Where To Stay: Regions Of Vallarta in Banderas Bay
By Josef Kandoll W

Like most cities, Puerto Vallarta consists of numerous neighborhoods, each with its identity and ambience. Even though you may not choose to stay next door to your favorite activity, it's important to view the proximity to activities you plan during your stay. Transportation may be an issue for leaving early or arriving late or you might want to be within walking distance of your favorite beaches or shops. Maximize your time by planning ahead. Here we describe the zones of Banderas Bay.

DOWNTOWN OR CENTRO

Downtown Puerto Vallarta is the pulsing heart of a vibrant, Mexican pueblo that has achieved international recognition for its flavor. While nearly every visitor to Puerto Vallarta goes downtown at some point, not everyone chooses to stay near downtown. Nevertheless, there are several beautiful boutique hotels that give you the best of all worlds while pampering you to boot. The very hub of downtown is the Main Plaza, located between the Church of Guadalupe and Los Arcos Amphitheater at the Malecón, or ocean walkway. Popular for Thursday and Sunday evening musical performances by the municipal band, move to the Latin rhythms of the danzón and catch an evening performance of the Xiutla, an award-winning folklore dance troupe.

Downtown follows the gently curving coastline, fronted by the wide Malecón lined with sculptures where street art and entertainment are not uncommon. Catch the Papantla Flyers, young men who practice a traditional pre-Hispanic custom of connecting to the god force by suspending upside-down from ropes attached to a tall pole right off the Malecón. On the city side of the street, you find bars and clubs with the pulsing night rhythms that have also given Vallarta the reputation of party hardy. Within a block or two off the Malecón, you find remarkable art galleries in this city lauded worldwide as an art destination. Eclectic stores and boutiques vie for your attention along with coffee shops and gourmet eateries.

Marsol
Rosita

SOUTH SHORE

Across the Rio Cuale from downtown, a pedestrian bridge takes you by the new continuation of the Malecón to the seashore of the Zona Romantica, neighborhood of streetside coffee shops, restaurants, bars and clubs. Wander through the streets, find boutiques, galleries, tequila shops, silver smiths, glass blowers, huarache-makers and more. Villas and bed-and-breakfasts as well as modern condominiums offer a range of accommodations to varied tastes and budgets.

The most popular beach, Playa Los Muertos, is located in the Romantic Zone. Palapas offer shade while camastros help you relax to the sound of the rolling surf. While numerous restaurants of all price ranges front the seashore, vendors ply this beach, so expect to be offered gleaming silver, colorful pareos, wood carvings, cheerful beaded necklaces, shrimp-on-a-stick, woolen blankets and the opportunity to be a Bo Derek ("Ten") look-alike with scalp-hugging braids. The Los Muertos Pier is stepping stone by water taxi to points south along the shore to such destinations as Mismaloya, Las Animas, Quimixto, Majahuitas and Yelapa. Tours in the bay and trips to private beaches can be arranged.

Belmar
Club Meza del Mar
Eloisa
Los Arcos Suites
Playa Los Arcos Beach Resort
Posada de Roger
Presidente Intercontinental
Suites Emperador
Villa del Mar

Conchas Chinas
Following the coastline by foot or vehicle, you arrive at Conchas Chinas, one of the toni-est neighborhoods, with villas on steep hillsides that offer exceptional views of the bay and city lights at night while those below the highway open out onto the exclusive Conchas Chinas Beach. There are fewer services in this area, but it's a quick five-minute hop into the nearby Zona Romantica or El Centro. Taxis are frequent and a local bus line follows the one circuitous highway along the coast.

Many villas, while offering access to a cushy lifestyle, provide private maid service as well as a chef on premises. Conchas Chinas is more popular among younger and middle-aged adults since many hillside residences require climbing flights of stairs. Once in your private residence, apartment or condo, you'll find the evenings magical. Relax with a cocktail on the balcony for a view of the amazing sunsets while the world around you seems to hush in awe.

