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Gay Puerto Vallarta Mexico Intro Charming Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is a lively small city of red tiled roofs and cobblestone streets, roosters, donkeys and iguanas, friendly locals, expatriates and fun loving tourists. Nestled between the brilliant Banderas Bay and the lush tropical forests of the Sierra Madre mountains on the west coast of Mexico west (see map), gay Puerto Vallarta is known for its long sandy beaches, beautiful ocean and mountain views, handsome men, happening nightlife and its many fine restaurants. Whether sunbathing at the popular gay beach, sailing on one of the fun cruises, bike riding along the Cuale River, whale watching on sun drenched Banderas Bay or dancing the night away at one of your favorite local gay bars or clubs, there is something for you to adore and fall in love with within the gay community of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Puerto Vallarta was a small town based on agriculture and fishing until 1963, when Hollywood director John Huston chose his site for the filming of Tennessee Williams' brilliant 1961 play "The Night of the Iguana" in the small fishing village of Mismaloya, ten miles south of Vallarta. John Huston's movie version starred Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr and Sue Lyon. Liz Taylor came to be with Burton, whom she married here for the first time. The story is told that the talented, macho director Huston gave each of the stars their own pistol with a set of bullets engraved with the names of the other actors. Surprisingly, there was harmony among the tempestuous actors, but the spotlight was turned on and the international attention that started then has brought Puerto Vallarta an abundant wealth of tourism ever since.  Puerto Vallarta is now one of the top gay-friendly vacation destinations abroad and a great place to visit and live. The population here has grown rapidly from some 12,500 in 1964 to around 250,000 inhabitants in 2009. Approximately two and a half million Mexican and foreign tourists visit the port city every year, so today it's one of Mexico's major beach resort towns and travel destinations. The local economy is largely based on tourism, but also on construction and a variety of agricultural products. As with most port cities, Puerto Vallarta has a tradition of tolerance and open-mindedness and is certainly one of the most gay-friendly holiday spots in Mexico and Latin America. The local newspaper La Tribuna de la Bahia conducted an unofficial survey in November 1999 and found that a majority of the people surveyed said they would have no problem with a gay mayor (which has in fact happened), as long as he was qualified for the job. Puerto Vallarta has become one of the most popular and best gay travel destinations south of the border, if not the largest, surpassing the huge resort city of Acapulco in recent years as a top romantic gay vacation spot. The town is safer than any American city of its size that I know of and combines beautifully the Old World charm of its cobblestone streets and white stucco houses with the modern amenities of a world class resort, having a multitude of five star hotels, lovely sandy beaches and quality stores and boutiques, fine high-class restaurants and vibrant art galleries, as well as a large and growing middle and professional class.  As an additional natural attraction, Puerto Vallarta is beloved for its gorgeous tropical sunsets, the phenomenal whale watching tours and the city is also increasingly popular for its annual fun Carnival celebrations in February or March and the religious Our Lady of Guadalupe festival from December 1-12 each year. The Mexicans are known for their friendliness and the people of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (often just known as PV for short) are no exception.

Mexico's #1 Gay Beach Destination
Most of the foreign gay Puerto Vallarta tourism comes from the West Coast states and British Columbia, Texas and the Southwest, as well as large numbers from Montreal and Toronto. One meets more and more people from the Midwest, especially Chicago. Vallarta's reputation draws tourists from the East Coast as European destinations and the gay vacation resorts in Florida and Hawaii become more expensive. Over a million Mexicans a year visit the city and area, and there are now large gay communities that travel from Guadalajara, Aguasclientes, Mexico City, Monterey and the surrounding states. Prices are still reasonable here and the American dollar is quite strong vis-a-vis Mexico's peso, at around 13.0-13.5 pesos to the dollar. Puerto Vallarta has been listed as the #1 beach destination in Latin America by Travel and Leisure Magazine and is a great romantic tropical getaway. It probably wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that the Blue and Green chairs gay beach are now world-famous; both About and Gay Cities rank it among the top 10 gay beaches in the world. The Puerto Vallarta weather is close to ideal and our lovely Mexico gay resort town enjoys well over 280-300 days of sunshine per year, the climate itself making the trip worth while

In a New York Times travel article from a few years back Susan Hauser writes that she ditches her Vallarta city tour and goes off "to walk for hours along the beach and through the picturesque town. The inviting shops and restaurants that fill every block give this town a European feel, I think, and I love the modern bronze sculptures placed along the waterfront." She is referring here to the lovely Malecon downtown boardwalk (see more photos) that stretches the length of downtown for over a mile and has a large collection of artwork, statues and sculptures as well as artists at work on their handicrafts, souvenirs and watercolors, or showing off with some lively performance art or clown show.

David Kirby in another NYT vacations article from May 2004 says that the crowds on gay holidays at the beach were quite friendly, "mostly over 30, and mostly from the Midwest or West Coast. For a gay beach scene, it was pretty low key. Many there said they go back to Puerto Vallarta every year, not only for the gay scene but also the relaxed atmosphere and gorgeous natural surroundings." You can eat, cruise, party, sun, shop and chat at the same time - talk about a fabulous paradise for your holidays! Kirby also rightly notes that Puerto Vallarta gay night-life compares well with that of almost any equal-sized American or Canadian city and that there are a good number of day and night-time entertaining holiday activities, gay events and local adventures to be enjoyed. Or you can kick back and relax, or go out every night to enjoy great food at the amazing selection of local restaurants.

Gay Tours Puerto Vallarta Tourist Attractions and Activities
These sensational vacation activities and excursions occur nearly every day or night of the week during the "high season" winter months of November to April: the Puerto Vallarta gay tours and trips on great cruises, bingo, male stripper and drag queen shows, happy hours galore, pool parties, lesbian places of interest, special performers and events at The Palm cabaret and at nightclub Manana, musicians playing at Garbo piano bar, and of course the not to be missed and extremely popular gay beach on Los Muertos. All-in-all a near perfect gay holiday destination. The PV bars have been doing a booming business for years and there are now some twenty or so gay bars, night clubs, cantinas, discotheques, martini spots and lounges, all but two of them in the unique part of the city known as the South Side, sometimes referred to as the Zona Romantica or Old Town. One of these, Club Manana, is rated as one of the top gay bars in the world. I've also put together a detailed account of the straight Puerto Vallarta nightlife if you want a change of pace, are in town with some straight friends or feel adventurous about a new experience. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is also attractive for its lively and eclectic local art gallery and live music scenes. Though the summer months are slower for tourism compared to the winter season, more tourists are coming year-round for the gay-friendly accommodations, lovely sandy beaches, relaxing atmosphere and the many tourist attractions, sightseeing opportunities and fun things to do and see. It's not just a fab holiday, it's a gay adventure.

Hint: One of the best ways to get around this site is to go to the Gay Travel Links page as this has the most important internal links to the travel guide on the left-side navigation bar.