Having traveled to over 20 countries, it surprises even me that I’d never been to Mexico until 2013. It only took a few days down south before the allure of the country made me understand why so many people rave about Mexico. I ventured down south with a friend to Puerto Vallarta, a resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean’s Bahía de Banderas. Having grown up in a resort city (Hawaii), much of Puerto Vallarta’s commercialization seemed somewhat normal and uninteresting to me. Don’t get me wrong, I loved staying in the comforts of the all-inclusive resorts, but for all I knew, I could have been vacationing back home in Hawaii. Nothing about the resorts screamed “Mexico” to me. It wasn’t until we ventured to some of the smaller towns outside of the city when I really fell in love. Bucerías and Sayulita are two small beach towns I could spend some prolonged period of time in. I loved the charm of the former, and the surfing opportunities afforded by the latter. Backpackers, these are the two towns you definitely want to target.
Below, you’ll find some photos of the typical Puerto Vallarta sights of resorts, sunsets, beach, and a humpback whale tail (the bay is full of them). Sadly, little to no photos of Sayulita or Bucerías because honestly, I was too busy enjoying the sights to stop and take photos! Full photo gallery here.
Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
