Puerto Vallarta - City of Mexico

Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas. The 2005 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 177,830 making it the fifth-largest city in the state of Jalisco. The City of Puerto Vallarta is the government seat of the Municipality of Puerto Vallarta which comprises the city as well as population centers outside of the city extending from Boca de Tomatlán to the Nayarit border.

The municipality has an area of 502.19 square miles. To the North it borders the SW part of the state of Nayarit. To the East it borders the municipality of Mascota and San Sebastián, and to the South it borders the municipalities of Talpa de Allende and Cabo Corriente.

Puerto Vallarta has a typical tropical climate, with temperature and variations in humidity that can make July through September nearly intolerable. It has pronounced wet and dry seasonal variation, with sudden monsoon-like rains from July through September, normally for a few hours in the evenings.

Prevailing winds are from the southwest, and most weather systems approaching Puerto Vallarta are consequently weakened as they pass over Cabo Corriente. Thus even during the rainy season Puerto Vallarta's weather tends to be mild compared to other areas along the Mexican Pacific coast.

Hurricanes seldom strike Puerto Vallarta. In 2002 Hurricane Kenna, a category 5 hurricane, made landfall about 100 miles northwest of Puerto Vallarta, and the city suffered some damage from the resulting storm surge. In 1971 Hurricane Lily, a category 1 hurricane, caused serious flooding on the Isla Cuale, prompting the city to relocate all of its residents to the new Colonia Palo Seco.

Vallarta is also a popular destination for domestic tourists: a popular weekend destination for residents of Guadalajara , and a popular national destination for vacations such as Semana Santa (the week preceding Easter) and Christmas. Also in recent years Acapulco has experienced a rise in drug related violence and Puerto Vallarta has absorbed some of the Mexico City resort vacation business .

Puerto Vallarta has become a popular retirement destination for US and Canadian retirees. This trend has spawned a condominium development boom in the city.

Puerto Vallarta was once named as "La Ciudad Mas Amigable en el Mundo", as the sign reads when entering from Nayatrit. Most believe this holds true today.