3 Days In Puerto Vallarta: The Ultimate Itinerary

 

Planning to spend 3 days in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico? You’re in for an amazing trip because there’s no shortage of unique things to do in Puerto Vallarta, a world-class travel destination located in Jalisco state in south-central Mexico.

Situated on the beautiful beaches and waters of Banderas Bay, water activities and boat tours abound. After hitting the beaches, there’s plenty of things to do in Puerto Vallarta just west of the city in the Sierra Madre mountains. With so many types of activities, make sure you properly know how to pack for Mexico.

Located 900km from Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta is also known for its many galleries, art walks, and large sculptures along the Malecon beachfront walkway. In fact, it is said that Puerto Vallarta has more art galleries than any other coastal city in Mexico, and the town really celebrates its local art, especially the colorful, beaded huichol (wee-chole) style.

After all those boat tours, mountain hikes and art gallery walks, you’re going to need to eat! Puerto Vallarta, and all of Jalisco state, are getting a lot of attention lately for birria tacos, a local delicacy you’ll want to try at Birria Chanfay. For non-meat eaters, the local vegan scene won’t disappoint either.

With so many things to see, do and eat in Puerto Vallarta, let’s look at the best way to spend 3 Days in Puerto Vallarta on your Mexico vacation. If you have more than three days, there are many nice day trips from Puerto Vallarta that you can take.

3 Days In Puerto Vallarta Itinerary

What To Do In Puerto Vallarta: Day 1

When thinking of what to do in Puerto Vallarta, you’re likely going to want to hit the beach right on your first day! After all, Puerto Vallarta has some of the best beaches in Mexico, and it’s why most people visit. This is also the perfect time to acclimate to the town’s layout and get your bearings.

Start your day with the Malecon Sculpture Art Walk, one of the best free things to do in Puerto Vallarta. On this walk, you’ll see all 15 of the famous sculptures along the Malecon and learn about the artists who made them.

Tours depart at 9:30am at the Millennium sculpture next to Hotel Rosita; reservations not required. If this time isn’t convenient, you can always just walk the Malecon yourself and check out the sculptures. By doing this, you’ll still get an idea of what’s available to you along Puerto Vallarta’s main pedestrian street.

See Also: What To Do in Tulum in 3 days

The Art Walk ends at Galeria Pacifico art gallery, near La Tostaderia, an adorable cafe to get some brunch before hitting Playa Los Muertos beach. This is the most popular beach in Puerto Vallarta, located next to the iconic Sail Dock at the Playa Los Muertos pier. At Playa Los Muertos, you’ll find a lively atmosphere, with plenty of beach clubs and bars.

Some of the best beach clubs on Playa de Los Muertos are El Dorado Beach Club and Sapphire Ocean Club, for those wanting a more relaxed environment, and Mantamar Beach Club, if you want to party hardy.

If you’re looking for a calmer beach, take an Uber or taxi to Playa Conchas Chinas, known as the best beach in Puerto Vallarta, or head even further to Playa Palmares, where locals go to truly escape the crowds. Here, you can pay for a day pass from the gorgeous Garza Blanca Preserve Resort & Spa and even get a spa treatment. 

The name Conchas Chinas means curly shells or curvy shells, because you can find a unique type of mollusk shell on this one particular beach. Here, you can just lay your towel in the sand and jump in the water, or pay for a hotel or beach club day pass so you can use their amenities like umbrellas, chairs and bathrooms.

Playa Conchas Chinas has several beach clubs and hotels to check out, including Grand Fiesta Americana, Hotel Hyatt Ziva, Hotel Costa Sur and Casa Karma. While all of these options charge and “entrance fee,” that amount usually goes towards your food/drink tab, so it’s really just the minimum amount they require everyone to spend.

In the evening, consider a sunset dinner cruise, or even dinner at La Palapa on the Malecon to watch the sunset. This town is known for amazing sunsets, so make sure to catch one during your 3 days in Puerto Vallarta. For an upscale sunset dinner, El Panorama has some of the most stunning city and sunset views in Puerto Vallarta.

