Mexico Beaches - Puerto Vallarta and Ensenad
With shores on two oceans, Mexico is a beach lover's paradise.
Here's a primer on three of the beach areas, Puerto Vallarta and
Ensenada
Puerto Vallarta
Considered a poor man's Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta lies in the
middle of the Bahia de Banderas, a huge bay. The beach is long
and nice while the two lies at the foot of the Sierra Madre
Mountains. The last ten years have seen a lot of development
with condos, hotels and tourist support areas going up like mad.
This isn't particularly surprising since tourism seems to be the
hub of the entire economy in Puerto Vallarta.
For beaches, you really can't go wrong in Puerto Vallarta. The
northern beaches tend to be the most popular, which also means
more people. Personally, I've headed to the south to find a
little more breathing room. For gay travelers, Puerto Vallarta
is considered the most accommodating beach location in an
otherwise conservative Mexico.
Ensenada
Located a few hours south of the border with San Diego, Ensenada
is a popular weekend trip. Sitting on the bay of Todos Santos,
Ensenada is famous for a vibrant nightlife, nice beaches and
being the location where much of the movie "Titanic" was shot.
Historically, Ensenada used to be a secret location known to San
Diegans. Then the Mexican government built a smooth highway from
Tijuana through Ensenada. So much for the secret!
Today, Ensenada is a good place to go if you want to experience
Mexico, but want to avoid the packed, edgy Tijuana scene. In
Ensenada, you can ride horses on the beach, do some surfing and
visit world famous bars. The most famous, of course, is
Hussongs. Hussongs is the place where you can "sample" tequila
and sing with Mariachi bands. The two have nothing to do with
each other. Honest.
Everyone has a favorite beach spot in Mexico. Ensenada and
Puerto Vallarta aren't bad places to sample.