Often referred to as “the most Mexican beach destination,” Puerto Vallarta is fast becoming an exceptionally popular getaway for those who like a lot of fun and different experiences packed into a vacation. Click on for quick snapshots of all that helps Puerto Vallarta live up to its reputation as a place where romance, nature, adventure, authentic culture, and good times converge.
A quaint hillside town by a sparkling sea, with golden beaches stretching out before it and jungle-covered mountains serving as a backdrop, Puerto Vallarta embodies romance. Its Renaissance-style church tower and clusters of colorful colonial architecture add a cheerful elegance to the setting, complemented by brilliant sunsets. A busy shipping port for the silver mining industry through the 1800s, Puerto Vallarta became a sleepy town in the first part of the 20th century, until Liz Taylor and Richard Burton put the spotlight on it when she came to visit him on Mismaloya Beach during the filming of “The Night of the Iguana” (1964). The rest is history.
Not just pretty to look at, Puerto Vallarta’s beaches are playgrounds to explore. Easily identifiable by the magnificent 200-foot-long pier branching out into the ocean, Playa Los Muertos is close to the town square and is a popular place to play volleyball and people watch.
Colomitos Beach, by contrast, is a hidden gem surrounded by mountains. Then there’s Playa Yelapa, reachable only by boat, where clients can spend the day swimming, hiking and sampling the wares of an authentic beach community. Concha Chinas, a popular wedding spot, is characterized by white sand, turquoise water and towering rock formations that create natural pools. And the list of beaches goes on…
Puerto Vallarta is nestled at the foot of the Sierra Madre Mountains, home to old silver mining towns and indigenous communities. The mountains’ tropical vegetation trickles down to the beaches at the outskirts of town, lending a mysterious beauty to the landscape.
Mountains and sea combine to offer a myriad of ways to have extraordinary fun. The hillsides and valleys of the Sierra Madre allow for excellent horse-riding paths, mountain biking trails, ziplines, and a breath-taking suspension bridge that can be traversed on foot or by fast-moving ATV. Located in the waters off Mismaloya Beach, Los Arcos Marine Park is hard to miss with its stunning rock formations beckoning kayakers, paddleboarders, snorkelers, and divers to come to see its blue-footed boobies, pelicans, parrots, clownfish, pufferfish, stingrays, octopuses, and more. Or adventurers can go to Playa Yelapa and try paragliding off a cliff for a thrill unlike any other.
Source: Travel Pulse
