In Search of the Perfect Beach

What makes the perfect beach? The short answer is – it depends. Some people like a beach with waves for boogie boarding; others want soft white sand and calm water. Some look forward to lots of people, music and people watching, others prefer solitude. For me – I want it all! All in one beach that is.

Puerto Vallarta is not generally known for its fantastic beaches – but partly that is because many people who come here never really leave the all-inclusive resorts, which are unfortunately located on beaches that are not so great (at least in my humble opinion). Anyway, today I spent a fabulous day at my favorite beach, and decided I should share some pictures, and provide a review of the beaches in the Puerto Vallarta area.

Conchas Chinas beach (left)is one of my favorite and it is only a few minutes south of downtown Puerto Vallarta. Small, sheltered coves that have lovely turquoise water and clean soft sand. They are seldom busy. The downside is it is very small – so not so walk-able –and not much shade. There is some rocky outcroppings, so some good snorkeling is possible.

Downtown PV has a large beach called Playa Los Muertos and it is busy ALL THE TIME. Jammed packed with people, beach bars, restaurants, tourists. The beach is steep, the water often rough. A great place to eat if you like people watching – but not a very good swimming beach – and not walkable – as it is too steep and too crowded.

The hotel zone of PV has a more walkable beach – Playa de Oro – the sand may be gold, but it is course, and the water is almost never clear – so it looks murky. You can walk for miles though, and you can always find plenty of tourists, beach sellers, and beach bars.

Further north – north of the airport - you will enter the state of Nayarit and the hotel zone of Riviera Nayarit. Here you have Nuevo, Flamingos, and Bucerias beaches – all side by side. The miles and miles of sand here are the attraction – and the beaches are lined with large resorts and condo complexes. Here, the sand is course and the beach is steep. This makes it extremely hard to walk on, and the steep grade causes a significant break and rip tide. Boogie boarding is good here – and there are always lots of bars and people – but this is by far my least favorite of all the beach areas.

North of Bucerias you will come to the town of La Cruz. Here the water begins to mellow out. Coves form lovely sandy areas on Playa Manzanillo (left)where the water is calm and great for kids to play in. The beach here though is small and lined with local fondas – places that rent plastic chairs and tables and serve local dishes of fish. This beach is visited mostly by local families and can be quite busy and very noisy.

Last, and by far the best, is Playa Distiladaras.

It has it all: Miles of virtually deserted soft white sand coves.

Turquoise water warmed by the shallow entry making it safe swimming and small children, waves that break further out for boogie boarding.

Beautiful scenery , driftwood and shallow caves, views of the entire Bandaras Bay, Sierra Madre Mountains

A public bathroom and restaurant midway – the perfect place to get a cold beer and people watch.

Next month, we will be exploring beaches along the Yucatan peninsula on the Caribbean side of Mexico, where I am sure we will see many more equally lovely beaches, but for now, Distiladaras gets my vote for best west coast beach.