January 19, 2026

Puerto Vallarta, in my opinion seems a little rough around the edges. It was director John Huston that made Puerto Vallarta famous when he filmed The Night of the Iguana in and around the area. Huston and star Richard Burton both moved here. That was in 1964. The reputation of Puerto Vallarta really began than. During filming, Richard Burton arrived in Mexico with Elizabeth Taylor… even though they were both still married to other people. Burton ended up buying two houses—one for him, one for Taylor—connected by a bridge over the street so they could sneak back and forth privately. This became an international media frenzy with Paparazzi basically camping out in Puerto Vallarta. The Burton/Taylor relationship even received condemnations from the Vatican.

Before the movie, Puerto Vallarta was a quiet fishing town. Dirt roads. No airport. Everyone knew everyone. After the movie, people who were kids at the time still tell stories about seeing photographers for the first time ever, foreign reporters roaming the streets and boats circling the shoreline trying to get photos of Elizabeth Taylor. You could argue the entire modern identity of the city traces back to this one film. To many locals, The Night of the Iguana is remembered as the moment the world showed up uninvited—and never really left.

Now to be fair, there are some beautiful spots in Puerto Vallarta. The Malecon is home to a bay full of beautiful boats, Islas Marateas has crystal clear water where you can see the magical undersea world below. Los Arcos (“The Arches”) are a group of dramatic granite islets just offshore in Banderas Bay. Locals basically treat Los Arcos as the city’s natural logo—if you see a postcard or mural, odds are those rocks are on it.

Yet it is not a good sign when there are notices throughout the city that say: Beware pickpocketing and scams happen in crowded areas throughout the city. Now this is nothing unusual for a tourist city, but there seemed to be more awareness of it in Puerto Vallarta.

Perhaps after Huatulco it just seemed too touristy. There are three things I look for that denote too touristy for me. Puerto Vallarta had all three.

Now the shop owner did tell me that researchers have discovered that the blue agave plant used to produce tequila has specific properties that help prevent obesity, osteoporosis and diabetes.

I’m not sure if that is true.

Then again, he was trying to sell me a bottle of tequila.

Thanks for traveling with us…