The essentials
The questions everyone asks before a trip — answered in a line, with the source right next to it.
FAQ
Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is a resort city on Banderas Bay (Bahía de Banderas), on Mexico's Pacific coast. Its municipality runs from Boca de Tomatlán in the south to the Ameca River, which is the border with the state of Nayarit.
Source: Wikipedia — Puerto Vallarta (state, municipality, 2020 census, pronunciation, area code)No. Nuevo Vallarta is a separate resort community just north of the Ameca River, in the municipality of Bahía de Banderas in the state of Nayarit. Nayarit officially renamed it Nuevo Nayarit in 2022, though most people still call it Nuevo Vallarta.
Source: Wikipedia — Nuevo Nayarit (formerly Nuevo Vallarta), Bahía de Banderas, NayaritCentral Time (UTC−6) all year. Mexico stopped daylight saving time in October 2022 (outside some border areas), so the clocks don't change. Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerías and Sayulita — in Nayarit's Bahía de Banderas municipality — use the same Central Time, even though the rest of Nayarit is an hour behind.
Source: Wikipedia — Time in Mexico (2022 law; Bahía de Banderas on Central Time since 2010)PVR. The airport's full name is Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport (ICAO: MMPR). It sits inside the city, about 1 km north of Marina Vallarta, and served about 6.9 million passengers in 2025, with flights to Mexico, the US, Canada and the UK. It also serves Nuevo Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit.
Source: Wikipedia — Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport (PVR)The city had 224,166 residents in Mexico's 2020 census. The wider bay area — including Nuevo Vallarta and the Nayarit towns to the north — is considerably larger.
Source: Wikipedia — Puerto Vallarta (state, municipality, 2020 census, pronunciation, area code)The Mexican peso (MXN). Prices are in pesos, sometimes written with the same $ sign as dollars — check which one a menu or price tag means. Carry some pesos for street food, markets and small shops.
PWEHR-toh vah-YAR-tah. Locals often just say “Vallarta”.
Source: Wikipedia — Puerto Vallarta (state, municipality, 2020 census, pronunciation, area code)322. From abroad, dial +52 322 and the 7-digit number.
Source: Wikipedia — Puerto Vallarta (state, municipality, 2020 census, pronunciation, area code)Dry season November to May; rainy season June to October. The sea is warmest in September (31°C).
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Check recent local reports and the official travel advisories, which are published state by state. Neither replaces the other.
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