Decide how you want to spend your time in Puerto Vallarto with the time you have: touring, shopping or recreation. If you come by cruise ship for the day, your time is limited. If you want to explore downtown on your own, a guarded side gate at the cruise landing will lead to the main street and public transportation. Even if you don't speak Spanish, bus drivers are polite and will explain in broken English that they will drop you off at the shopping district three miles down the road and then show you where to pick the bus up on the way back to board your ship. There are rows of shops with colorful handbags, ceramics and clothing, as well as silver jewelry with gemstones mined from the area. If you want to check your email for less than what the cruise ships charge per hour, you'll find a few Internet cafes.
Know that cruise lines offer a number of guided land tours that include jungle ecotours and protected wildlife reserves led by biologists and naturalists who speak English. These can be as long as five hours which will take up much of your time in port. City tours include historic buildings, churches, museums and shopping districts. One of these attractions is Casa Kimberley, a bed and breakfast inn, formerly a villa that belonged to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Until they came to make a movie in 1963, no one had heard of this little village. Take a "Canopy" tour into the jungle near the Sierra Madre mountains to see colorful birds, rivers, subtropical forests and waterfalls.
Know that if you are staying for an extended period, outdoor and sports enthusiasts can enjoy jungle or mountain biking and hiking tours, golfing and tennis, horseback riding, sport fishing, kayaking, marine tours or hot air ballooning. For local history, culture, arts and crafts, visit the Galeria Olinala, the Manuel Lepe Museum that's a tribute to a legendary artist, that Arte Popular Mexicana Galeria that exhibits paintings and sculpture by local artists, and Artesanias Watakame, all in the downtown area. If you don't have a car, take the local bus to the beautiful Puerto Vallarta Botanical Gardens, a nature preserve by a river with walking trails through the jungle. There's a good restaurant there, too.
Take a break at one of the many restaurants in town such as Joe Jack's Fish Spot or Los Arbolitos that offer excellent food and good service. Some of the museums also have good restaurants and cafes that add to a visit. If you chat with shop owners and other tourists, you'll get good recommendations. With rows of beautiful resorts along the beaches that have a number of restaurants or tapas bars, it's an chance to eat and enjoy the scenery on one of the inviting patios overlooking the ocean.
