Shopping Pleasures, Unexpected Treasures
By George Oxford Miller

Whether you're looking for souvenirs for your office buddies or the latest in fashions, fine art, artisan handicrafts, or top-end jewelry, Puerto Vallarta's shopping scene has it covered. For an added personal touch, you can visit many of the artisan studios and small-scale factories and see the meticulous care that goes into making Mexico's finest products. Expect to find the unexpected, so leave plenty of space in your suitcase for your new treasures from the Sierra Madre.

El Malecón/El Centro

The shops along the winding streets of El Centro, the downtown area bordered by the seaside promenade El Malecón, offer higher quality merchandise than the street mercados or beach vendors. With a history of silver and gold mining, Puerto Vallarta abounds with jewelry of both modern and pre-Hispanic designs. Downtown shops carry rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces for every budget. Look for the .925 percent stamp on sterling silver products.

Boutiques in the central business district offer the perfect opportunity to spice up your wardrobe. Whether you favor batik-casual, specialty items, or designer labels, you can choose from traditional Mexican shirts, skirts, blouses, bikinis, sarongs, linen suits, sundresses and handmade fashion art. From October through April, the twice-monthly Downtown Art Walk showcases the local gallery scene. Shops and bars sell Cuban and Mexican cigars and Mexico's most famous distillate, tequila.

Río Cuale

For a shopping experience and a variety of selections that make the malls back home blasé, stroll the sidewalks of the Mercado Municipal, a full city block of stands and stalls on Isla Cuale at the southern end of the downtown district. Whether you want a stuffed piglet or sequined sombrero, a woven hammock or ceramic effigy of a Mayan fertility god, you never know what surprises you'll find in the crowded markets.

Old Vallarta: Zona Romántica

In Old Vallarta, south of Río Cuale, the narrow, cobblestone streets offer shopping with a sense of exploration. Shops sell a potpourri that varies from mass-produced souvenirs to culturally authentic folk art made by Indian and Mexican artisans. The Huichol Indians from the nearby mountains create vivid bead and yarn paintings, Mata Ortiz potters produce ceramics with hypnotic geometric designs, and Oaxacan woodcarvers specialize in imaginative animals with bizarre color patterns. For the famous hand-painted Talavera pottery with brilliant blues and bright floral designs, tour Mundo de Azulejos, a small factory/showroom.

Marina Vallarta

Anchored by El Faro, the lighthouse, Marina Vallarta has created a world of its own just four miles from downtown. Complete with one and a half miles of beachfront, 10 luxury resorts, a waterfront promenade lined with shops, two nearby shopping centers and 60 restaurants and clubs, the complex surrounds the largest private marina in Mexico. Best of all, you don't have to leave the beach to shop. Take your pesos along with your surfboard and examine the many vendor stalls along the beach.

Representada por El Faro, Marina Vallarta ha creado su propio mundo a menos de seis kilómetros de pleno corazón de la ciudad. El complejo turístico, que cuenta con más de dos kilómetros de playa, 10 lujosos centros turísticos, un malecón lleno de tiendas, dos centros comerciales y unos 60 restaurantes y clubes, rodea la marina privada más grande todo México. Lo mejor de todo, sin embargo, es que no es necesario abandonar la playa para irse de compras. Lleve el dinero consigo y échele una ojeada a los muchos quioscos que hay a lo largo de la playa.

What to buy? Get a list of popular shops here.