All-Inclusive Resorts in Nuevo Vallarta

Cross the Ameca river — the state line between Jalisco and Nayarit — and you are in Nuevo Vallarta, a purpose-built resort corridor with the longest uninterrupted beach in the bay. If you picture an all-inclusive holiday as swim-up bars, several à la carte restaurants, a kids club, a spa and a beach that goes on further than you can see, this is the zone that was designed for it.

Almost everything here was built from scratch after 1990, so resorts are large, modern and set in landscaped grounds with canals and marinas running behind them. Nuevo Vallarta holds the widest range in the bay, from big family properties with water slides to some of the most expensive suites in Mexico.

The beach

Wide, flat, golden and long — you can walk for an hour in either direction. Because the bay curves here, surf is usually gentle in winter and picks up in the summer rainy season. Sea turtles nest along this stretch from roughly July to December, and several resorts run release programmes with the local camps.

Getting to town

The airport is fifteen to twenty-five minutes south; downtown Puerto Vallarta is thirty to forty. That distance is the trade-off for the space: this is a resort corridor, not a neighbourhood, and there is not much to walk to outside your property. Most people book excursions or a taxi when they want the city.

Nuevo Vallarta vs the Hotel Zone

Bigger resorts, better beach, newer everything, further from the city, and a Nayarit time-zone quirk that no longer applies (the state aligned with Jalisco time in 2010 — you will still meet people who worry about it).