Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco: 52 Places to Visit, Map & Guide

52 places with their own page in the municipality of Puerto Vallarta, in the state of Jalisco.

Map of Puerto Vallarta

Places to visit in Puerto Vallarta

Cities · 1 Towns · 3 Villages · 7 Beaches · 13 Islands · 1 Waterfalls · 2 Nature reserves · 2 Viewpoints · 1 Landmarks and museums · 22

Cities

Puerto Vallarta · City
Jalisco's big beach city on Banderas Bay: a cobbled old town, a sculpture-lined Malecón and the boats to every beach of the south shore.

Towns

Ixtapa · Town
Puerto Vallarta's second town, 11 km inland in the valley: home of the University of Guadalajara's coast campus and once a banana hacienda.
Las Juntas · Town
Fast-growing town on Highway 200 near Vallarta's airport and the Ameca bridges, where the mountain road to Mascota and San Sebastián begins.
Las Palmas de Arriba · Town
Ejido town on the Ameca River in the far north of Puerto Vallarta municipality, on Highway 544 on the way up to San Sebastián del Oeste.

Villages

Boca de Tomatlán · Village
Fishing village at the mouth of the Horcones River where the coastal road ends and water taxis leave for Las Ánimas, Quimixto and Yelapa.
El Ranchito · Village
Valley village of about 1,400 people on the Mascota River beyond Ixtapa, at the end of the El Ranchito city-bus line from Puerto Vallarta.
La Punta Negra · Village
Tiny roadside settlement and beach on Vallarta's south shore, where the road up to El Nogalito leaves Highway 200; a stop on the Mismaloya bus.
Mismaloya · Village
Village and calm cove beach where The Night of the Iguana was filmed in 1963, with Los Arcos offshore and the El Edén river jungle up the valley.
Los Llanitos · Village
Mountain hamlet at about 750 m in the sierra behind Puerto Vallarta, at the end of the road past the Jorullo suspension bridge.
El Colorado · Village
Farming village of about 1,150 people on Highway 544 in the Ameca valley, just south of Las Palmas, on the Las Palmas bus route.
Tebelchia · Village
A growing village of about 660 people, also called El Roble, in the low country of northern Puerto Vallarta municipality near El Colomo.

Beaches

Playa Los Muertos · Beach
The busy town beach of the Zona Romántica: palapa restaurants, beach clubs, the sail-shaped pier for south-shore water taxis and the original seahorse statue.
Playa Palmares · Beach
Puerto Vallarta's south-shore public beach: the first Blue Flag beach in Jalisco, with lifeguards, ramps, showers and a city beach club.
Playa Rosita · Beach
The narrow, stony beach below the Malecón, named after the 1948 Hotel Rosita; for sunsets and watching fishermen, not for swimming.
Playa de Oro · Beach
Kilometer-long golden beach of Vallarta's northern hotel zone, between the cruise port and the Pitillal River, with three public accesses.
Boca de Tomates · Beach
A beach of seafood ramadas behind Puerto Vallarta's airport, by the Ameca river mouth: come for pescado sarandeado, not a swim, as crocodiles live here.
Playa Amapas · Beach
Small rocky cove just past the south end of Los Muertos, reached over the El Púlpito rock; amber sand, green water, no lifeguards.
Playa Camarones · Beach
Downtown beach of the 5 de Diciembre neighborhood, just north of the Malecón: named for shrimp fishermen, now loved by local families.
Playa Conchas Chinas · Beach
A string of small rocky coves just south of the Zona Romántica, with shell sand, clear water, tide pools and snorkelling around the rocks.
Playa Garza Blanca · Beach
Calm south-shore cove below the Garza Blanca resort, sheltered by boulder breakwaters; clear water for swimming, snorkeling and paddleboarding.
Playa Las Estacas · Beach
A sheltered cove just south of Conchas Chinas, fronted by the Hyatt Ziva resort; the sand is public, the land behind it is not.
Playa Las Glorias · Beach
Hotel-zone beach of nearly a kilometer between Los Tules and Playa Tranquila, lined with resorts and condos, about 3 km north of the Malecón.
Playa Los Tules · Beach
Hotel-zone beach of soft amber sand and gentle waves next to Playa de Oro, busy with parasailing, jet skis and banana boats.
Playa Olas Altas · Beach
Zona Romántica beach from the Cuale River mouth south to the Los Muertos pier: calmer than Los Muertos and a favorite with Mexican families.

Islands

Isla del Río Cuale · Island
A shady river island between downtown and the Zona Romántica, with craft stalls, riverside restaurants, a small archaeology museum and iguanas.

Waterfalls

Cascada Palo María · Waterfall
The waterfall closest to Puerto Vallarta: a 30 to 45 minute river walk from the Palo María bridge on Highway 200 to a jungle pool, free to visit.
Cascadas de Mismaloya · Waterfall
A chain of three jungle waterfalls high in the hills behind Mismaloya, up to about 75 m tall, reached only on a long, hard hike.