The South Shore is recognized as offering some of the best views from rocky outcroppings interspersed with sandy coves lapped by the turquoise waters of Banderas Bay. The region is known for snorkeling, including the famous Los Arcos Rock Formation, a national reserve for wildlife, favorite viewing area for boat trips headed south. The vibrant jungle even reaches the very shores of the bay while horseback rides into the hills and valleys open vistas of natural waterfalls with deep pools for a refreshing dip.

Playa Conchas Chinas
Sheraton Buganvilias

Mismaloya
The small town of Mismaloya is at the mouth of the river of the same name, location of the intriguing "The Night of the Iguana" of late director John Huston. It was actually the cast that served to draw international attention to the sleepy port town in the early sixties as Elizabeth Taylor followed actor Richard Burton on her yacht after their filming together the epic "Cleopatra." Ava Gardner tried to keep above the fray while slipping out on her own trysts in the star-studded nights. Visiting press, with seemingly little to do, wrote about this quiet, unrestrained beach paradise and before long it made the pages of international glossies.

Inland along the river, the set of the Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Predator" series was transformed into El Edén, featuring swimming under the waterfall, an outdoor under-the-trees restaurant and bar and, best of all, an opportunity to try the zip-lines that take you in a harness along cables up above the tree line and across the valleys for unheard-of views and an experience that will take your breath away. This "must-do" canopy adventure is also available at other locations in the area.

Barcelo Premium La Jolla de Mismaloya
Dreams Resort & Spa Puerto Vallarta
Mar Sereno

Boca de Tomatlán
Beyond Mismaloya lies Boca de Tomatlán, another river mouth that feeds into the bay, with beaches and beachside restaurants as well as additional water taxi service to points along the South Shore such as Las Animas, Quimixto, Majahuitas and Yelapa. Private tours also include the exclusive Las Caletas, once private residence of Huston after filming "The Night of the Iguana."

Centro Vacacional Jalisco

HOTEL ZONE

Just north of downtown is the growing Hotel Zone. Not only populated with larger deluxe hotels, this area offers some of the other important services in close proximity to downtown: shopping centers, a thriving sports stadium with a popular running track and outdoor aerobics classes, tennis courts at several resort hotels, gymnasiums with day rates, spas, banks, cinema and medical services.

Ambassador Suites
Buenaventura Beach Club
Canto del Sol
Costa Club Punta Arena
Golden Crown Paradise Resort
Hacienda Hotel & Spa
HOLA Puerto Vallarta Club & Spa
Holiday Inn
Las Palmas by the Sea
Meliá Puerto Vallarta
Mexican Resort in Los Tules
NH Krystal
Plaza Pelicanos
Puerto de Luna
Vallarta Sol

MARINA VALLARTA

Key to many of the activities in the bay area, the first marina was developed outside of town in an area called Marina Vallarta. It's no longer "out-of-town" but easily accessible by taxi and bus to downtown as well as just five minutes away from the cruise terminal on one side and the international airport on the other. Since its inception, this zone has become a fast-growing area for towers of condominiums and deluxe hotels and resorts.

The 555-slip modern marina is home to boats, yachts and other sea-going craft all year-long, hosting the annual fishing tournament now in its 52nd year. The nearly circular marina offers a wide malecón lined with shops, galleries, clubs and restaurants as well as other services required by the outgoing fishing boats and sail boats. A light house provides breathtaking views of the marina, the city, the mountains and the sea in 360-degree splendor. Have a cocktail and watch the world turn. Slowly.

For those into greener off-the-water activity, spend time at the meandering Marina Golf Course populated with its own resident crocodile and sea birds. Just into the hills about 15 minutes away are two more prime golf courses at Vista Vallarta, designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jack Nicklaus and home to the EMC2 World Cup in 2002 and annual PGA spring seniors' tournament.

