You are currently viewing Explore Puerto Vallarta with Kids

Explore Puerto Vallarta with Kids

Puerto Vallarta is a little town in Jalisco, Mexico and it is gorgeous! The town is genuinely lovely and exciting to wander around, the beaches are alive with turtles, the tequila is on tap and there are banyan trees the size of your house! Here are some of the best sights to explore in Puerto Vallarta in Mexico with kids.

Puerto Vallarta sign on Banderas Bay, explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
Puerto Vallarta sign on Banderas Bay

The Malecon Arches – explore Puerto Vallarta with kids

The Malecon Arches of Puerto Vallarta, explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
Malecon Arches

Located in central Puerto Vallarta over looking the waters of Banderas Bay.

You can often find performances in front of the arches most evenings
You can often see performances in front of the arches most evenings

The arches are originally from a hacienda in Guadalajara, however, these ones are actually replicas as the originals were destroyed in a storm.

You can often see performances in front of the arches most evenings and there are some stalls located next to it selling local art.

Colourful bunting immerses the view the of the sky at The Arches
Colourful bunting immerses the view the of the sky at The Arches

It’s a great starting place to explore the city and discover your first taste of Puerto Vallarta!

Walk the Boardwalk – explore Puerto Vallarta with kids

Take a walk along the El Malecon beachside promenade, explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
Take a walk along the El Malecon beachside promenade

Take a stroll along El Malecon, Puerto Vallarta’s beautiful seaside promenade. Here you will find local art, restaurants, fantastic views out across the water and a true sense of this newer part of town.

Puerto Vallarta Cathedral

Puerto Vallarta cathedral - explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
Puerto Vallarta cathedral

Walk through Puerto Vallarta’s main square adjacent to the cathedral and peruse some of the stalls selling small souvenirs and some local art work.

Walk from The Arches on the waterfront to Puerto Vallarta Cathedral.
Walk from The Arches on the waterfront to Puerto Vallarta Cathedral.

Once you start to climb up to the cathedral itself, experience the joys of the shopping that is on offer and haggle yourself a bargain!

Experience the joys of shopping on the road up to the cathedral and haggling yourself a bargain
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe)

If you look up you will see the top of the cathedral is a crown.

Legend has it that the crown is a copy of the crown worn by Carlota of Mexico, a Belgium princess who became Empress of Mexico!

Suspension Bridges – explore Puerto Vallarta with kids

The suspension bridges over Cuale River - explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
The suspension bridges over Cuale River

These bridges over Cuale River are lots of fun, if not a little bit daunting when the bridge is full with people!

The suspension bridges over Cuale River - explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
The suspension bridges over Cuale River

Cuale Island Flea Market – explore Puerto Vallarta with kids

Cuale Island Flea Market - explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
Cuale Island Flee Market

This is a must when spending time in Puerto Vallarta!

The Little One shopping in the Flea Market - explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
The Little One shopping in the Flea Market

Head into the old part of town and walk the flea market just to enjoy all the colours and some of the crazy things on sale!

Cuale Island Flee Market
Cuale Island Flee Market

Keep an eye out for this huge Banyan Tree too!

It makes for a great photo opportunity and is located right in the middle of Cuale Island Flea Market!

Banyan Tree in the middle of Cuale Island Flee Market  - explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
Banyan Tree in the middle of Cuale Island Flee Market

Walk up the island and you can explore the park where you can find some quirky places to eat, the most cats you will ever see in your life and the cultural centre.

Walk down the island and you will join back onto El Malecon, but not before you pass Oscar’s!

Oscar’s Tequila Distillery

Oscar's Tequila Distillery - explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
Oscar’s Tequila Distillery

The Distillery is completely free to have a look round and the grounds are just lovely.

The distillery is owned by a man who has been making Tequila for more than 50 years.

The site in Puerto Vallarta is for demonstration purposes only as it is not licensed to make Tequila.

How is Tequila Made?

Tequila is made from the bottom of the agave plant that sits on the soil below the leaves.

It is grown in the Jalisco area and Tequila production is an important part of the local economy.

Looking at the agave plants growing around the demonstration distillery
Looking at the spikey tops of the agave plants growing around the demonstration distillery

The Tour

Meet Omar! He was our guide during our visit and started the tour with some free shots!

Grown ups only, naturally, and I can highly recommend the passion fruit flavour!

Tequila tour - explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
Omar teaching us the art of drinking Tequila

Omar was very clear that you should never drink tequila if the demonstrator doesn’t drink it with you.

He said,

“you need to make sure that you buy your tequila from regulated ranches as some can be made with dirty water”

Tequila

So, a hangover isn’t the only thing a night on some bad tequila might give you.

Omar explaining how tequila is made - explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
Omar explaining how tequila is made

He then showed us around the equipment and explained how tequila is made.

Myself and the kids then got a bit side tracked as we spotted a huge Iguana on the bank of the river!

Iguana on the side of the river
Iguana on the side of the river

After seeing how excited we were by this, Omar then took us around the back of the distillery and showed us a turtle who had made its home on an island in the middle of the river.

Turtle nesting in the middle of the river - explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
Turtle nesting in the middle of the river

He also said that he had seen a small alligator swimming around! Unfortunately, he wasn’t around on the day we were there though.

The grounds of Oscar's Tequila Distillery - explore Puerto Vallarta with kids
The grounds of Oscar’s Tequila Distillery

And if all that tequila tasting makes you a little hungry you can pop next door for a spot of lunch in Oscar’s restaurant.

Omar’s Top Tequila Drinking Tips!

To drink tequila and not experience the burn Omar says,

“the tequila must go over the tongue and not under it and you must breath in before you drink and breath out after you have swallowed”

I can vouch that this does in fact work and i’m not the biggest fan of Tequila!

He also says,

“don’t drink sugary drinks after a night drinking tequila as it will give you a massive headache! Stick to water and you’ll be fine.”

Wise words from the tequila master.

Pin it for Later!

Pin it for later

Find us on Instagram!

Come and explore with us on Instagram!
Click to say hi!

Another unmissable experience in Puerto Vallarta is spending time with the baby turtles at the Hyatt Ziva all inclusive resort!

A week with the turtles at the Hyatt Ziva in Puerto Vallarta

This Post Has 8 Comments

  1. Sarah Wilson

    Great tips – love those arches and all of the wildlife!

  2. Kristin

    I love visiting brewery and distilleries when traveling. I’ve not been to a tequila one yet!

  3. Chelsea Sipe

    So cool! I’d love to help protect the turtles! Adding this to the list.

  4. Leah

    How fun! Everything looks relaxing and beautiful! That suspension bridge would be a must for us! 🙂

  5. Christina Erickson

    What beautiful pictures! I feel like I’ve been there now! Did you buy anything at the flea market? It looked huge. Hope to go there sometime!

  6. amanda

    I literally want to do this exact trip!! Love it!

  7. Diana

    That flea market must have been amazing. And the tequila tour ?

  8. Parenthood4ever

    Tequila tour mmm…
    I fell in love with Mexico when we moved there for a while, and we’d love to get back to see all these nice beach places, your post is a great help for us. Thanks for tips!

Comments are closed.