If you haven't been to Puerto Vallarta lately, you haven't been there.
Four new gay bars and nightclubs opened over the past six months, and just after New Year's, what used to be the most popular gay club in the city, Club Manana, closed.
The newest gay hotel in the city, Amaca, has completed most of its renovation and is drawing good reviews. The city's famous beachfront walkway known as the Malecon has been expanded to include roadway that runs alongside it. Now, the Malecon is a spacious pedestrian mall complete with pedestrian access to the beach.
But for Bay Area travelers, the big news is that gay-friendly and budget-friendly Virgin America now flies nonstop from San Francisco International Airport. That service began in early December.
About a three and a half hour flight from SFO, Puerto Vallarta is Mexico's most popular gay destination. The city has a couple of dozen gay bars and nightclubs and about a dozen gay hotels and bed and breakfasts.
For the uninitiated, almost all the gay stuff in Puerto Vallarta is in an area known as Zona Romantica (Romantic Zone). It is sometimes called the South Side or the Old Town, the latter being a misnomer since downtown is much older. Zona Romantica begins south of the Cuale River, just south of downtown. You can easily walk downtown and to the sights of the city from Zona Romantica. Unless you plan on doing a lot of driving outside of the city, a rental car is more trouble that it's worth.
The large public beach in Zona Romantica is called Los Muertos Beach. The unofficial gay section of that beach is called Blue Chairs Beach. It is directly in front of the Blue Chairs Hotel. But you don't have to sit right in front of the hotel to be surrounded by gay folk. The beach with green chairs just south of the Blue Chairs, as well as the beach in front of the Lido Beach Club to the north, are just as gay.
There are a number of tours and excursions focused on LGBTs. A transplanted Los Angeles couple run http://www.GoGayPV.com, which is an all-purpose concierge service that organizes popular Friday gay zip lining and hiking excursions through the jungle outside of Puerto Vallarta. The service also can arrange everything from airport pickups to gay-friendly hotel and condo bookings and they are not afraid to give you their honest opinion about hotels and attractions in the city.
First timers should not pass up the Puerto Vallarta gay bar-hopping tour. It is run by a couple of locals who can give you the lay of the land as you bar hop. A restaurant stop is included at the start of the tour. It's a good way to get your bearings in Puerto Vallarta and at the same time meet some fellow travelers who you will likely run into again and again during your stay.
Diana's Tours is a must for any gay visitor. The all-day cruise runs every Thursday and sometimes on Friday if the Thursday boat fills up. The catamaran journey first stops for snorkeling at Los Arcos, the iconic giant hollowed out rocks south of the city, then stops at a private beach and finally a lunch stop at a remote beachfront restaurant. The lunch, drinks, and snacks onboard are included. The cruise is mostly gay male but is popular with lesbians and is straight-friendly. Service is impeccable. Your glass will never be empty.
The other popular cruises in town are the Wet and Wild and Sunset tours, which run on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The excursions are similar to Diana's but are sexually charged and very seldom have women. Very friendly go-go boy types are on the cruise and work for tips.
The Boana Hot Springs tour is a great way to get away from the city and meet other gay tourists in a relaxed setting. It runs every Tuesday night. A bus picks up tour-goers from Zona Romantica and heads out for about a 45-minute drive into the jungle. It includes an all-you-can-eat chicken dinner served alongside three wading pools of different temperatures. Unlimited booze and soft drinks are also included. The excursion is for men only and is clothing-optional. The service is impeccable. Like the Wet and Wild cruise, a few local go-go boy types go along and work for tips.
LGBT center
Puerto Vallarta has had an LGBT center for a little over two years. It is in Zona Romantica. SETAC is an all-purpose community center providing services to the gay and non-gay community alike. If you want to learn some Spanish while you are in town, the center offers Spanish classes for about $5 a session. Proceeds help support the center. A free movie is shown every Friday night. The movie is either in English with Spanish subtitles or vice versa. Free rapid HIV tests are available and the center distributes free condoms. SETAC also hosts English-speaking AA meetings.
Nightlife
Puerto Vallarta's nightlife scene is ever changing but be sure to check out the excellent resource, http://www.GayGuideVallarta.com/, before you go or pick up a free copy when you get in town. It is published by former East Bay resident Mark Page and is constantly updated. His company also publishes a daily guide that will show you what's going on when you get in town. A new free smartphone app is also available through the site.
Ground zero for gay bars is the intersection of Lazaro Cardenas and Ignacio Lopez Vallarta. You could throw a rock from there and hit a handful of gay nightclubs and shops that cater to LGBTs.
At that intersection, the rising star on the Puerto Vallarta nightlife scene is CC Slaughters. It just opened last month a half-block from Paco's Ranch, which currently is the most popular late-night gay nightclub. Paco's could face some serious competition from the new kid on the block. CC Slaughters is two nightclubs in one. One side is a lounge bar and the larger other side is a spacious disco with an open-air courtyard. The club is modern, clean, and chic. If you've been to Portland, you may know the CC Slaughters there. The same owners run the Puerto Vallarta club.
Another new gay bar that sprang up in the last few months is Freedom. It is across the street from CC Slaughters in the space where Picante used to be. Freedom has been struggling to build up a clientele and is usually open only on weekends. But it is a great space and in a perfect location and has a lot of potential.
