Peurto Vallarta

This beautiful coastal city on the Pacific Ocean in Mexico is an excellent destination for families!

Things to Do

Relax on the beautiful beaches with views of the surrounding mountains
Swim in your resort’s pools
Go whale watching
Zip line through the Guadalupe Mountains
Explore the city of Puerto Vallarta
Snorkel and Scuba Dive
Golf
Take a boat ride and see Los Arches, the big rocks rising out of the ocean
Watch the Rythms of the Night Dinner Show
Swim with dolphins
Ride an ATV through the mountains
Do a sunset cruise
Go on a tour to San Sebastian del Oeste, a charming colonial town in the mountains
Visit BON, a luxury them park at Vidanta, opening in 2025

Our favorite tour company in the area for booking many of the activities above is Vallarta Adventures. Book in advance and save!

Places to Stay

There are many places to stay around Puerto Vallarta, but these stand out among the crowd!

Best All-Inclusive with Kids: Dreams Vallarta Bay Resort & Spa For those who prefer all-inclusive, this is a great option! They have a kids club where you can drop off your kids for fun activities, a great spa, 5 restaurants, fun pools, daily entertainment, and they have family suites and the rooms have great views of the ocean. Check for deals >
Best for Marriott Point People: Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa This is a beautiful resort on a great strip of beach that is also close to the Marina so you can easily explore the restaurants and activities in that area. The pools are lovely, there are 4 restaurants on site, there’s a spa, and the staff is friendly and attentive. The only downside is that all the rooms are either 2 double beds or king beds with a pull-out couch, so some families may require more than one room, which makes it more expensive. Learn more >
Best Overall: The Grand Mayan at Vidanta Vidanta is a gorgeous 5-star luxury resort with multiple resort hotels on it’s spacious property. While any of the resort hotels on Vidanta property are great, our favorite with kids is the Grand Mayan. It has gorgeous pools, an amazing lazy river, water slides, a wave pool, a kids splash area, a kids club, a huge sandy beach, daily activities and entertainment, a variety of restaurant options, full pool service, golf, a spa, amazing service, and so much more! It’s truly awesome. You can get very spacious 1 and 2 bedroom suites with full kitchens and a small pool on your balcony. The only thing is that it’s a timeshare/vacation club property so you won’t find it on sites like booking.com and Expedia. You can book directly through the Vidanta website but it will be more expensive, or you can rent a week from an owner using VRBO, RedWeek, or other. You can also do a timeshare exchange through RCI if you own a timeshare. Renting or trading into the is property makes it an incredible value! (Note: Vidanta is on the other side of the river from the airport so it’s in Nayarit, not Jalisco, but it’s right next to Puerto Vallarta and a short cab ride away.)

Budget Considerations

You will need to fly into Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport. Set a Google Flight Tracker for your idea travel dates and watch for flight deals.
Eating at restaurants outside of your resort will usually be more affordable (and often better food!) There are many restaurants in the touristy areas of Peurto Vallarta that are delicious and worth venturing out to. It is a safe city, so don’t be afraid to get out and explore! This also means it may be better to NOT do all-inclusive, especially if you aren’t big drinkers.
The cheapest of the lodging options mentioned in the tab above is mostly likely renting a Vidanta property. While the Grand Mayan is our favorite inside Vidanta (at least with kids), any Vidanta resort hotel will be lovely. There are also many other hotels in Puerto Vallarta that will not have as many amenities, but will still be on a great beach with view. Check for other hotel deals >

Kid-Friendly Places to Eat

Coming soon!

Tips from Parents

If you want to go whale watching, visit in December – March (peak if January-February)
If you want to have a chance to see sea turtle coming ashore to lay eggs, or sea turtles hatching, visit June – November
Snorkeling is not the easiest in this area, especially for kids. If you’re used to snorkeling in the Caribbean, the Pacific will often be rougher and colder, and the interesting stuff to see usually a bit deeper. Scuba diving is good in this area, but kids may not enjoying snorkeling here. Many of the tours have you snorkel around Los Arches (the big rocks) and the current can be rough and there are a lot of boats around.
If you have older kids or teens who like adventure, our favorite tour is this Outdoor Adventure Tour from Vallarta Adventures. You get to take a speed boat ride through Bandaras Bay to a quaint coastal mountain town, then you’ll go up the mountain in Jeeps, then on donkeys, then come down the mountain via ziplines, repelling, water slides, and zip coasters. Then you return down the mountain on Jeep, then back across the bay on boat where they’ll take you past Los Arches for nice views of the big rocks in the water. This tour is SO fun and a great value! The staff are very kind and were very helpful with my kids who were nervous and got them to try new things and they loved it!
Bring water shoes or Teva-like sandals if you plan to do any tours that may involve getting wet or muddy and also walking/hiking.

Get Family Travel Tips and Ideas in Your Inbox

We’ll send you our monthly newsletter with new travel ideas and itineraries.

Vacation Ideas

Categories:

Region:

Budget Range:

Age Range:

Get Family Travel Tips and Ideas in Your Inbox