It may have taken a few Hollywood gossip columnists to coax this former small-time village into the international limelight, but the hugely popular beach resort of Puerto Vallarta is now well and truly addicted to the dazzle of big-time tourism. Considered one of Mexico's principal Pacific hangouts it attracts hordes of domestic and international visitors alike to its bayside setting near the jungle-studded foothills of the Sierra del Cuale range.

The resort has tried to hang on to some of its bygone charm by leaving some adobe houses standing for the sun to bounce off, and giving its cobblestones a good scrub (and, on the practical side, setting the sometimes-wobbly buggers in cement), but the skyscraping penthouse suites of numerous luxury-stuffed hotels, the waterfront bars and restaurants, and the boat- and swimmer-filled bay define what Puerto Vallarta is really all about.

This is a place to kick back and relax. So when you get here, take a leaf out of Mexico’s book: throw away your watch, give a slow shrug, and if anyone asks you to do something, just keep muttering ‘ma?ana, ma?ana...’ (’tomorrow, tomorrow...’).

Population: 350,000
Country: Mexico
Time: GMT/UTC minus six hours (minus seven hours April through October)
Telephone Area Code: +52-3

When to Go

It will come as no surprise to hear that Puerto Vallarta becomes a seething mass of relaxation-seeking humanity during the country’s peak holiday months of July and August - that’s literally seething, as this is smack in the middle of the climatic period from May to September when heat and humidity blanket the coastal lowlands of southern Mexico. Other times you’ll find yourself enjoying too much company and stratospheric room prices are from mid-December to early January, and the weeks book-ending Easter.

Events

Each February in odd-numbered years the Regatta Marina del Rey-Puerto Vallarta, a celebrated boat race from California’s Marina del Rey to the docks of the Mexican resort, sails by. The anniversary of the resurrection of that Jesus bloke - Semana Santa (Easter week) - is the signal for the beaches and bars of Puerto Vallarta to go into full-on party mode. May is the month of Fiestas de Mayo, when the city celebrates itself via concerts, art exhibits, sports events and carnivals. Festivities also rack the city in early December when Mexico’s patron saint, the Virgen de Guadalupe, has her day out on the town.

If you’re not a big fan of mariachi performances, the spirited and mostly trumpet-driven renditions of Mexican ballads by sombrero-topped musicians, then avoid town on 22 November when the genre’s patron saint is loudly toasted during D?a de Santa Cecilia. November is also when deep-sea fishing enthusiasts cruise over for an international Torneo de Pesca, with sailfish, marlin and sea bass high on the sporting menu

Attractions

Downtown
Though Puerto Vallarta is now dominated by its modernistic, resort-stacked beaches and cafe-society embellishments, there are enough of the old red-roofed adobe houses lining the streets and cobblestones underfoot to keep alive the spirit of a once-charming seaside village. To get a sense of the more-established parts of the centre, stroll a block east of the pedestrian-tramped Plaza Principal to the towering facade of the city’s landmark cathedral, Templo de Guadalupe, built in 1951 and adorned with the replica of a crown worn by an 18th-century Mexican empress. Backtrack across the square to the arches of the outdoor amphitheatre on the bay.

Meandering its way north from the amphitheatre is the Malec?n, a long seaside walkway adorned with a larger-than-life seahorse statue, a plethora of drinking dens, and plenty of places catering to la comida (the main meal of the day, usually served between 1pm and 3-4pm) and la cena (the typically lighter evening meal). Those who feel like stuffing a cylindrical wad of tobacco leaves into their craw will find several Cuban cigar bars on this strip that cater to their habit.

Wedged into the mouth of the R?o Cuale, the slender river that divides the city into its distinctive northern and southern swathes, is the two-hectare (5-acre) Isla Cuale. This diminutive island is littered with restaurants and shops, the latter mostly specialising in clothes and local arts - for some good deals on Mexico’s outstanding range of artesan?as (handicrafts), cross over to the north bank of the R?o Cuale where you’ll find the 150-stall market called Mercado Municipal. At the island’s western, Pacific-viewing end is a tiny, lush botanical garden and the equally tiny Museo del Cuale, which features a collection of pre-Hispanic archaeological artefacts from tombs cracked open throughout Jalisco state, as well as in the neighbouring states of Colima and Nayarit.

Puerto Vallarta garners more cultural credentials with its impressive array of art galleries. Most have an emphasis on contemporary Latin American painting and sculpture, and exhibit local, regional and national artistry - local examples include the angelic portraiture of Manuel Lepe, and the colourful creative toil of Huichol Indians who live in the rangy mountains of the nearby Sierra Madre Occidental.

Beaches
Though downtown Puerto Vallarta has its attractions, this resort’s prime raison d’?tre is the sandy stuff sprinkled along the edges of the adjacent Bah?a de Banderas. The beautiful local beaches begin in town, south of the R?o Cuale, in the guise of the towel-swept Playa Olas Atlas (’Beach of the Big Waves’, though to be honest there’s nary a big wave to be seen here) and next door at Playa de los Muertos (’Beach of the Dead’, a name which apparently harks back to some long-forgotten seaside battle and is more than likely the bane of the local tourist authorities).

