PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO HOTELS - ATTRACTIONS AND THINGS TO DO

Puerto Vallarta - Where It Is and Sights to See

In the 16th century, Filipino explorers found the city of Las Penas, whose name was changed to Puerto Vallarta in 1918. 

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The petitioned to make the city a colony that would offer refuge from pirates but their requests were continually denied.  The sharks in the waters around Puerto Vallarta were teeming with sharks, which were hunted and sold to Chinese restaurants in New York.

This lucrative business brought others and the town mushroomed. Around 1930, foreign tourists started to arrive for vacations and kept coming back each year.  The word spread and now Puerto Vallarta is the second largest resort city in Mexico.

	Featured Puerto Vallarta Mexico Hotels
	Barcelo La Jolla De Mismaloya
	Casa Magna Marriott Resort & Spa
	Casa Velas Boutique Hotel
	Crown Paradise Club
	Dreams Puerto Vallarta
	Melia Resort
	Sheraton Buganvilias Resort
	The Westin Resort & Spa
Desire Resort - Los Cabos Adults Only Vacations

Puerto Vallarta is situated on the Costa Dorada of Mexico, kissed with 25 miles of golden sand beaches inside of Banderas Bay.  The weather is sub-tropical and because it lies on the same latitude as Hawaii, people make comparisons to it all the time.  In December and January it’s hot and sunny and those months are the height of the tourist season.  

In summer, the temperatures can hit 90 degrees F and there is a good deal of humidity.  The rainy season which runs from June to September, with September being the wettest, can ruin a beach day, but it creates beautiful sky scenes during thunderstorms with many a rainbow.  The temperatures come down a bit during that time as well.

Downtown Puerto Vallarta offers numerous sights worth seeing.  Walk the Malecon (boardwalk) which stretches for 10 blocks and ends at Zocala (the town square). Along one side, you’ll enjoy the gorgeous waters of the bay and the spectacular sunsets.  Walking the opposite side of the Malecon allows you the opportunity to sample the many shops, restaurants and bars that line it.  There is a huge bronze seahorse sculpture in the square that attracts visitors wanting to take photos alongside it. 

There are many art galleries, many featuring the native art of the area.  The church of Our Lady of Guadeloupe is perhaps most representative of Puerto Vallarta with an incredible crown-shaped steeple.  Calle Zaragoza 445 is also a tourist favorite because it is the site of the house once bought by Richard Burton for his wife, Elizabeth Taylor. The home is now a bed and breakfast called Casa Kimberly.  That street is part of an area called Gringo Gulch because of all the celebrities and U.S. foreigners who made their home there in the 1950’s.