Puerto Vallarta

Five Vallarta days taking in Los Arcos, Río Cuale and Yelapa

Spend your first Puerto Vallarta day on the Malecón in the Centro, the seafront promenade first laid out in 1936, walking south past its sculptures, among them the seahorse rider and the ladder-climbing figures of In Search of Reason. Stop at Los Arcos, the open-air stage, and climb a block to the crown-topped church of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

In the afternoon, cross to the Río Cuale island for its craft stalls and the Huston statue, then drift into the Zona Romántica for dinner on Basilio Badillo.

Day two. Spend the morning on Los Muertos beach and walk the modern pier. In the afternoon, take a city bus south to Mismaloya, where the Iguana film was made, and continue to Boca de Tomatlán to watch the boats come in.

Day three. Board a water taxi to Yelapa, a village reachable only by sea. Hike to its waterfall, swim, and eat fish on the beach before the last boat back.

Day four. Take a licensed boat to the Marietas Islands for snorkelling, or, from December to March, a whale-watching trip into the bay. Go out early, when the sea is calm.

Day five. Drive or join a tour into the mountains to San Sebastián del Oeste, an old silver-mining town of whitewashed houses and cobbles at high altitude, or visit the Vallarta Botanical Garden south of town, then head north for a final sunset in Sayulita or Bucerías.

Pescado zarandeado, raicilla and tacos on Basilio Badillo

Puerto Vallarta's classic dish is pescado zarandeado: a whole snapper or similar fish, split, coated in chilli and citrus paste and grilled over hot coals in a wire basket, then eaten with tortillas, onion and salsa. Beach restaurants around the bay serve it to share, and on Los Muertos vendors sell pescado en vara, fish grilled on a stick.

Shrimp appear in tacos, in empanadas fried to order and in aguachile, raw shrimp in lime and green chilli. For breakfast, try birria, the Jalisco goat or beef stew, at a market fonda, or chilaquiles with salsa and egg.

Street tacos are a nightly ritual. Stands open in the evenings across the Centro and the Zona Romántica, and the older neighbourhood of El Pitillal, inland from the hotel zone, is where many locals go. Some stands serve only at lunch, others only after dark, so ask a local which is which.

For something sit-down, Basilio Badillo in the Zona Romántica is the restaurant row, mixing Mexican, Mediterranean and creative menus within a few blocks.

Drink raicilla, a rustic agave spirit made in the mountains of the Jalisco coast, distilled in small batches and smoky like mezcal. Street carts sell cold tejuino and coconut water. Choose busy stands and sealed drinks in the hottest months to avoid stomach trouble.

Humpbacks, turtle releases and Guadalupe processions through the year

Puerto Vallarta's dry season runs from roughly November to May, with February to April almost rainless, highs of 27 to 28 C and January nights near 17 C. From June heat and humidity build to 32 C, and July to September each bring over 300 mm of rain, mostly in evening storms, with hurricane risk until October.

December to March is whale season. Humpbacks travel down from northern waters to breed and calve in the bay, and boats regularly see them breaching, slapping fins and singing. The peak usually falls between late January and early March.

Turtles take over from summer into autumn. Olive ridleys come ashore to nest on beaches around the bay, and hotels and conservation camps collect eggs and release hatchlings into the sea at sunset, often with visitors watching.

The town's festival year starts with Carnaval in February, with a parade through the Zona Romántica. Vallarta Pride fills the Malecón in May with a week of parties ending in a Saturday parade. A half marathon is run on the first weekend of November, and the Festival Gourmet International brings guest chefs to local kitchens in November.

From 1 to 12 December, groups of pilgrims from businesses, neighbourhoods and schools walk in procession to the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe every evening, with music, costumes and dancers, ending on the saint's feast day. It is the best time to see the town celebrate for itself.