When I started my blog I was living in Puerto Vallarta Mexico, we lived here because my husband opened a real estate business office here, so we lived here for a year and half. It was a great experience for us both and when we come to visit it brings back all those memories we made while living here and we do miss it.
After moving back to Southern California I finally have had the time to write about our favorite places here in Puerto Vallarta. I could probably go on and on where to to and eat etc. so I’m going to try to make this short and sweet and not bore you to death. These are our fave places coming from a point of view of someone who has lived here and not a paid travel blogger, I do not have anything against travel bloggers because I do follow Dana Berez that I do admire but majority of them travel to countries and cities to get paid to do that and what a dream job that is!
Eats
So let’s get to the good stuff first, places to eat and I’m going to start with TACOS because it’s Mexico after all and you came here for a good taco!
Panchos Takos was referred to us by our friends in SoCal and they do not disappoint, the BEST Al Pastor tacos in town! Note that the hours are Monday – Saturday 6pm – 2am and make sure to wait in line, there’s always a line and for good reason too! You can’t go wrong with their cheese al pastor tacos and make sure to try their pineapple habanero salsa and my favorite their Panchos Margarita.
Los Molcajetes would be the second best tacos in town, they have 2 locations one in Plaza Marina which is more of a the tourist area and another in a more residential area. I like their Al Pastor quesadillas and they have homemade salsas and beans de olla out also, some delicious aqua fresca of the day.
El Campenario is definitely one of our favorites for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Homemade authentic Mexican food as if your grandma made it. They accept cash only and is located directly across from The Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Everything we have eaten here, their posole is divine!
Las Alcatraces we love for a great Mexican breakfast on the Marina, service is great and everything we have eaten were also good.
Los Muertos Brewery is the place for pizza and wings and the beers are so good! If you would love to try one of the first breweries in town then Los Muertos Brewery is the place to go and they also deliver too!
Sonora Grill Prime on the Marina is our all time favorite. The steaks and drinks are one of the best and the service is top notch! This restaurant is the place to splurge so do expect to pay US prices and trust me when I say this, it is well worth it!!!
La Dolce Vita is a great Italian restaurant on the Malecon, the boardwalk. For some reason I think Italian food tastes so great in Mexico, it must be the cheese they use or something.
Drinks
How could I go to Vallarta and not know where the good drinks are at? Well here is a couple of our favorites.
La Bodeguita del Medio is the place for real cuban cigars, food and mojitos. They have a nightly live salsa band and try ALL of their mojitos, when I say ALL I mean ALL!!
Bar El Kiosko which we call the Circle Bar, it’s super hidden and so small but the drinks are the best and we always have a great time here. It’s located in between a little shopping outdoor market and it’s outside but it’s our favorite place to chill and get a drink to go. Yes you read that, drinks to go!
Sayulita Public House is our favorite bar in Sayulita which is 45 minutes away from Puerto Vallarta. The drinks and food is great and service is so wonderful! If you get a chance visit Sayulita and make a day trip or an overnight stay there. Its the cutest hippie beach town.
Stay
Well when we lived in Puerto Vallarta we lived in a private community called Las Moras and it was near the Marina. Now when we visit have decided to use Air BNB so that we can stay in different parts of town and get the true feel of Puerto Vallarta. We love using AirBNB when we travel and maybe you are a hotel person, here are a couple of hotels that you can stay at that we haven’t stayed but we know other people who have.
Fiesta American All Inclusive Resort
Things To Do
The Malecon Boardwalk has tons of restaurants, bars and shopping. We like to walk along it at night since it’s right by the ocean and you can see some pretty fireworks at night.
Las Caletas Beach Hideaway is a nice day trip, you have to schedule a boat trip to get there and you can see the show Rhythms of the Night and have dinner after.
Marietas Island is a must! You take a boat tour which is about 4 hours and it takes you to snorkel at the beautiful Marietas Islands. We loved it and always recommend any one who visits to see it.
Yelapa is a small little town that is only accessible by boat. We like to take a boat from Los Muertos Pier and go for the day and hang out for the day at any of the restaurants that let you hangout on their lounge chairs as long as you order some food and drinks.
The Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe is beautiful and you cannot miss it! It’s famous for the crown on top and one of Puerto Vallarta’s landmarks. If you can, try to go to a service which we do on our Sundays when we lived there.
Best times to visit Puerto Vallarta is November through May. The humidity isn’t as bad and the weather is so nice. During the summer months June till September is the rainy season so the humidity is at an all time high and Off spray will be your bff due to mosquitoes being around constant. I always tell people this because it is also Puerto Vallarta’s off season so a lot of businesses are closed during this time.
Well that’s it! I hope you liked our favorite places, there’s so much to do and see in Puerto Vallarta and if you are the type of person that doesn’t like venturing out during vacation then have a great time relaxing on the beach!