In my last article, we spent a couple weeks in the beautiful beach town of Sayulita, Mexico.
After our time in Sayulita, we made our way to Puerto Vallarta (PV) which was only about a 1-hour drive from Sayulita.
We stayed in PV for about 6 weeks before returning to the US to celebrate Christmas with family in Florida.
Since several friends recommended PV, it was on our travel list. I was particularly interested in experiencing the Pacific side of Mexico since we spent about 3 months on the Caribbean side of Mexico in Playa del Carmen earlier in 2021.
Coworking Trip
The other reason we went to PV was to join other member from the Executive Remote Worker community for a coworking trip there.
A group of 7 community members met in PV and spent about a month and a half together – coliving and coworking together.
When we weren’t working (eg. nights & weekends), we explored all the fun and exciting things to do around PV.
[SIDE NOTE: The Executive Remote Worker community is a private online community I launched in mid-2021. This community was specifically built for corporate executives who have an intense passion for travel but feel limited to do so because of their career. Together, we help members change their lives so they too can travel for extended periods of time by leveraging the power of remote working. Inside the community, we also have real world travel resources and opportunities for members to participate in designing group coworking trips around the world.]
Background on PV
PV is a historic resort town in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. It is located right on the Pacific Ocean with the Sierra Madre mountains as the backdrop.
It is located about an hour South of Sayulita on the Pacific coast.
It is also a 12-hour drive from Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, and a 5-hour drive from Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico.
Elizabeth Taylor is pretty much responsible for putting PV on the map. She took her first trip there in 1963 to join Richard Burton when he was filming “The Night of the Iguana.” Her scandalous and tumultuous relationship with Richard Burton really kick-started PV’s tourism industry.
Incidentally, you can stay in the former home of Taylor and Burton as it’s now a luxury boutique hotel called Casa Kimberly.
Neighborhoods of PV
Centro
The historic city area of PV is called Centro. It’s where the original city was founded and is truly the heart of PV. We did not live in Centro at any point in our stay, but we spent a lot of time there since it’s a popular area along the beach – full of restaurants, bars, and stores.
Centro is also a popular area because of all the historic architecture and art galleries. You will find older, more traditional accommodations here.
Centro is a very popular area for tourists to stay and spend time.
Also, the famous ‘Gringo Gulch’ is part of Centro and is aptly named for the expats and tourists who commonly stay here. (Side note: Elizabeth Taylor’s former home is located in the ‘Gringo Gulch.’)
During our stay, we lived in 3 different neighborhoods, each with their own character and charm. Here is my take on them:
5 de Diciembre
We spent our first week in PV in this quaint, Bohemian-like neighborhood, located just North of Centro. While currently a little rough around the edges, it was the most budget-friendly neighborhood. With all the construction going on there, I also believe it is the most up-and-coming area of PV. You will find more affordable accommodations here, as well as lots of locally-owned restaurants, stores, and cafes.
Zona Romantica
We spent about a month in this area which was located South of Centro and on the other side of the Rio Cuale. It was an interesting and fun area that seemed to bring together expats, locals, and vacationers. While not all parts of Zona Romantica are luxurious, you will find a lot more luxurious accommodations and restaurants here, especially the ones owned by the expats from the US and Canada. This area is also very gay-friendly with lots of nightclubs, bars, stores, and events that cater to that community. Zona Romantica has beautiful beaches, tons of restaurants, and lots of accommodations on or near the beach. It also has the most nightlife!
Versalles
Just north of 5 de Diciembre is the neighborhood of Versalles. This is a nice and trendy area that appears to have experienced a recent wave of investment, so you will find a really nice variety of bars, restaurants, and cafes here. It is a more polished neighborhood than 5 de Diciembre but not as commercialized as Zona Romantica or Centro. This was my favorite neighborhood, and, incidentally, the only one where we actually saw digital nomads working from different restaurants and cafes.
The Malecon
PV is famous for its Malecon that runs along the coastline. It is basically like a boardwalk for pedestrians and bicylcles only. The city also commissioned artist to make several very notable statues along the Malecon.
The Choco Museo
One of the most fun things we did was take a 2-hour class at the Choco Museo in PV. It was called Bean to Bar. We learned all about how they grow, harvest and process cocoa beans in Mexico. We also made our own chocolates along with 3 different types of chocolate drinks. I highly recommend this class. They teach was super fun and we had a blast. We also really enjoyed the chocolates we made and were able to bring home.
Doña Chela
One of our favorite restaurants in PV was in Zona Romantica and owned/ran by the most kind, local Mexican family. The food was SO good that we ate there at least every other day, if not every day, while living in Zona Romantica. It was especially nice because Bill and I could eat a delicious and FILLING meal for under $8 USD which also included 2 bottles of Pacifico!
Conclusion
Overall, we really enjoyed our time in PV. The weather was warm and sunny every day, the people (locals, expats, and tourists) were super nice and friendly.
We also found the prices to be pretty reasonable (especially for a popular tourist town), and the food was pretty diverse when you were not in the mood for Mexican food!
From a transportation perspective, getting to PV from the US was quite easy and the PVR airport was easy to navigate to and from. Also, PV was easy to get around because there were taxi cabs and Ubers all over.
We would recommend PV for short and longer-term stays and hope to go back soon!