|
Home / Recreation and Leisure / Travel
The Beaches Of Puerto Vallarta
By:Justin Burch
The beaches in and around Puerto Vallarta may be the most diverse in Mexico. Located at the midpoint of Banderas Bay, the area surrounding Puerto Vallarta boasts 34 miles of coastline, 26 of which are sandy beaches. Within the city, the beaches are elegant and pristine, bordered by restaurants and resorts. Beaches to the north of the city tend to be longer and wider, with great opportunities for surfing and swimming. South of Puerto Vallarta, the mountains topple into the sea in places, creating placid coves and intimate sandy pockets.
Playa Los Muertos is the most frequented beach in Puerto Vallarta. This sandy beach is long and wide with small waves perfect for swimming. Despite its popularity, there is usually plenty of room to spread out a towel and soak up rays. Los Muertos is a bustling place full of craft and food vendors; the beach itself is lined by numerous resorts, restaurants and bars. This is also a great place to ride a parasail and get a bird’s eye view of the city. The beach has the added attraction of being on the edge of Viejo Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta’s beautiful old town.
Several other beautiful beaches lie in close proximity to the city’s Hotel Zone. Playa El Saldo, also known as Marina Vallarta, primarily caters to hotel guests. However, the beach is wide and well-maintained, offering stunning views of the city and its mountainous backdrop. Playa Pelicanos is generally quiet, making it a great place to escape the beach crowds while remaining in the heart of the city. Playa Las Glorias is the name of the sandy stretch between Playa Pelicanos and Marina Vallarta. If you’re staying in a hotel north of the primary Hotel Zone, you will find this excellent swimming beach outside your back door.
North of the city, the beach of Nuevo Vallarta offers a wider stretch of sand with fewer rocks than most beaches within Banderas Bay. As favorites of families, visitors to Playa Destiladeres and Playa Bucerias can expect mild waves (perfect for boogie-boarding or learning to surf), elegant white sand beaches and fresh seafood at charming palapa-shaded restaurants.
To the North, Punta Mita, also known as Playa Anclote, is distinguished for its row of pleasant beach restaurants and gentle slope, making it a perfect beach for all ages. With consistently low, rolling waves, Punta Mita is also celebrated as an excellent place to learn to surf. There are even a few surfing schools that offer instruction to travelers.
For those with more experience on the waves, the tiny community of Sayulita is the place of choice. A surfing mecca of international renown, the shoreline of this picturesque fishing village is home to abundant coves and beaches where surfers hunt perfect waves and day trippers relax in the sun. As Sayulita has developed over the past few years into a surfer’s town with a bohemian feel, travelers will be treated to a refreshing, laid-back attitude.
A few miles beyond the northern-most point of the bay are the beaches of San Francisco and San Pancho. Sporting a windswept and primitive feeling, with deeper, creamier sand and rougher waters than inside Banderas Bay, these beaches are ideal for travelers who want a taste of pristine nature and the open sea.
To the south of Puerto Vallarta lie such treasures as Playa Gemelas, Playa Garza Blanca, and Playa Punta Negra. Because both are slightly more difficult to access, you’ll find beautiful beaches that are fairly secluded and scarcely used, with great rock outcroppings for snorkeling. In this area, you’ll also find Playa Mismaloya, where John Huston’s The Night of the Iguana was filmed in 1963, putting Puerto Vallarta on the international tourist map.
With a rustic South Seas feel, Boca de Tomatlan is a small sandy cove at the jungle’s edge three miles south of Mismaloya where the Tomatlan River meets the bay. Boca de Tomatlan is the last beach stop on the primary road heading south from Puerto Vallarta. It is another great site for swimming or snorkeling with a couple of lovely beach restaurants where you can sit under a palapa on the beach and enjoy fresh seafood.
To the south of Boca de Tomatlan are a number of quaint fishing villages, secluded beaches and peaceful coves. Playas Las Caletas and Las Animas are elegant, rock-lined stretches ideal for quiet relaxation. Quimixto, one of the largest fishing villages in the southern half of Banderas Bay, features a number of excellent restaurants and the best surf south of Puerto Vallarta. Near the southern-most point of the bay, Majahuitas and Yelapa allow visitors to feel completely removed from civilization. Bordered by lush jungles, these beaches are the definition of tropical privacy.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: Puerto Vallerta resort, mexico hotel, mexico vacation, mexico resort
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
This article was written by Justin Burch. Justin writes select pieces about travel in Mexico for the CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort. - marriott.com/property/propertypage/PVRMX
|
|
| Top Travel Articles |
- 1). Halloween In Siberia – Sort Of By : Nomad Rick
Live in another country and you’ll start to experience serious cultural differences. This is particularly true as I discovered with Halloween in Siberia.
Russian Holidays
I loved living in Russia and the primary reason was people. Russians love to celebrate and they are big into holidays. In Chita, Siberia, practically everyday was a holiday. During communism, Russia celebrated the worker with holidays such as bus driver day, teacher day and so on.
|
- 2). Oktoberfest - A Celebration Of German Culture By : Rick Hendershot
Oktoberfest is one of the world's great seasonal festivals. It is held every fall in Munich, Bavaria, and in other locations around the world.
The first Oktoberfest started as a series of horse races in honour of the wedding of the Crown Prince of Bavaria in 1810. The horse races became an annual event and were combined with the state agricultural fair the following year.
|
- 3). Consolidators=Cheap Flights! By : Victor Pryles
Our Pauper loves to save money using an airfare consolidator. These consolidators contract with airlines to get tickets at cheaper rates than the general public. Because they buy large blocks of tickets the airlines love them.
Though you can get really good deals by knowing how to use consolidators, remember they are not structured for great service.
|
- 4). A Nice Savanna Vacation By : Jenny Riley
Almost everyone have their own ideal vacation spot. This usually considered as the perfect place where the worries and toils of survival can be forgotten momentarily. And two natural elements that often characterize this ideal vacation spot are the sun and the ocean.
There must be something about the sea that makes people flock to it. But humans we know are very unique.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 8). The town of Chambéry By : Jakob Jelling
Chambéry is located within the Alps, in France, and is one of the most famous and attractive towns of the region. From this town, visitors could have
|
- 9). Bizarre travel guide By : Mansi gupta
Carrying a travel bag and looking around the places of historical and sculptural importance. Is that what you conceive as a holiday? If yes you haven’t seen or heard enough. The traveling experience can be more than rewarding if the choice of the places to visit is bizarre. And more so going to those untouched places can be one hell-of an experience.
|
- 10). Rental Car Insurance: Types, Coverage, and Recommendations By : Dave Carter
When looking at the different options for car rental insurance in the United States, you will generally run into five options. These are Loss Damage Waivers (LDW) which are also commonly referred to as Collision Damage Waivers (CDW). There is also Liability Insurance Supplement (LIS), Personal Accident Insurance (PAI), and UMP, which is Un- and Underinsured Motorist Protection.
|
| New Travel Articles |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 5). Our First Golf Trip to Scotland By : Rick Hendershot
As a focus for our trip we decided to visit Royal Dornoch three or so hours north of Edinburgh, and Machrihanish over on the Mull of Kintyre about as close to Ireland as you can get on mainland Scotland.
|
- 6). Travel Light By : Kadence Buchanan
How many times have you returned from a trip only to discover that at least some of the clothes you packed in your suitcase were left folded without ever seeing the light of the day?
|
|
|
- 8). How To Find The Best Hotel By : Kurt Naulaerts
These days you no longer have to fret about motel hells and seedy lodgings that over-charge you for a flea-infested closet of a room. This is all thanks to hotel search engines.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
