Good coffee is plentiful in Puerto Vallarta, where many cafés roast from their own private sources of beans. The best coffeehouses are sprinkled along Avenida Olas Altas, just a block from Playa los Muertos. Here, coffee- and book-lovers get the best of both worlds at Page in the Sun (corner of Olas Altas and M. Dieguez, tel. 322/223-1273, 7 a.m.–midnight daily), diagonally across from Hotel Playa Olas Altas. At Page in the Sun, longtimers sip coffee and play chess while others enjoy their pick of lattes, cappuccinos, ice cream, muffins, and walls of used paperbacks and magazines.

Exactly one block farther up Olas Altas, take a table at the Café San Ángel (corner of Rodríguez, 8 a.m.–10 p.m. daily, $3–5) and soak up the sidewalk scene. Here, you can enjoy breakfast, a sandwich, or dessert and good coffee in a dozen varieties.

For fancier offerings and refined ambience, go to the Old Europe–style Café Maximilian (380 Olas Altas, tel. 322/222-5058, 8 a.m.–midnight daily, closed Sun. in low season) on the sidewalk in front of Hotel Playa los Arcos.

On the north side of town, coffee lovers can also get their fill, especially at one of the sprinkling of coffeehouses that have recently appeared on Calle Corona, just a block and a half inland from the Malecón.