Overlooking old town Puerto Vallarta
No trip to Banderas Bay is complete without a journey into the center of Puerto Vallarta. The main city on the bay, PV has recently grown due to a bustling tourist trade – there are rows of large new hotels on the beaches to the north of town, and a steady stream of cruise ships drops off passengers for day trips into town during the winter season.
Exploring the neighborhoods
We’d heard that PV is a nice place to spend the day, with winding narrow streets and scenic historic buildings. So the family jumped on the local bus to check it out. After only one easy change of buses and a total of about 50 minutes and 20 pesos each, we were in PV.
One of many beautiful garden stairways leading up the hills through PV
First destination was the malecon, a nicely developed concrete walkway that winds along PV’s waterfront. Unfortunately, this also seems to be the primary destination for the hordes of cruise ship passengers. As a result, the malecon was lined with tourist traps. Subtract the beach, and it’s more or less the same as any other tourist spot in a decent sized city – sunglass stores, t-shirt stands and bad restaurants.
Taking a break
Just a couple of blocks inland, however, the better side of PV emerges. Narrow staircases built into the side of the steep hills that line the bay lead to quiet residential neighborhoods of historic row houses. Small local hotels and restaurants populate most corners, and every gap in the houses reveals a commanding view of the bay.
El Faro (The Lighthouse) on Matamoros Street in downtown PV
Only a few blocks walk, and we found what feels like the authentic local Puerto Vallarta.