Nature reserves

Los Arcos de Mismaloya · Nature reserve
Five granite islets with sea arches off Mismaloya, a marine refuge since 1975 and the bay's favourite snorkel stop, under ten minutes by boat from the beach.
Estero El Salado · Nature reserve
Protected mangrove estuary in the middle of Puerto Vallarta's hotel strip, with biologist-led boat tours, a watchtower and wild crocodiles.

Viewpoints

Mirador Cerro de la Cruz · Viewpoint
Lookout around the cross on the hill above downtown, reached by steep lanes and stairs from the Malecón, with a 360° view from Los Arcos to Punta Mita.

Landmarks and museums

Malecón de Puerto Vallarta · Landmark
Puerto Vallarta's car-free seafront promenade, lined with bronze sculptures and pebble mosaics, and the city's favourite place to watch the sunset.
Museo del Cuale · Landmark
Small INAH archaeology museum on Isla del Río Cuale with pre-Hispanic pottery and shaft-tomb finds from West Mexico; temporarily closed in 2026.
El Pitillal · Landmark
The old farming town swallowed by Puerto Vallarta, with a twin-towered church, a bandstand plaza and the evening taco stands that food tours come for.
Faro de Matamoros · Landmark
Retired 1932 lighthouse on the hill above downtown Vallarta, now a free lookout with a spiral staircase and an Elizabeth Taylor mural.
Marina Vallarta · Landmark
The yacht harbour and planned district between the airport and the cruise port: a waterside boardwalk, a lighthouse, and the docks where many bay tours start.
Mercado Municipal Río Cuale · Landmark
Downtown Vallarta's riverside craft and food market, in a 1970s building by Alejandro Zohn; open daily for souvenirs and market lunches.
Muelle de Playa Los Muertos · Landmark
The sail-topped pier of the Zona Romántica, opened in 2013 and rebuilt in 2023, where water taxis leave for Yelapa and the south shore.
Museo Histórico Naval de Puerto Vallarta · Landmark
The Mexican Navy's museum on the Malecón: ship models, cannons, uniforms and the story of the Manila galleons, in 14 rooms since 2006.
Parque Lázaro Cárdenas · Landmark
Seafront park at the south end of the Malecón, being covered in tile-and-mirror mosaics by Vallarta artist Natasha Moraga since 2017.
Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe · Landmark
Puerto Vallarta's brick parish church with the crown-topped bell tower that defines the city skyline; the goal of the December 1-12 pilgrimages.
Terminal Marítima de Puerto Vallarta · Landmark
Puerto Vallarta's cruise port, three berths on the harbour beside Marina Vallarta where about 170 cruise ships a year tie up for the day.
Zona Romántica · Landmark
Puerto Vallarta's old town south of the Río Cuale: cobbled streets, Los Muertos beach and pier, cafés, galleries and the heart of the city's gay scene.
Zoológico de Vallarta · Landmark
Family-run jungle zoo up the river road behind Mismaloya, where visitors hand-feed many of the animals; open every day of the year.
ChocoMuseo · Landmark
Free little chocolate museum and tasting bar a block above the Malecón, with hands-on bean-to-bar, truffle and mole workshops.
Ecoparque El Nogalito · Landmark
Jungle ecopark above the village of El Nogalito, 20 minutes south of Vallarta: zip lines and a riverbed walk to a waterfall and swimming pool.
El Edén de Mismaloya · Landmark
Jungle ecopark on the Mismaloya River where Predator was filmed in 1987: swimming holes, rock slides, a riverside restaurant and zip lines.
Gringo Gulch · Landmark
Hillside lanes above the Cuale River where Hollywood names settled in the 1950s and 60s; Burton and Taylor's houses and their bridge are here.
Puente Jorullo · Landmark
A 470 m suspension bridge hung 150 m over the Cuale River canyon in the hills behind Vallarta, crossed on foot or by ATV in the ejido's River Park.
Puente del Amor · Landmark
The little covered bridge over Calle Zaragoza that joined Elizabeth Taylor's and Richard Burton's houses, now part of the Casa Kimberly hotel.
Museo del Arte en Piel · Landmark
A small private museum on Calle Juárez in the Centro showing historical dress recreated in leather by artisan Alfonso Nuño Romero.
Plaza de Armas de Puerto Vallarta · Landmark
The town's main square by the Malecón, with its bandstand, Ignacio Vallarta statue and danzón on Thursday and Sunday evenings.
Mariposario Jardín Mágico · Landmark
Banderas Bay's only butterfly sanctuary, a shaded garden in Campo Verde where guides explain the life cycle and visitors release a butterfly.