Medical services are right at hand with qualified doctors who maintain a stiff upper lip as they tweak Russian threads and other modern aesthetic methods of attraction and appeal. This growing industry in a world reflected in the mirror on the wall provides personalized attention, board-certified plastic surgeons and bilingual staff at affordable rates. Stay in a villa, get "room service" delivered from the best gourmet restaurants in town and recover in peace and obscurity.

The international airport was recently expanded to facilitate entry and departure from this busy region. The two-level departure area features numerous duty-free options for shoppers as well as eateries and even a massage facility for those who need to "down-stress." Just a block away is the Aerotron terminal, servicing private Leer jets as well as other twin-engine craft for some of the exciting tour options into the nearby mountains and valleys.

The cruise terminal, hosting the departure of most of the tour boats, offers excursions to view the humpback whales that winter in Banderas Bay each year. Other sea excursions include snorkeling and diving, ecological adventures to locations only accessible by the sea and trips to numerous private beaches along the coast. On any or all of these voyages, you may see the numerous bottleneck dolphins, gigantic manta rays or marine turtles that also call the bay their home.

Casa Magna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort
Club Embarcadero Pacifico
Hotelito Desconocido
Velas Vallarta Hotel Suite Resort & Convention Center
Westin Resort & Spa

NUEVO VALLARTA

Although just 15 minutes north of the international airport, Nuevo Vallarta is geographically located in the neighboring state of Nayarit, home to some of the smoothest, gentlest beaches on the entire seashore. Because the area was so open, the largest and most extravagant resorts were built here, still new and in prime condition. An enclosed shopping center anchors the area that also includes a water taxi service to Marina Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta and other points south. The Vallarta Yacht Club is located here with seasonal activities both on and off the water for members and visitors. The marina in Nuevo Vallarta has 300 protected slips for boats and yachts while the entire month of March is dedicated to regattas, boat parades and other fun competitions and events.

Paradise Village developed El Tigre Golf Course, home to tiger cubs and host to numerous annual events and tournaments. On site is also the sports club, a large facility that includes tennis, frontenis, handball, badminton, basketball, an Olympic swimming pool, spa, health facilities, aerobics and Pilates classes and a safety-first kids' club with security facilities. Paradise Village has a beach club with daytime lunch and snack services, numerous beachside palapas and a large swimming pool with kids' facilities.

Nearby Mayan Palace also has a seaside golf course with the additional benefit of an illuminated driving range for night golfers. A third golf course, Flamingos, is located in the area called Flamingos, just beyond Nuevo Vallarta on the highway and coastline. The beach continues along this coast all the way up to the next town of Bucerias, the longest walking beach on the coast at about 27 kilometers.

Villa del Palmar Flamingos

NORTH ZONE

The North Zone, or North Shore, includes Bucerías, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and Punta de Mita. This fast-growing area of intense development is the location of a government-sponsored project for a number of major resorts, boutique hotels, two additional marinas, golf courses, a heliport, shopping centers and community services such as hospitals and schools. Considered one of the most luxurious regions on the coast, villas and ultra-level hotel chains maintain a distinctly low-key presence here.

Bucerías
This previously sleepy fishing pueblo is burgeoning into a colorful, eclectic international town with plans for developing a malecón along the coast to connect it to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle to the north and Flamingos and Nuevo Vallarta to the south. A number of fine-dining establishments have opened both in town and on the beach front with numerous bed & breakfast options.

La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
La Cruz continues to be a home to fishermen despite developing construction of a new marina and malecón fronted by boutique hotels, condos, restaurants and shops. It's set to be a walker's paradise, while the small downtown plaza connects in an easy jaunt to the marina. A large shopping center is also being developed with increased parking facilities to serve the area.

Punta de Mita
The peninsula called Punta de Mita became home to the Four Seasons Resort in the last decade, setting the bar high for subsequent development which includes projected sites of La Solana and St. Regis resorts. This key region was honored by the government with an award for environmentally-sensitive development. Just off the coast are the Marieta Islands, home to the blue-footed booby and other endangered sea birds, now a national reserve. Boutique hotels and villas increase your possibilities for a complete spiritual and physical rejuvenation.