1/5
414 reviews
Photo by Taylor Beach via Unsplash

Puerto Vallarta

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beach

music

loud

zone

sayulita

cheap

stay

traffic

options

uber

safe

sell

total

expensive

romantic

pretty

roads

internet

great

Puerto Vallarta offers a great beach town experience that’s affordable and reasonably safe compared to other cities in Mexico. The city is walkable, with lots of taquerias and casual dining options at affordable prices. Many visitors enjoy staying near the Malecon for walkability and access to restaurants, though it's recommended to stay a few blocks away if you want quieter evenings. The town has a small city vibe, and medical care is accessible and inexpensive when needed. Winter is the best time to visit due to the cooler weather, while the summer can be uncomfortably hot and humid.

However, infrastructure is a major downside—many roads and sidewalks are rocky, narrow, and poorly maintained. It's also a very loud city, with persistent street noise, music, and traffic, especially near the beach. Visitors sensitive to noise should plan accordingly. Internet speeds are average, and food diversity is limited, with few international options beyond basics like Italian or Chinese. Visitors should also expect pushy salespeople, especially at the airport and tourist hotspots, though they tend to be less aggressive than in other parts of Mexico. Overall, Puerto Vallarta is best enjoyed in the winter for a relaxed and low-cost getaway.

AI-generated summary of reviews
11 months ago

It's a safe area of Mexico, and also even the people who try to sell you crap, 'vendors' is less aggressive here. I have done about 2.5 months total in PV (two separate trips). Airbnbs are plentiful near the centro and december 5, more expensive in the romantic zone and even more expensive in Sayulita. But central PV is pretty cheap, even inland from Hotel Zone is nice and cheap. Roads and walkways are narrow and horrible. Internet is OK. If you stay in PV central, the beach isn't so great for swimming, it's rocky and dirty. The nightlife is mostly in Sayulita with a little bit also in Romantic zone, not much else. The noise, the traffic, music, and construction of many streets are LOUD. It is a loud place most of the time. Also, unlike CDMX, many places will not take credit card.

5 years ago

I love Puerto Vallarta except now because it is rainy season and I cannot go out as often. Currently going for 3 months here now. It is a small city with a beach town vibe. The Malecon baywalk is the center of action so you can try to stay a few blocks away from it so you can walk around the baywalk if you have to but still have a quiet time. Airbnb is relatively affordable, taquerias are everywhere, Internet is moderate, relatively safe than most cities in Mexico. During weekend, I go on a hike, go to the beach or waterfalls around PV. You can also try to do a weekend visit in quaint Mexican towns such as San Sebastian del Oeste or surfing beachtown like Sayulita and San Pancho. They said that Puerto Vallarta is the gay capital of Mexico because you see a lot of gay-friendly establishments in Zona Romantica. But the diversity and options here is fairly low. The only con I have with PV is the roads and the very few international food options. Most international food options here are either Italian, Chinese or Japanese-Hawaiian. Walking down the road feels like walking on a rocky dry riverbed.

5 years ago

For the most part, pretty amazing. The beaches are usually not overcrowded, and the natural scenery is pristine. It's very walkable, and there are tons of great restaurants on nearly every block with reasonable prices. I came in mid-November, and it was still uncomfortably warm and humid then, even at night, so beware if you struggle with heat. The evenings started to get cool and pleasant in late November/early December.

This is Mexico, so I was expecting it to be gritty, but it was worse than I had imagined. The infrastructure is in desperate need of repair, and the cobblestone streets make the traffic very loud. If you live on a busy street near the beach, the traffic noise will be unrelenting. I found the locals to be a mixed bag. Many were genuine and warm, but others were standoffish and seemed desolate.

There's a cultural quirk in Mexico where blasting music is a norm. I'm 36 so probably more sensitive to this now, but it was very grating. Music blaring everywhere -- from cars, speakers on the beach, bars and clubs. Loud music at clubs is obviously fine, but the level here is just insane.

I was surprised to see that commonly abused prescription meds can be bought over the counter in pharmacies all over PV -- xanax, vicodin, ritalin, etc. This was a plus for me because I believe I have an undiagnosed case of ADD, and being able to buy Ritalin really helped me focus on my work and stay tidy. Obviously, I discourage anyone from buying these drugs for abuse. Always use cash at the pharmacies. They say they are going to charge your card in pesos, but then they charge in USD with an absurd exchange rate.