Hot Fridas is on Olas Altas, which is Zona Romantica's main street, just over the longtime gay bar, Apaches. This bar and restaurant has a cheery modern feel and is creating a good buzz in the hood. Hot Fridas is not to be confused with Fridas, one of the mainstay gay bars and restaurants that is known for the friendly down-to-earth crowd of locals and visitors alike. You can eat very well at the old Fridas for less than $10. Hot Fridas is more upscale and more expensive.
You may have heard talk about the newest gay bar to open in Puerto Vallarta. It was called Crema, but it closed after just a few days. The gay couple who owned it were arrested for embezzling money from Vanderbilt University. Crema had occupied the space where Los Balcones used to be.
Crema was among only three gay bars in downtown Puerto Vallarta. Now there are just two. No Borders, a bear/leather/cowboy bar is just across the street from the Crema/Balcones space. The other is a stripper bar called Anthropology, just north of the Cuale River, making it technically part of downtown, not Zona Romantica. For the restless, you can easily barhop on foot to all the Zona Romantica and downtown gay bars. The city is safe, but if you are returning from a bar late at night or are by yourself, it's a good idea to take a cab.
Another bar that opened recently is just across the street from Wet, Puerto Vallarta's other stripper bar. Los Equipales Grill, at 315A Basillo Badillo, is owned by a Mexican lesbian couple. It may be the city's most Mexican gay bar. They play only Mexican music and serve Mexican food. Although their clientele is mostly gay male, it is very women welcoming. The owners estimate that about 80 percent of their customers are gay men, and the rest are lesbian, transgender, or straight. There are no lesbian bars in Puerto Vallarta, but Apaches is lesbian-owned and is very women and straight-friendly.
The space once occupied by Club Manana is scheduled to reopen on Saturday, February 11, as Kokohome. The club's owner, Israel Ortiz, told the Bay Area Reporter this week that the club will feature DJs from all over the world and a new and improved lighting system. But Ortiz said that the club will only be open on Saturdays and only during high season, which in Puerto Vallarta, includes the busy winter season, early spring, and late fall.
Accommodations
The aforementioned Amaca is the newest gay hotel in Puerto Vallarta. It used to be the Descanso del Sol and was famous for its rooftop bar long before the Blue Chairs Hotel stole the limelight. The new owner is a Texan who has obviously poured a lot of money into renovating the hotel's 22 rooms. The rooftop bar and pool are open to non- guests. It has some of the best views of Puerto Vallarta you will find anywhere and is a quieter alternative to Blue Chairs' sunset bar scene.
Villa David is the only gay accommodation option in downtown Puerto Vallarta. It has nine rooms surrounding a courtyard pool and includes a hot cooked breakfast. It is about a mile walk to the Blue Chairs beach and about half that to most of the Zona Romantica gay clubs. It is for men only and clothing optional. The gay couple who own the property are hands-on and the B&B is very well maintained.
The upscale gay boutique hotel, Casa Cupula, is owned by San Franciscan Don Pickens and routinely ranks near the top of all hotels, gay or straight, in Puerto Vallarta on TripAdvisor.com. The property sits on a hill with ocean views, just a 10-minute walk to Olas Altas, Zona Romantica's main street. It has a pool, two hot tubs, and one of the best gyms that you will find in any hotel. A continental breakfast is included in the hotel's fabulous Taste restaurant. By the way, be sure to stop by Taste for a great gourmet meal in a wonderful setting for very reasonable prices.
Hotel Mercurio is perfectly situated just a half-block from Olas Altas in easy walking distance to the gay beach and all the gay nightlife. A hot buffet breakfast is included. Hotel Mercurio has budget prices with much better than budget accommodations. The friendly staff can direct you to all things gay in Puerto Vallarta. Whether you are staying there or not, be sure to stop by for a drink during the hotel's late afternoon poolside happy hour.
Getting there
The addition of Virgin America's flights from SFO is a big boost to the city's tourism. Virgin has been offering some great fare deals but you can expect prices to rise as more people know they are out there. Before Virgin, only Alaska and United flew to Puerto Vallarta. Alaska charges to check a bag to Puerto Vallarta but Virgin and United do not, so keep that in mind if you are checking a bag and comparing prices. If you haven't flown Virgin, it is worth checking out. The airline's state-of-the-art planes feature an entertainment system with every seat in coach. On the music selection, there is even a channel for music from LGBT artists.
It costs $25 to take a taxi from Puerto Vallarta's airport to Zona Romantica, but you can get a cab for about half the price by walking over the footbridge to the yellow taxis waiting on the other side. Usually, they will take you for about 150 pesos, or about $12. They may ask more if they are busy or if there are a lot of passengers or luggage, but don't give them more than $20. It's not customary to tip cab drivers in Mexico, but if you are given extra service, a couple of bucks more is appreciated. Diana's tours also offers a VIP service. For only $20, you will be greeted at the airport with someone holding a sign with your name on it. You will be escorted to a waiting air-conditioned car. Her drivers know where all the gay hotels are, so you won't have any problems with the driver trying to find your hotel. Diana's Tours is a good way to go for first-timers.