BEACHES

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Puerto Vallarta is a favorite destination for beach lovers with more than forty individual beaches to choose from.

Playa de los Muertos is Puerto Vallarta's most popular beach located just south of the Malecon and the Cuale River.  This beach is surrounded by Old Town with its many varieties of restaurants and shops.   It is lined with beachfront hotels and restaurants.  A perfect spot to catch some rays during the day and to enjoy a sunset drink while watching the colorful Vallarta sunsets.

The Dreams Resort (formerly the Cameo Real) is beautiful and private.  Dreams will charge a $25.00 per person per day fee to use their facilities (no charge if you are just coming to dine). 

Gemelas Beach "The Twin Beaches" are two small crescent-shaped beaches at the foot of the Sierra Madre Mountains.  Here is the surf is gentle and good for swimming.  Water sports and a restaurant are avaialble at the beach hotel.  Several new condominum projects also enjoy the beachfront.  Gemelas Beach is located south of town at Km8 Barra Navidad. 

Garza Blanca Beach is a small beach located off the Barra Navidad road at Km 6 on the way to Mismaloya.  This white sandy beach is framed with palms and crystal clear blue water that laps the shoreline. 

Mismaloya Beach is probably the most well know Puerto Vallarta beach due to the filming in 1964 of "The Night of the Iguana"  starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.  Playa de Mismaloya is a beautiful beach.

Boca de Tomatlan is a small seaside village cove that sits at the edge of the jungle just three miles south of Mismaloya.  A great swimming beach, very peaceful and the last beach that is accessible by road. This quiet fishing village is the source of most of the fish sold in the area.  Small fishing Pangas leave each morning from its shores.  Water taxis also leave here for the chain of small remote beaches accessible only by boat.  A family-owned open air restaurant serves beach goers at this secret little beach. 

Majahuitas is located on a remote, secluded cove south of Puerto Valalrta.  Majahuitas beach is accessible only by boat (water taxi).  This idyllic spot has 18 acres of paradise to discover in a private resort setting that offers a "rustic elegance" with full amenities, activities and lodging.

Ouimixto is one of three remote beaches south of Puerto Vallarta that is accessible only by boat.  Pangas or water taxis leave the main land several times a day for this out-of-the-way shore.  Quimixto is known for its quirte waters framed by boulders perfect for scuba diving and snorkeling.  There is also a refreshing waterfall to cool off in after a leisurely day of sun worshipping.  Dining is available at beacside palapas. 

Playa de Oro north of Puerto Vallarta and the Marina. The Playa de Oro is a wide, sandy beach with a few rocky areas interspersed. It is also very popular with guests and locals alike because of its water sports. 

Bucerias the name means "Place of the Divers".  A five mile stretch of white sandy bezches is the longest along the Bay of Banderas.  This beautiful beach comes alive on Sundays when locals bring their families for a day at the shore.  Its long shallow shoreline is perfect for body surfing, boogie boarding, surfing and shall collecting.  Located 12 miles north of the airport, This old-fashioned Mexican town has plenty of local color with its many shops and town square market. Literally dozens of open air restaurants line the beach on one of the four main streets that run parallel to the water for miles.  

Destiladeras and Los Venaderos are two of the more enjoyable beaches in the northern area.  Located 19 miles from the airport at Km 8 on Highway 200.  Popular with the locals for its wide sandy beches and with surfers for its two to five foot swells.  The beach is situated between the cliffs of Punta del Burro and has several natural pools of fresh water.  Snorkeling and wind surfing, when the conditions are right, are great at the Las Marietas Islands, which have been preserved by the Mexican government as a bird sanctuary.  These islands are accessible by boats which can be rented on most of the northern beaches.  There are a few seaside palapa restaurants with fabulous views of the Bahia de Banderas and Puerto Vallarta in the distance.

Punta Mita is located 26 miles from Puerto Vallarta at the northern tip of the Bahia de Banderas.  This once remote beachside fishing village El Anclote is now home to the Four Seasons Punta de Mita Resort and to the new St. Regis Resort.  The beach itself is fairly rocky but offers beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean and the Sierra Madre Mountains that frame the bay.  Sports, tours and amenities of all kinds are avaiablle.  The area is known as a great surfing beach and snorkeling is excellent along the islands just off shore.  A short walk along the beach brings visrtors to isolated stretched of pristine coastline.  

El Anclote known as "Anchor Beach" is at Km 21 on Highway 200 in Punta Mita.  This wide beach is known for its mild surf.  Fishing boats are anchored at the far right of El Anclote and boat rentals are avaialble for tours to the Marieta Islands to explore, snorkel, scuba dive or fish.  El Anclote has many services as it has a large local popularion.

Sayulita is located 22 miles north of the airport.  The idylic Sayulita beach is located in a cove where the jungle meets the sea. Sayulita, Nayarit Beach is without questions the main surfing spot in Puerto Vallarta.  Perfect for surfing or sunning and everything in between.  Seaside cafes and fine dining along with other services are available.  Great seafood can be found on the beach for all budgets.  If your heart still lives in the sixties, you'll love this quiet beach community.

San Francisco / San Poncho is sleepy little town 31 miles (49 Km) north of Puerto Vallarta is know for its great waves and access to all of your favorite water sports.   Reported by some surfers to be the best in the area due to its big open ocean beach and sourthwest to northwest swells.  Time seems to stand still at this relaxing beachfront community.    

Further north the beaches of Banderas Bay are pristine and quiet.   If you like surfing and windsurfing, the northern beaches have stronger surf.