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Puerto Vallarta Maps & Areas
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Puerto
Vallarta and Surrounding Areas |
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| Area Map |
Puerto Vallarta denotes the entire Banderas Bay area
and northern shoreline stretching from San Francisco/San
Pancho on the Pacific (North Shore) south to Mismaloya
near Puerto Vallarta (South Shore). It includes over 40
miles of coastline and a variety of topography, culture
and architecture and is often referred to as Costa
Vallarta. This region is divided into neighborhoods or areas,
each is special in its own way and
adds to the charm, diversity and uniqueness of Costa
Vallarta.
There are areas of dense jungle vegetation spotted
with bursts of color from exotic tropical plants that
give way to rocky river beds, which tumble and feed into
the open sea, and steep mountain sides where villas and
casitas look as if they were merely glued to the
hillsides. Also to be found in this diversified
geological area are arid flatlands decorated with
cactuses and small pueblos where life is lived at a
snail's pace.
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Area
Descriptions
(From North
to South) |
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North Shore |
North Shore: Punta Mita, La Cruz de
Huanacaxtle, Bucerias
From San
Francisco/San Pancho to Nuevo Vallarta, this
area is known for beautiful surf, craggy
coves, remote villages and small pueblos.
Life goes at a slower pace here, much like
the Mexico of old. It has an arid climate
and features mango, banana and papaya
groves.
Punta Mita,
a once-remote beachside fishing village is
now home of the new Four Seasons Punta de
Mita Resort.
La Cruz de
Huanacaxtle is
tranquil town north of Puerto Vallarta
settled in the 1930's by the Chavez family
who built a working ranch north of Banderas
Bay. This is where the beautiful and
peaceful La Manzanilla beach is located.
Bucerias, located 12 miles north of the
airport, enjoys a 5-mile stretch of white
sand beaches that is the longest along the
entire coastline of Banderas Bay.
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Nuevo Vallarta / Flamingos
Just north of the
airport, this is one
of Mexico's newest
and fastest growing
areas, hotel
occupancy in the
planned resort and
residential
community of "New
Vallarta" is amongst
the highest in the
country. This is
where you find the
really big deluxe
hotels on sprawling
oceanfront
properties and
residential
developments in
diverse settings: on
golf courses, along
canals that evoke
Florida, beach
front, and on flat
smooth roads with
very little traffic.
In contrast to
bustling PV proper,
this area is super
quiet and peaceful,
offering luxurious
privacy. Recently
coming into its own
after a rather slow
start about 20 years
ago, nicely
complementing its
wide sandy beach
stretching as far as
the eye can see are
a wealth of services
and amenities. Lots
of good restaurants
and bars, three
world-class golf
courses, a water
park, yacht club,
marinas, and an
air-conditioned mall
with over a hundred
businesses, a
supermarket, health
center, cyber cafés
and banks among
them.
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Nuevo
Vallarta -
North |
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Nuevo
Vallarta -
South |
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Marina Vallarta |
Marina Vallarta
Located
just south of the airport, Marina Vallarta
(not to be confused with the Marina Terminal
where the cruise ships dock and the majority
of tours depart from) is a 544-acre planned
residential and resort development revolves
around Mexico's largest marina and a popular
18-hole golf course. Less than two decades
old, Marina Vallarta is modern, clean and
quiet, its smooth roads and oceanfront
boardwalk encouraging strolling, jogging and
biking. And this is where fishing, cruise or
sailing charters can be arranged. Along with
the luxury hotels here there are lots of
interesting places to browse including
shopping centers, jewelry, clothing and
assorted other boutiques, and art, furniture
and interior design galleries.
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Hotel Zone
The wide sandy coast stretching
south from Marina Vallarta to El
Centro is where many hotels and
resorts are found, along with shops
and restaurants catering to
visitors.
Residential high-rises and
developments recently added to the
mix are dramatically altering the
skyline here, this area now one big
construction site, with three major
new housing developments, a new road
and plaza, bridges being widened,
and the Marine Terminal being
expanded.
This
is where you will find Sam's,
Wal-Mart, the recently expanded
Plaza Caracol, Gold's Gym, Office
Depot, Burger King and more, as well
as the most popular Latin dance club
here, JB.
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Hotel Zone -
South |
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Hotel Zone -
North |
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Downtown Map |
Downtown (El
Centro)
This is
the heart of Vallarta, where the Malecon can be
found welcoming visitors into the center of
town. There are historic buildings, beautiful
cathedrals, shops, galleries, beaches, and
restaurants galore.
El Centro's narrow
cobblestone streets are great fun and can be
challenging to navigate, especially those
running east to west up the mountainside in the
El Cerro and Gringo Gulch neighborhoods — the
latter where Liz Taylor and Richard Burton
lived.
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Romantic Zone |
Romantic
Zone
Known as
the South Side and the Romantic Zone,
the atmospheric Isla Rio Cuale naturally
divides downtown, this part south of the
island. Vallarta at its funky best, it
has swinging bridges, the bay's most
popular beach, thriving English-language
theater and gay scenes, and what many
consider the town's best restaurants,
bars and specialty shops.
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South Shore |
South Shore: Conchas
Chinas, Mismaloya, Boca de
Tomatlan, Yelapa
The south shore is where the
Sierra Madre Mountains meet
the shores of the Banderas
Bay. It is an area full of
coves, small bays, rivers,
and secluded, remote beaches
accessible only by boat.
Here the jungle creeps to
the beach, making it a
perfect tropical setting.
Conchas Chinas
is an upscale neighborhood
that is the most prestigious
and popular residential area
of town. It is also known as
"the Beverly Hills of
Vallarta." Mismaloya is the
small bayside village where
in 1963 Hollywood director,
John Huston chose to make
the movie "Night of the
Iguana," which changed the
history of Puerto Vallarta
forever. It is still a
quaint beach location where
the Mismaloya creek meets
the sea.
With a
primitive South Seas
feel, Boca de Tomatlan
is a small sandy cove at
the edge of the jungle
three miles south of
Mismaloya, and is where
the mouth or boca of the
Tomatlan River meets the
bay. Nestled into the
southernmost cove of
Banderas Bay,
Yelapa, with a South Seas
feel is a nature lover's
delight and a refuge from
the complications of city
living. |
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