No one needs an excuse to visit Puerto Vallarta on the Mexican Pacific coast, but the Christmas Holidays are the perfect opportunity to spend time with your family in an idyllic location surrounded by friendly locals and plenty of activities to keep you fully entertained.
Just as the dark nights seem to be here to stay and it is almost impossible to imagine what summer is like, Puerto Vallarta offers a ray of hope with its endless sunny days and warm temperatures throughout the winter season. December is a great time to visit this balmy beach destination as the humidity drops allowing cooler nighttime temperatures, and you can expect anywhere around 78ºF (26ºC) during the day and 61ºF (16ºC) at night. That being you can sit on the beach and get a tan during the day and not be too hot to sleep at night without air-conditioning.
Another reason to spend the Holidays in Puerto Vallarta is thanks to its amazing options of gourmet cuisine. If you decide not to dine in your hotel, there are a number of excellent restaurants that will be open on Christmas Eve and Christmas day to receive you and your family. Mexican traditions are somewhat different in that locals will celebrate with their families on Christmas Eve, what they call Noche Buena, and often stay up most of the night. This means that it is fairly easy to make reservations in the best restaurants for Christmas Day.
Coming to Puerto Vallarta for the Holidays usually means that you will still be around for New Year’s Eve, and you certainly won’t regret it. The whole bay comes alive with fireworks and rockets to welcome the new year and you will be amazed at the energy that takes over the Malecon downtown. The pedestrianized boardwalk is flooded with party-goers enjoying the anticipation of the new year.
An additional benefit of visiting Puerto Vallarta during the winter season is that you will be able to take a whale watching tour. Humpback whales visit Banderas Bay from late November through March and you can frequently see them jumping in the distance from the shoreline, although there is nothing more magnificent than seeing them up close from a boat.
