32 Best Sights in Riviera Nayarit, Puerto Vallarta

Playa los Ayala has a level beach, mild surf, and an excellent view of Isla del Coral, to which glass-bottom boats ferry passengers for about $9 (100 pesos) per person. There are small hotels and plenty of seaside palapas for shade and basic sustenance. On weekends, holidays, and in high season take a ride on a banana boat; most any time you can find a skiff owner to take you to Playa Frideritas or Playa del Toro, two pretty beaches for bathing that lie around the headland to the south and are accessible only by boat. You can walk, however, over the hill at the south end of the beach to a seafood restaurant on a small scallop of beach called Playa Frideras. Facilities: Banana-boat rides, boating; food concessions. Best for: swimming; walking.

A little over a mile north of Los Ayala along the highway, Guayabitos bustles with legions of Mexican families on weekends and holidays; foreigners take up residence during the winter months. The main street, Avenida Nuevo Sol, has modest hotels, inexpensive restaurants, and scores of shops that all seem to sell the same cheap bathing suits and plastic beach toys. One block closer to the sea are more hotels along with some vacation homes right on the sand. Colorfully painted stands on the beach sell fresh chilled fruit and coconuts; others serve up fresh grilled fish on the cheap. This lovely beach bounded by headlands and the ocean is tranquil and perfectly suited for swimming. You can also arrange turtle and whale-watching excursions as well as boat rides to explore the coast or to Isla del Coral, just offshore. The boatmen who ferry passengers for a few hours' sunbathing on Isla del Coral may fail to mention that the restaurant there opens only in high season. Although there's usually a lady or two on the sand selling ceviche, bring a picnic lunch just in case. Facilities: Boating, fishing, snorkeling; food concessions. Best for: swimming; snorkeling; walking.