For those with a lot of energy to spare, head up to the Mirador Cerro de la Cruz before dinner. This lookout tower hovers high atop Puerto Vallarta, and provides 360° views of the Bay of Banderas to the west and Sierra Madre mountains to the east. If you’re looking to take some beautiful Puerto Vallarta photos, this is the perfect place, especially at sunset.

Puerto Vallarta In 3 Days: Day 2

Wondering what to do in Puerto Vallarta on your second day? Start bright and early with a morning tour to snorkel, kayak and stand up paddleboard at Los Arcos. The Arches is a well-known rock formation in Banderas Bay, and one of the top things to see in Puerto Vallarta because it has the best snorkeling in the area. The calm waters around Los Arcos make it the perfect place to kayak and stand up paddleboard as well.

After working up an appetite on your tour, head to Ono Smoothie Bowls, a local’s favorite for smoothies, acai bowls, and light, healthy fare, located on picturesque Basilio Badillo street in Zona Romantica.

The Romantic Zone along with Viejo Vallarta, or Old Town, are the best neighborhoods in Puerto Vallarta, where you’ll find all the charming, colorful vintage buildings. Along Basilio Badillo, you’ll find cute shops, unique architecture, lots of pretty bougainvillea bushes, plenty of street art, and many options for cafes, restaurants and bars.

You’ll want to spend some time walking around the Zona Romantica, passing by the iconic Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and taking a stroll along the Río Cuale (Cuale River). Along the river, you’ll find the Isla Rio Cuale Market, the perfect place to shop for artisan crafts and souvenirs.

If you want to take a unique piece of Puerto Vallarta home with you, be on the lookout for some huichol art. Pronounced wee-chole, this colorful bead art is made by the native Huicholes and very emblematic of Puerto Vallarta and Jalisco state. Unlike many other popular Mexico beach towns, Puerto Vallarta still feels unique in that its culture is seen and felt all over town.

When it’s time for dinner, no visit to Puerto Vallarta is complete without eating at Pancho’s Takos, a favorite among locals and visitors alike, and considered by many to have the best Mexican food in Puerto Vallarta. You’ll find Pancho’s by the long line outside, which does move relatively quick, so don’t let it intimidate you.

See Also: Things To Do in San Cristobal de las Casas in 3 Days

This smaller restaurant specializes in the most famous tacos in Mexico, tacos al pastor (marinated pork cooked on a spit), and volcanes (tostadas topped with pastor meat and melted cheese). For those who don’t eat meat, skip Pancho’s and head to Planeta Vegetariano, a longtime Puerto Vallarta vegan/vegetarian institution.

For some after-dinner cocktails, the Zona Romantica has plenty of options, including El Colibrí, one of the best cocktail bars in Puerto Vallarta. Some other neighborhood favorites include Los Muertos Brewing, for locally-made beer, El Patio de Mi Casa, a jazz club/wine bar, and Bar Morelos, the place for high energy music and all-night dancing.

Puerto Vallarta In 3 Days: Last Day

On the last day of the trip to Puerto Vallarta, consider a day or half-day trip to one of the surrounding areas like Sayulita, or a boat trip to Yelapa, or even an ATV trip through the jungles of the Sierra Madre mountains.

Day Trip to Sayulita

Jump on a bus or Uber for the one-hour trip to Nayarit state and the pueblo magico, or magic town, of Sayulita, Mexico. What makes Sayulita so magical? The Mexican Secretary of Tourism designated certain pueblos (small towns) as “magico” for their natural beauty, unique folklore, interesting local customs and other noteworthy criteria.

There are about 140 pueblos magicos, including the colorful beach town of Sayulita. It is located only about an hour away from Puerto Vallarta, and makes for a great day trip to check out the town and even take a surfing lesson.

