Clearly, the Puerto Vallarta region offers enough for a year-long vacation, so you should pick and choose according to your interests and available time and money. First- or short-time visitors should probably stay in an old-town hotel, where they can enjoy the close-by shopping, strolling, good restaurants, and night life (2–5 days). From town, venture out either by tour, rental car, or bus for a day of exploring in nearby Bay of Banderas beach villages, such as Mismaloya, Boca de Tomatlán, or Yelapa.

  Stray a bit farther north and west, and spend a day or two around the Bay of Banderas exploring the creamy beaches or Bucerías and Punta Mita. Alternatively, off-pavement adventurers might enjoy a full-day or longer excursion to the picturesque mountain mining town of San Sebastián, in the Sierra Cuale east of Puerto Vallarta.

  If time permits, ramble north for a few days along the coast of Nayarit to enjoy the plumy beaches, comfortable inns, and colorful country ambience of Sayulita and San Francisco (San Pancho). Or continue a half hour farther north for a stay at the family-friendly, palm-shaded beach resorts and RV havens of Lo de Marco, Rincón de Guayabitos, and Chacala. An hour farther, on the road to San Blas, hike to jungle cascades and enjoy world-class surfing around the Bay of Matanchen. And finally, at San Blas, take a mangrove-jungle boat tour for views of yawning crocodiles, giant grey herons, freshwater turtles, and shiny-black cormorants (1–3 days).

  There are plenty of other ways to fill your time: Take a driving excursion (5 hours) or fly to Guadalajara, Mexico’s grand “Most Mexican of Cities” (2–5 days). Besides enjoying Guadalajara’s eclectic mix of fine cuisine and its vibrant panorama of museums, murals, markets, and music, be sure to visit its celebrated handicrafts villages (ceramics, glass, papier mâché, and more) of Tlaquepaque and Tonalá. Continue an hour south of Guadalajara and spend at least a day’s visit, or a few restful nights in a comfortable bed-and-breakfast, at colorful Ajijic village on the sunset shoreline of vast Lake Chapala.

  Back on the Jalisco Coast south of Puerto Vallarta, follow the paved highway south for a day’s exploration, or linger a few nights on the palmy strands and islet-dotted bays and beaches of Chamela, Careyes, Tenacatita, Boca de Iguanas, or La Manzanilla. All are ripe for fishing, boogie boarding, surfing, and beachcombing.

  Continue to the Puerto Vallarta region’s far southern end to the downscale twin beach resorts of Barra de Navidad and Melaque. There you can pass some restful time in the country strolling, sunning, fishing, and beachcombing by day and boogieing by night.

WHEN TO GO
Formerly mostly seasonal, Puerto Vallarta is increasingly a year-round destination. Foreign visitors—especially couples—visit most often during the clear, dry, balmy winter (days about 80°F, nights about 60°F). Mexican visitors—often whole families—prefer weekends year-round and holidays, especially Easter (be sure to make early reservations) and the school vacation months of July and August. Everyone crowds into Puerto Vallarta during the two weeks between December 20 or so and New Year’s Day, when crowds are biggest, hotel prices are highest, and hotel reservations should be made many months in advance.

  So, when to go? If you prefer the winter, avoid crowds and the peak hotel prices by going in January, after New Year’s Day. On the other hand, although many folks think the summer is too hot in Puerto Vallarta, that’s not necessarily the case. July, August, and especially September are good times to go because rains and cloud cover moderate the heat, so that days are actually cooler than during the hot, dry spring months of April, May, and the first half of June. Furthermore, the summer tropical rainstorms, which usually don’t last more than an hour or two, result in lots of wildflowers, butterflies, and green for the many folks who arrive from summer-dry California, Oregon, and Washington.

  For some savvy travelers, the best of all possible times to visit the Puerto Vallarta region is the late fall months of October, November, and early December, when the landscape remains a lush green, the hotels are uncrowded and lowest-priced, and the days are warm and the nights balmy.

  If there is a time not to visit Puerto Vallarta, it’s during the dry months of April, May, and the first half of June, when much of the natural vegetation is dried-out brown and daytime highs often top 90°F for days on end.

WHAT TO TAKE
Loose-fitting, hand-washable, easy-to-dry clothes make for trouble-free tropical vacationing. Easy-to-wash synthetic or cotton-synthetic-blend shirts, blouses, pants, socks, and underwear will fit the bill everywhere in the coastal Puerto Vallarta region. For cool breezy nights, especially during the winter, always bring a lightweight windbreaker. If you’re going to the highlands (Guadalajara, San Sebastián–Mascota–Talpa, or Tepic), add a medium-weight jacket.

  How much you pack depends on how mobile you want to be. If you’re staying your whole time at a self-contained resort, you can take the two suitcases and one carry-on allowed by airlines. If, on the other hand, you’re going to be moving around a lot, you’d do better to condense everything into one easily carried bag with wheels that doubles as luggage and soft backpack. Experienced travelers accomplish this by packing prudently and tightly, choosing items that will do double or triple duty.

HOW TO GET THERE
Most Puerto Vallarta–bound travelers go by air (3–5 hours’ flying time) from the North American gateways of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Tijuana, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, and Newark. During the late fall, winter, and early spring, the gateway list expands to include charter flights from other U.S. cities, and Canadian cities such as Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal.

  For cost-conscious travelers, express buses provide a safe and sure route to Puerto Vallarta. Hundreds of buses head south daily from central bus stations (camioneras centrales) in the south-of-the-border towns of Tijuana, Mexicali, Nogales, Ciudad Juárez, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, and Matamoros. By all means, for comfort and speed, go luxury-class (about $80, 30 hours).

  Although it isn’t a route for everyone, many visitors drive their cars or RVs to Puerto Vallarta. Driving time runs about three south-of-the-border days at the wheel, and costs around $60 in (very worthwhile) expressway tolls for passenger cars (about triple that for motor homes).