Best Beaches in Puerto Vallarta: Puerto Vallarta is a city famous for its beautiful scenery, luxury resorts, great food, and nightlife. Without a doubt its biggest attraction, however, are its beaches. The beaches in Puerto Vallarta are famous throughout the world for their soft, yellow sands, cool blue Pacific waters, and wealth of activities to take part in, including snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, boating, jet skiing, fishing, and much more. But what are the best beaches in Puerto Vallarta? Here is a list of the city’s top beaches and the reasons why you should visit each one.
Conchas Chinas Beach
A long, sandy beach located in downtown Puerto Vallarta, Conchas Chinas Beach is known for its calm waters and the natural “pools” that form in the ocean just off its shores, trapped by the beach’s rock formations. Popular activities on Conchas Chinas Beach include relaxing on the shore, swimming and wading through the calm, clear waters, snorkeling, scuba diving, paddleboarding, and playing volleyball on the beach.
Conchas Chinas Beach is a great place for families, couples, and solo travelers alike, as the relaxed atmosphere and calm waters are perfect for children, the elderly, and everyone in between.
The natural beauty of the beach is renowned, although the rock formations that are responsible for the beautiful, calm pools all over the beach can be sharp, so if you plan on exploring the pools, you may want to consider wearing protective shoes.
Just off the beach there are plenty of great restaurants and bars that serve the local specialties, like grilled fish, fish tacos, shrimp, octopus, and local beers and margaritas made with local tequila.
Conchas Chinas Beach has everything you need for a beach day trip and is a must-visit beach on your next trip to Puerto Vallarta.
Madagascar Beach
A small, hidden beach accessible only by water taxi or a short hike from the city proper, Madagascar Beach is one of the hidden gems of Puerto Vallarta. The beach is located on the city’s south shore and is small but extremely beautiful. Surrounded by jungle and stunning rock formations, the natural splendor of the beach is unrivaled. The turquoise waters lap gently at the sandy yellow shore, and further out at the horizon, the dark blue waters blendy seamlessly with the sky.
Facilities at Madagascar Beach are scant, but the beach is so secluded that there are never crowds there, and you may even have the beach completely to yourself. You should plan to spend at least a couple hours on Madagascar Beach, and bring snacks and water with you since there are no restaurants in the area.
Los Muertos Beach
Los Muertos Beach (translated as “Deadman’s Beach,” allegedly due to the frequent pirate raids that used to take place at a village on the beach) is one of the most popular beaches in Puerto Vallarta. Locals and tourists alike flock to Los Muertos Beach, so if you plan on going, you should try to get there as early as possible to get a good spot, otherwise you may find that the beach has become very crowded and you are not able to get a beachfront location.
The crowds on Los Muertos Beach mean that there are plenty of vendors and companies catering to the tourists, so you will find that there is a lot to do on the beach. You can easily rent a boogie board or kayak, or go parasailing on a boat that launches from the beach. You can also purchase food and drinks from vendors on the beach, and sit back and relax with a beer in your hand.
The waters off of Los Muertos Beach are calm without big waves, so it is a great swimming beach, although not as good for surfers or boogie boarders. If you want to get out of the sun, there are also plenty of restaurants and bars located up and down the beach serving great seafood and local dishes.
Mismaloya Beach
Mismaloya Beach is the beach that first put Puerto Vallarta on the map. Made famous as the setting for the 1964 movie The Night of the Iguana, Mismaloya Beach is one of Puerto Vallarta’s most popular beaches.
Stretching nearly 1000 feet in length along Puerto Vallarta’s southern coast, Mismaloya Beach is known for its stunning natural beauty. The beach is surrounded by the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains and thick, lush forest. The cool Pacific waters around the beach are calm and clear–great for swimming, snorkeling, stand up paddleboarding, and fishing.
Just off the beach are a wide variety of great restaurants and bars, and a tequila factory, where you can sit down and eat or get lunch to go and eat it on the beach.
Camarones Beach
A beautiful beach that is usually less crowded than most of the other popular beaches in Puerto Vallarta, Camarones Beach is one of Puerto Vallarta’s must-visit beaches. The soft, warm sands and calm waters make Camarones Beach the perfect place to relax in the sun, swim, snorkeling, paddleboard, jet ski, parasail, and more.
This pristine beach stretches nearly 2000 feet along the coast on the northern side of downtown Puerto Vallarta. Strolling and jogging along the beach is a popular activity among both locals and tourists, and the southern end of the beach is a sport fishing hotspot.
Beach parties and gatherings are also popular on Camarones Beach, and barbeques and weekend parties are frequent. Just off the beach are a wide variety of bars and restaurants serving great seafood and authentic Mexican food.
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