In Sayulita, you can also relax on their more low-key beaches, like Playa de los Muertos. Though it does share a name with the beach in Puerto Vallarta, this is a totally different, and unique beach. Located just behind this beach, you’ll find a small cemetery, colorfully-decorated in the same festive style as many Mexican cemeteries, hence the name Playa de Los Muertos, or beach of the dead.

On the main beach, Playa Sayulita, there’s plenty of surf schools that offer surfing lessons for newcomers to this fun sport. The waves just off of this beach are on the smaller side, and perfect for beginners, so there’s no shortage of people heading to Sayulita to learn how to surf.

In its small downtown, Sayulita is colorfully decorated with papel picado (confetti paper, or punctured paper) flags all year-round. These traditional Mexican folk art flags are generally put up throughout the country during festivals and holidays, but they stay up all year in Sayulita. As a result, this town has become quite famous on Instagram for its bright colors and laid back, old school beach town vibes.

Stroll the downtown for some great photos, and check out all the cool boutique shops and art galleries, like Evoke the Spirit, located on the same street as Sayulita Plaza. This is the center of town, and the most Instagram worthy spot for photos in downtown Sayulita. There are some restaurants here, great for eating, drinking and people-watching.

Day Trip to Yelapa

A day trip to Yelapa is among the best things to do in Puerto Vallarta. It is a small town and fishing village not far from the city. It is only accessible via a panga, or water taxi. You can catch the water taxi from the Sail Dock at the Playa de los Muertos pier, for only about $20USD round trip, as this is a short one-hour boat trip. Boats tend to run from about 9am-5pm only.

Once getting to Yelapa, many choose to spend the day relaxing on a relatively people-free beach and in a more natural setting. There’s a small town area, and a few restaurants and beach bars in the main cove beach at Yelapa, but little else.

Beyond the beach, there are hikes to waterfalls and hot springs just east of the beach in the lush jungle valleys of the Sierra Madres. The most popular is to the Yelapa waterfall, but a local guide or a tour guide from Puerto Vallarta can take visitors more deeply into the jungle to see the off the beaten spots in Yelapa.

Day Trips to Zipline & Ride ATVs

Although many visit Puerto Vallarta with the hopes of relaxing by the pool with a margarita in hand, those wanting to get their adrenaline pumping will also find it here. There are several types of tours like these, some that combine rappelling off a cliff and ziplining through the jungle, and some companies take guests through the jungles on all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs.

The ATV tours are not only fun, but since they can go off-road and through the mountains, you’ll see a side of Puerto Vallarta most will not. Many guides will take visitors on a cliffside journey along the Bay of Banderas, through lush jungle trails, and into the small pueblos and sleepy fishing villages surrounding Puerto Vallarta.

They also make stops at hidden waterfalls, natural swimming holes and other hidden spots only locals know about. For people visiting in the summer, know that Puerto Vallarta can get very hot, but it’s cool, comfortable and magical up in these mountains as you swim under waterfalls and in jungle pools. 

Whatever you decide for your last day of the options listed, you’re going to work up an appetite and want to have a nice final dinner in Puerto Vallarta.

If you want to get very fancy, check out the restaurant options in the Four Seasons or St. Regis in the upscale Punta Mita area, about one hour west of Puerto Vallarta. If you’re not looking to leave Puerto Vallarta itself, check out the stunning Cafe des Artistes, chic all-white La Leche restaurant, and the charming Iguana Restaurant & Tequila Bar.

Hopefully, you now see that 3 days in Puerto Vallarta can be a relaxing-yet-action-packed shorter trip. You can do a lot in this Mexico beach destination in a short amount of time because there are so many great things to do in the city itself, and so many day trips located within just one hour of Puerto Vallarta.

About The Author: Shelley is a former Miami travel magazine editor who ditched the office for the world! After traveling solo to 14 states in Mexico, she decided to live in Merida, Mexico full time. Shelley now helps other women cross Solo Travel and Mexico Travel off their bucket list through her Travel Mexico Solo blog and Dream To Destination podcast.