How to Get Around Puerto Vallarta: Agree the Price First

The first thing that happens is a man at the kerb at the airport quotes you a number, and you have no idea whether it is a good one. Three days later you are getting into a yellow cab outside a restaurant on Basilio Badillo, you say where you are going, he says a number, you say bueno, and you both get on with it. That is the whole system, and once you understand it Vallarta becomes one of the easiest places in Mexico to move around.

Here is how each way of getting about actually works, and nothing about prices, because nobody official publishes them.

Taxis, and the one rule

Vallarta taxis are not metered. The tourism board's own page says so plainly: fares are determined by zones, most hotels post the zone rates near the entrance, and you confirm the price with the driver before you set off.

That is not a caution about drivers. It is the system working as designed, and the people who live here do exactly the same thing. Say where you are going, hear the number, agree it, get in. If the number sounds wrong, say so and hear the next one, which is also a normal conversation.

Two practical notes from the same page. Carry small notes, because drivers often do not have much change — pesos or dollars are both fine, but US coins are not accepted anywhere. And tipping a cab driver is not customary in Mexico, which surprises Americans; you tip when a driver carries the bags, waits, or goes out of his way, and not otherwise.

The airport, where it works differently

There are two kinds of taxi in Vallarta and only one of them can take you out of the airport.

The board's rule: only airport taxis may pick up passengers at the airport, and those fares carry an airport charge. A city taxi can take you back to the airport with no extra tariff. So the asymmetry only bites on the day you land — the day you leave, flag whatever is passing.

Ride-share operates in the city; the board's own FAQ names it next to taxis and notes that dollars and Canadian dollars are accepted in both. We are not going to print a fare for it, because no official source publishes one.

And if you are going north, remember there is no airport in Punta Mita: it is forty-five to sixty minutes up the coast from the terminal, and for a group arriving together the transfer in one vehicle — up to seventeen seats — is simply less argument than three cabs. The airport itself is seven and a half kilometres from town, which is why the drive into the Zona Romántica is so short.

The water taxis, which are the good part

South of Mismaloya the road runs out, and the beaches past that point have never had one. The way there is a boat, and the boats are a scheduled service rather than an excursion.

The board names two places to get on. The Los Muertos pier in the Zona Romántica, which serves Yelapa, Quimixto and Mismaloya. And the beach at Boca de Tomatlán, about twelve miles south of downtown and a twenty-minute drive, where the pangas go to the beaches that are only reachable by boat. Yelapa is about forty-five minutes out from Boca; Quimixto about twenty.

Pangas go when they are full rather than when a timetable says so, which means early is better than late in both directions. Take cash. Take shoes you can get wet, because you will be stepping off the bow into the water at the other end.

Walking, which is most of it

The board's own description — downtown and the Romantic Zone are very walkable — is an understatement. You will walk more here than you expect to, and the two halves of the town are joined by a pedestrian bridge over the Río Cuale.

The malecón is 1,300 metres from the Hotel Rosita to the river, lined with sculptures that everyone arranges to meet at, and in the evening it is the main event rather than a route. The board's walking directions to Los Muertos beach are to go along the malecón, cross the pedestrian bridge and keep going past Lázaro Cárdenas park.

The streets climb. Conchas Chinas and Amapas are both close enough to walk down from and steep enough that you will want a cab back up after dinner, which is the single most common five-minute taxi ride in this town.

The buses, if you want the town rather than the trip

The local buses are not a tourist service and they are the best way to see how the town actually runs. The board's own direction for Mismaloya is the one worth keeping: take the bus at the corner of Basilio Badillo and Constitución, and the same route carries on to Boca de Tomatlán. Buses also run from Colonia Emiliano Zapata down the same coast road.

They are frequent, they are slow, and they go past where you eat rather than past where tours stop. If you are coming into Vallarta overland rather than flying, the intercity lines the board lists are ETN, Primera Plus, Futura, Vallarta Plus and TAP.

A car, and whether you need one

Mostly, no.

Hire one for a day if you are going up into the Sierra Madre or north along the Nayarit coast, and park it for the rest of the week. In town a car is a parking problem; the Zona Romántica is cobbled and one-way.

On a staffed house the question mostly disappears. The house manager calls the car that is actually needed when it is needed, which over seven days is three or four journeys rather than a hire agreement.

Start with our fully staffed houses in Puerto Vallarta and tell Rocío how many of you are landing together.