tuito
- Puerto Vallarta · 49 km by road, 50 min
- Autlán · about 150 km by road, ~2 h 15 min
- Manzanillo · 236 km by road, 3 h
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Before you go to El Tuito: hours, prices and tips
- Best time of day
- Go on a Sunday morning: the Mercadito runs from 9 am to 2 pm along the cobbled lanes. Islands · checked Oct 2026
- Best season
- The rainy season runs from June to September; October to May is dry and sunny, and the hills are noticeably cooler than the coast. Wikipedia · checked Oct 2026
- Guide or tour
- Easy to visit on your own by bus or car; guided half-day tours from Puerto Vallarta combine El Tuito with the Vallarta Botanical Garden. Islands · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting El Tuito: what to see and do
Sit in the shady plaza by the bandstand, the town hall and the yellow parish church.
Browse the Sunday morning market for embroidery, cheeses, bread and street food.
Visit Hacienda El Divisadero to see raicilla made and taste it.
Walk up through the agave fields to the hilltop cemetery for the view over town.
Stop at the Vallarta Botanical Garden on the way up from the coast.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in El Tuito
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around El Tuito.
Tours & activities
Day trips around Talpa de Allende sometimes stop in El Tuito; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Rental cars
Pick up a car at PVR (Puerto Vallarta): about 2 h 23 min by road to Talpa de Allende, then 53 km more to El Tuito, on your own schedule.
Flights
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Puerto Vallarta (PVR), about 2 h 23 min by road from Talpa de Allende, the base for El Tuito.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Talpa de Allende: download a map of the way to El Tuito before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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Photos
When to go to El Tuito mild
El Tuito shares the climate of Talpa de Allende, 53 km away. The best months to visit are January, March, November, and December.
See the month-by-month climate of Talpa de Allende
Weather in El Tuito now and the next 7 days
Live forecast from Open-Meteo. Chance of rain is the day's highest.
The closest Pueblo Mágico: Talpa de Allende
Talpa de Allende is the Pueblo Mágico closest to El Tuito, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Also close to
Closest to El Tuito
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Rancho Primavera · Nature reserve · 4 km away
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Jardín Botánico de Vallarta · Nature reserve · 17 km away
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Chico's Paradise · Landmark · 18 km away
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Las Juntas y los Veranos · Village · 18 km away
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Chacala · Village · 19 km away
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Boca de Tomatlán · Village · 21 km away
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Las Caletas · Beach · 21 km away
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Playa Caballo · Beach · 21 km away
Near El Tuito
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Los Arcos de Mismaloya · Nature reserve · Jalisco
40 min: drive to Playa Mismaloya, then 10 min by boat
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.