North of town, in the aptly titled Zona Hotelera, is a string of beaches dominated by the multi-storey shadows of five-star hotels. Heading up towards the Marina Vallarta, you’ll pass Playa Camarones, Las Glorias, Los Tules, Las Palmas and Playa de Oro, while just past where the luxury sloops gather is Playa El Salado. To the south of Puerto Vallarta is another string of pearls: Playa Conchas Chinas, Estacas, Los Venados, Punta Negra, Garza Blanca and Gemelas.

Bah?a de Banderas
The Bay of Flags plunges to around 1800m (5900ft), has 160km (100mi) of sensational shoreline (bar the enormous hotel complexes crowding onto parts of the beach) and comfortably makes it into the list of the 10 biggest bays in the world (it’s number seven). Ostensibly the submerged crater of a long-extinguished volcano, Bah?a de Banderas is an environmental wonderland populated by giant manta rays, dolphins and (during their birthing season from November through March) humpback whales. It’s also inhabited by activity-crazy humans, occupying themselves by diving, fishing, water skiing and generally dipping their collective big toe in the bay’s waters.

The highlights for divers and snorkellers are Los Arcos, a grand tangle of environmentally protected rocks just south of Playa Gemelas, and Islas Marietas, a maze of reefs, tunnels and underwater caves at the mouth of the bay that’s regularly attended by marine wildlife - fortunately for those who get Steven Spielberg flashbacks and still aren’t sure if it’s safe to go back in the water, this doesn’t include sharks, which are kept out of the bay by resident dolphins intent on protecting their young.

History

According to Puerto Vallarta’s slim volume of recorded history, this highly developed bilingual resort that now attracts over 2.5 million visitors every year (over half of them from within Mexico) began its urban life as late as 1851, when a family by the name of S?nchez plonked themselves down near the mouth of the R?o Cuale. Prior to being domesticated, the area was part of the traditional lands of the indigenous folk that peopled the coast for many centuries, and probably wasn’t encountered by non-natives until the 16th century, when passing Spanish armadas stocked up on local water and firewood. The Spanish were quite taken with the sheltered harbour and several times considered establishing a colony there, but never acted on the idea.

Emboldened by the S?nchez land-grab, groups of farmers and fisherfolk followed suit, and within 35 years there were enough people living in the area to seriously entertain the idea of giving the settlement a name. The town’s first official incarnation was as Las Pe?as, but in 1918 ‘Puerto Vallarta’ was cobbled together from puertoi (port) and the name of a former state governor, Ignacio Luis Vallarta.

In 1954, Mexico’s main domestic airline began to realise the tourist potential of what was a beautiful village in a pristine bayside location, and inaugurated flights to a dusty runway in what’s now the centre of Puerto Vallarta, an area originally named after the peasant revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. But the real turning point in the development of the local tourist industry came almost a decade later, when a film director by the name of John Huston decided to shoot his adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana in the nearby cove of Mismaloya. At that stage, in 1963, Puerto Vallarta numbered 2000 people.

The international press quickly dropped their (at best marginal) interest in the creative efforts of gifted director Huston and a crew that included famous Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, and descended on Puerto Vallarta to signpost the romance between lead actor Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor with more salacious headlines than you could poke a euphemism at. While they were at it, they also wrote smouldering prose about co-star Ava Gardner, all of which ensured that Puerto Vallarta became the latest stereotype of tropical romance.

Once the film crew had left, the tour groups loaded with starry-eyed honeymooners started to arrive.

Puerto Vallarta didn’t look back. It used the influx of visitors and investors generated by all the overblown publicity to lobby successfully to become a designated Mexican ‘city’ in 1968, and then began building highway links south along the coast to Barra de Navidad and north to Compostela, with a new international airport thrown in for good measure. In the decade from 1980, the population of central Puerto Vallarta doubled to well over 100,000. It’s now one of Mexico’s premier international beach resorts, commanding as much tourist-brochure space as other eminent Pacific playgrounds like Acapulco, Mazatl?n and Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa.

Activities

The waters of the bay are ideally suited to activities like water skiing, snorkelling, diving, windsurfing, sailing, parasailing, fishing and swimming, with a fair number of operators in Puerto Vallarta busily supplying equipment and organising tours. There are also regular cruises that circumnavigate the bay or will beach you at Yelapa and Playa de las Animas. Animal watching is another popular local activity, with dolphins and humpback whales receiving the most attention. Back on shore, horse-riding and trekking outfits can guide you from local beaches up along jungle trails and into the mountains, plus there are several golf courses and tennis courts for less-adventurous work-outs. If you want to exercise your tongue, take a Spanish language course