Guides & tips
Plan your trip like a local
Honest answers to the questions travellers ask us most.
The Hidden Beaches South of Puerto Vallarta: Walk In, Boat Out
Boca de Tomatlán is where the coast road stops and the footpath starts. What the walk to Colomitos, Las Ánimas and Quimixto is really like, what the water taxi back costs, and when a guided day is the better buy.
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Los Arcos: A National Marine Park, a Cliff Jump and a Glow Nobody Can Promise
Five granite islets 12 km south of Puerto Vallarta, protected since 1975 and a national marine park since 1984. What the protection actually buys you underwater, which trip includes the cliff jump, and why the moon phase decides the bioluminescence long before the operator does.
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Islas Marietas and the Hidden Beach: Who Actually Gets In
116 people a day, 30 minutes each, closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and no operator can promise you a place. The access rules for Playa del Amor, what the fees are, and what the trip is worth if you never set foot on the sand.
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Puerto Vallarta With Children: The Turtle Release, and What Else Holds
Nesting season runs 1 July to 31 December and the hatchlings go at sunset. What a release is actually like, why under-fives are handled differently, and the rest of a week here that works with children.
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Puerto Vallarta Without a Tour: An 11-Peso Bus and a Mile of Sculpture
The city bus fare went from 10 to 11 pesos on 1 April 2026, with a state subsidy holding it below the technical rate of 14. What that buys along the coast, which bus goes where, the free Tuesday sculpture walk, and how the paid city tour compares on its own numbers.
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Sayulita and San Pancho: The Bus, the Clock and the Water Quality
Two Nayarit towns on one bus line north of Puerto Vallarta. Where the Compostela bus actually drops you, why the clocks stop agreeing north of San Pancho, what COFEPRIS measured in Sayulita's water in 2025 and again in 2026, and which 'Sayulita' tours don't start in Vallarta at all.
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Tequila in Puerto Vallarta: Taste Here, or Drive to the Town?
The town of Tequila is about 275 km away — eight hours of driving for a day trip, and the usual tours that go there leave from Guadalajara, not from here. What you can drink locally instead, including the spirit that is actually from these mountains.
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Whales in Banderas Bay: The Season Is a Date, Not a Guess
SEMARNAT opens and closes the humpback season on fixed dates — 8 December to 23 March in 2025–26. What the law makes your captain do, why the two cheapest trips are the only ones rated under 4 stars, and when to go.
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Yelapa by Boat: A Village With No Road, and the Boat Home
No road in, no cars, a waterfall twenty minutes from the pier — and a return crossing that decides your whole day. Water taxi or catamaran, what each costs, and which one suits you.
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Which Zipline Park in Puerto Vallarta? The Answer Is on the Scale, Not in the Brochure
Three canopy operations south of Puerto Vallarta, three different weight limits: 110 kg, 118 kg and 129 kg. Plus minimum ages of 5, 6 and 8, the one park that holds the Jorullo bridge, and why the booking pages and the operators disagree on how many lines there are.
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