Which City Tour in Puerto Vallarta? A €27.62 Day With a Distillery, a €27.62 Bus, and a Private Option
6 min read
For most people the answer is the Puerto Vallarta City Tour with Tequila and Coffee Factory: €27.62 per person, 4.1 stars from 227 reviews, six hours with hotel pickup. If what you want is the city itself, at your own pace, take the hop-on hop-off bus instead. The one thing to understand before booking is that “city tour” means two different products here.
See dates and prices for the City Tour with Tequila and Coffee Factory
Four tours compared
| Tour | Duration | From | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City Tour, Tequila and Coffee Factory Tour | 6 hours | €27.62 | 4.1 from 227 reviews | First-time visitors who want the city and a trip into the hills |
| Hop-On-Hop-Off City Bus Tour | 3.5 hours | €26.44 | 4.2 from 434 reviews | Seeing the city centre at your own pace |
| Botanical Gardens, Distillery & Coffee Tour | 6 hours | €79.29 | 4.5 from 41 reviews | Plant lovers; the same hill stops plus the gardens |
| Signature City Tour: The Private Experience | 5 hours | €93.46 | 4.9 from 18 reviews | A private group that wants its own itinerary |
The six-hour tour with the distillery
The operator is Puerto Vallarta Discovery. According to the booking page, the day starts with pickup at your hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Bucerías, Nuevo Vallarta or Conchas Chinas, then a short walk along the Malecón and a visit to the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe with time for photographs. After that the air-conditioned van heads up into the mountains for a tequila distillery, with a tasting, and an organic coffee factory with a coffee tasting. There is an option that includes lunch.
Be clear about what you are buying: the city part is the Malecón walk and the church. The rest of the six hours is the road and the two stops in the hills. That suits someone who wants a first overview and a tasting; it does not suit someone who wants to wander the old town or the Zona Romántica.
Two things from the page: unaccompanied minors are not allowed, and wheelchair users must be accompanied by someone who can assist them. If you arrive from a cruise ship, give your arrival time when you book. Its 4.1 stars is the joint-lowest rating of the four, level with the bus, so read a few recent reviews before you book.
The hop-on hop-off bus
The bus is the most-reviewed of the four by a wide margin, 434 reviews against 224. The operator, Vallartour, lists 20 official stops, an audio guide in English and Spanish, and a meeting point at the Los Arcos amphitheatre on the Malecón. It also lists a special stop for cruise ships. The operator states that all its buses have universal access, and the page marks the tour as wheelchair accessible; confirm it with the operator for your own situation.
Its 3.5 hours are a duration, not a schedule: you get on and off as you like. It will not take you out of town. If you want a plan for the bus and the free alternatives, our guide to Puerto Vallarta without a tour covers the 11-peso city bus and the Malecón on foot.
Check availability for the Hop-On-Hop-Off City Bus Tour
Adding the botanical gardens
The Botanical Gardens tour is run by the same operator and has the same distillery and coffee factory stops, but replaces the city walk with the Puerto Vallarta Botanical Gardens: 8 hectares, which the page describes as the most-visited public collection of orchids in Mexico. The ticket to the gardens is included. It is six hours, €79.29, 4.5 stars from 41 reviews. The page lists wheelchair users as not suitable. One reviewer mentions that there is a souvenir shop at the gardens and another at the coffee factory.
See dates and prices for the Botanical Gardens, Distillery & Coffee Tour
The private tour
Obi Tours’ Signature City Tour is a private group with a certified local guide who drives you through the old town and along the coast. The itinerary on the page lists the Malecón, the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a jewellery stop, a tequila tasting, lunch at a local restaurant, and a stop at a sweet shop. The jewellery stop, the tasting and the sweet shop are marked as optional. Five hours, €93.46 per person, 4.9 stars from 18 reviews. That is a small sample. The page describes a flexible itinerary at your own pace.
Check availability for the Signature City Tour: The Private Experience
Who should skip a city tour
If you are staying in the Zona Romántica or the Hotel Zone, the centre is walkable and the bus covers the rest, so the six-hour trip is mainly about the hills and the tasting. If a mountain day appeals more, the day trips from Puerto Vallarta include a trip to the town of San Sebastián del Oeste with a distillery and a coffee factory on the way. And if tasting is the point, the tequila guide compares tasting in town with going to Tequila.
Our recommendation
Book the City Tour with Tequila and Coffee Factory at €27.62 if you want one orientation day with pickup and are happy to spend half of it in the hills. Take the hop-on hop-off bus at €27.62 if the city centre is what you want, and you would rather not be in a van for six hours. Pay for the botanical gardens day only if the gardens are the reason, and for the private tour only if you want to set the pace for the day.