I ended up getting salmonella or a stomach parasite and was the sickest I had been in 10+ years. I resisted going to the doctor for a while, but when I did, I was amazed with the experience. Total cost for the consultation and meds was around $35 without any insurance, and the doctor was very kind. Don't be dissuaded by my experience, though. I believe I just got unlucky. No one else I talked to experienced anything similar.

The sunsets are spectacular, and the alcohol is cheap and ubiquitous. If you do not look Mexican, be ready for people to try to sell you something dozens of times a day. When you arrive at the airport, ignore everyone who offers help and take an Uber. I made the mistake of saying "no thanks, I'm taking an Uber," to which the guy responded "then come over here, and my friend will show you where to find it." Then I ended up in a ridiculously long and pushy sales pitch that involved a ride to my Airbnb, a time share presentation, etc. The Uber pickup area isn't really that hard to find. You take the exit, walk across a pedestrian bridge, and turn left.

Overall, definitely recommended, but only for the winter. I cringe to think of the heat in the summer.

5 years ago

✅ Very affordable

✅ Safe

✅ Great beaches

✅ Walkable

✅ Good healthcare access

✅ Mild winters

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Perfect humidity now

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ Easy to do business

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Poor infrastructure

❌ Very loud

❌ Hot and humid

❌ Limited food variety

❌ Pushy vendors

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Very expensive

❌ Not very safe

❌ Not much to do

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not family friendly

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

2475°
warm

2577°
warm

2781°
warm

2984°
warm

3391°
hot

3290°
hot

2984°
warm

2577°
warm

Real (median)

2474°
warm

2576°
warm

2678°
warm

2781°
warm

2882°
very warm

2780°
warm

2577°
warm

Humidity

nice
63%

nice
69%

nice
53%

nice
61%

nice
67%

sweaty
86%

sweaty
89%

sweaty
84%

nice
68%

nice
66%

Most common

Rain

dry
9mm

dry
7mm

dry
1mm

dry
3mm

dry
8mm

rainy
176mm

rainy
258mm

rainy
343mm

rainy
151mm

dry
33mm

dry
11mm

Cloud

pockets
16%

pockets
14%

clear
8%

pockets
15%

pockets
12%

pockets
40%

pockets
42%

pockets
41%

pockets
33%

pockets
15%

pockets
18%

Sun

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
11 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

Remote workers

3,600 people

2,820 people

2,862 people

2,585 people

1,846 people

2,000 people

2,236 people

1,700 people

1,850 people

1,855 people

3,800 people

3,086 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

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$7,295 / mo

27 Mbps

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 10° 50° 11° 51° AQI 26

✈️13h

$6,229 / mo

🌇 Also went here118 people

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France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 8° 46° 10° 51° AQI 33

✈️13h

$5,514 / mo

🌇 Also went here145 people

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⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 45° 113° 33° 91° 🥵 AQI 54 😷

✈️20h

$1,560 / mo

🌇 Also went here151 people

1,800 remote workers in Puerto Vallarta now, of which 3+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	0.56/5 (Rank #1341) 414 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍4 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Bad
👶 Family score	Bad
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	1% is nomad here
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,107 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 12 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Too hot: 33°C91°F (feels 40°C104°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 62%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	🥵 Very low: 16%
👌 Safety	🧨 Conflict / political instability*
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	🧨 Conflict / political instability*
🤝 Lack of racism*	Okay
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Very low: $704 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Latin America
🚩 Country	Mexico
🗓️ Average trip length	14 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	12 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	☀️ 33°C 91°F + 😊 Comfy (62%) = feels 40°C 104°F
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100 MXN in USD	USD 5.82
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	MXN 10,000 = USD 582
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍15% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	200,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$8,444 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 50% 👱‍♀️ 50%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 51% 👱‍♀️ 49%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 73% 👱‍♀️ 27%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Linio
🏠 Apartment listings	Airbnb
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Volaris
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Aeromexico

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,107 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,951 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$3,765 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,076 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,952 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$3,102 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$868 / month
🏠 Median home price	$524,182
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$91 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$102 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$348 / month
🍛 Dinner	$9
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$3,495 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$9 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$7 / trip