If it is your first visit to the Puerto Vallarta area, a trip into downtown Puerto Vallarta is always fun. To get to Puerto Vallarta, just board the bus and it will take you all the way into town for only $20 pesos (roughly $1.80. I would suggest that you let the driver know that you want to go into Old Town and he will let you know when it is time to get off the bus. The bus ride from Punta Mita will take about an hour and fifteen minutes from beginning to end. From where the bus leaves you, it is about a 15-minute walk into Old Town, or you can simply grab a taxi to take you for a nominal fee (which is what I suggest). If you drive your own automobile, I strongly suggest that you park at Sam's Club / Wal Mart and take a taxi into downtown. Taxis are plentiful and inexpensive. Parking downtown in next to impossible and traffic is outrageous. Unless you know Puerto Vallarta like the back of your hand and are a seasoned Mexico driver, it isn't worth the stress.

The Puerto Vallarta Flea Market

One of the best places to start your exploration of Old Town is at the Mercado Municipal, or Flea Market.

Look for This Sign for the Flea Market

Have the taxi driver drop you at the Flea Market and this will put you tight into the very heart of the downtown area. While the shopping in the flea market is good, I believe that the flea market in Bucerias is better. Check out the info on Bucerias if your intention is to shop for souvenirs and such.

Typical Flea Market Store

You will find just about everything you can imagine in the shops in the Flea Market and the surrounding streets. The street that parallels the Malecon and Front Street offers shops for several blocks and there is shopping for everything under the sun.

Another Typical Flea Market Store

You will find bargains on ceramics, knock off fashions, linens, blankets, wood carvings and tons of other products. Note that you should negotiate the price. I usually start with a counter offer of 50% of what they are asking.

The Malecon Arches

Once you have explored the Flea Market and surrounding shops on the back streets, the thing to do is to start exploring the ocean front Malecon area of Old Town. This is classic Puerto Vallarta. The ocean front Malecon stretches in both directions from here. 

The Malecon Looking North From the River Bridge

If it is not time for lunch yet, I would suggest going to the left along the Malecon and over the bridge that spans the river.

Stairs That Lead to Rio Quale Island Shopping

You will see stairs that go down to the island in the middle of the Rio Quale river. Take these stairs down to the walkway that starts there.

Shopping Along the River

The walkway continues up the river for a number of blocks and there is excellent shopping along the way. This wonderful spot is often overlooked by visitors who think that Old Town ends by the arches.

More Shops Along the River

As you explore this area you will find wonderful little restaurants, bars and shops offering all sorts of items of interest. The river walk eventually ends up at one of the bridges where you can climb up the stairs and head south (or to the right).

Playa Los Muertos

By taking one of the streets back to the beach you are now in an area of excellent restaurants, many of which are directly on the beach.

Playa Los Muertos Beach Restaurants

Playa Los Muertos is an excellent beach for hanging out all day. The restaurants are wonderful and it is also the home of the Yelapa water taxi if you want to visit Yelapa for the day.

Para Sailing in Puerto Vallarta

There is plenty to do on Los Muertos Beach. You can even try parasailing if you would like.

Puerto Vallarta's Cathedral of Our Lady of Guaralupe

By now you might be getting hungry and / or thirsty. You can retrace your steps along the Malecon to the arches where you started this portion of your exploration. If you look across the street towards the square, you will find Puerto Vallarta's Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is well worth a visit and while it isn't the rich architecture that one would find in Europe, the Cathedral is stunning.

A Walk Along the Malecon with Shopping and Restaurants on the Street

Returning to the Malecon for a stroll along the beach one finds tons of unique statues and sandcastles.

The Last Supper in Sand

Mexican Dancers

Puerto Vallarta Mermaid

No Idea What This One Is

More Interesting Artwork

As you walk along the Malecon you are likely to see every kind of person known to mankind. There are numerous street vendors selling everything under the sun and there are excellent art kiosks near the arches if you are looking for a painting from Puerto Vallarta. If you stay for the evening, the Malecon becomes crowded with locals whose tradition is to gather there for sunset every evening.

A Couple of Downtown's Many Restaurants

As you move away from the arches and into the main downtown area, you will see numerous restaurants and bars. Puerto Vallarta has just about every restaurant known to man (including all of the American chains) There are also numerous shopping opportunities including all of the major cruise port shops like Diamonds International and all of the others.

One of the Other Downtown Churches

As you make your way through the downtown area you will see more churches that are beautiful and many other sights you may wish to visit.

When it comes time to go back to El Anclote, I would suggest taking a taxi all the way to Sam's Club, doing some shopping here or at Wal Mart and then catching the Punta Mita bus back home. When you look towards the two bus areas on the street in front of Wal Mart, the Punta Mita bus departs from the one on the right (or northern bus stop). It will be clearly marked for Bucerias, La Cruz and Punta Mita.

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