According to Visit Puerto Vallarta website this is "a mystic city that harbors tradition in its plazas, in its streets, in its people - a city that expresses the color of its culture and natural beauty at every turn.
Located on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, where the states of Jalisco and Nayarit meet, at the heart of Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta offers the best of two worlds: tradition and the vanguard, making Vallarta a window to the world.
Puerto Vallarta has received many global accolades that are a testament to the uniqueness and warmth of the city. It has been voted the friendliest city in the world by Condé Nast Magazine (2003), the best place to retire globally by The American Association of Retired Persons (2010) and the best Mexican Vacation destination by USNews.com (2010), beating out Cancún and Los Cabos for the top prize."
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With respect to cruise ships...
"A cruise ship vacation on the pacific would not be complete without dropping anchor in Puerto Vallarta, the jewel of the Mexican Pacific coast. This romantic cultural paradise has been attracting cruise visitors since the early 70s and featured regularly in the hit TV series The Love Boat.
Puerto Vallarta has grown and matured since the early days of tourism and now enjoys a varied number of cruise ship arrivals nearly every day of the week. Cruise ship visitor numbers have increased year on year but Vallarta has managed to retain the charm and attractions that made Puerto Vallarta a leading Mexican Resort.
For those with only a few hours to spare on their Vallarta shore excursion, there are a multitude of day activities to chose from that will show you the best of what Puerto Vallarta has to offer.
A must see while here is a walk through our Historical Center (Centro Historico) alive with art galleries, shopping, restaurants and workshops showing visitors the real way to create a wide variety of Mexican artcrafts, pottery, jewelry and art. Whether you are looking for thrills on a canopy tour (zip-line), or wanting to shop until you drop or pamper yourself in our innumerable spas, this is one shore excursion you’ll never forget.
Additionally, Puerto Vallarta is considered as one of the most famous port towns along the Pacific coast of Mexico. Recent renovation and expansion projects on the cruise port, all in line with security and environmental regulations, increased the port capacity to receive up to four cruise ships simultaneously without losing its ability to transport passengers. Each year this port receives 270 cruise ships transporting 500,000 visitors on shore excursions from leading cruise ships carriers. We have one cruiseline with a Home Port in Puerto Vallarta, you can board on and off right here in town and coast the Mexican Pacific Seaboard for a short 7 day cruise with Pullmantur Cruises."
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