Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
It's hard to decide which is more satisfying: shopping in Puerto Vallarta, or feasting at its glorious restaurants. There are enough of both to keep a bon vivant busy for weeks. But while gourmands return home with enlarged waistlines, gluttonous shoppers need an extra suitcase for the material booty they bring home.Puerto Vall
It's hard to decide which is more satisfying: shopping in Puerto Vallarta, or feasting at its glorious restaurants. There are enough of both to keep a bon vivant busy for weeks. But while gourmands return home with enlarged waistlines, gluttonous shoppers need an extra
It's hard to decide which is more satisfying: shopping in Puerto Vallarta, or feasting at its glorious restaurants. The
It's hard to decide which is more satisfying: shopping in Puerto Vallarta, or feasting at its glorious restaurants. There are enough of both to keep a bon vivant busy for weeks. But while gourmands return home with enlarged waistlines, gluttonous shoppers need an extra suitcase for the material booty they bring home.
Puerto Vallarta's highest concentration of shops and restaurants shares the same prime real estate: El Centro. But as construction of hotels, time-shares, condos, and private mansions marches implacably north up the bay, new specialty stores and gourmet groceries follow the gravy train. To the south, the Costalegre is made up primarily of modest seaside towns and self-contained luxury resorts, and shopping opportunities are rare.
More than a half-dozen malls line "the airport road," Boulevard Francisco M. Ascencio, which connects downtown with the Hotel Zone and Marina Vallarta. There you'll find folk art, resort clothing, and home furnishing stores amid supermarkets, and in some cases bars and banks. Galerías Vallarta is the largest of these shopping malls and by far the most sophisticated. Here you will find some of the most exclusive boutiques in town, an ultra-modern gym, stylish beauty salon, a casino, a food court, and a movie theater complex.
A 15% value-added tax (locally called IVA, officially the impuesto al valor agregado) is levied on most larger purchases. (Note that it's often included in the price, and it's usually disregarded entirely by market vendors.) As a foreign visitor, you can reclaim this 15% by filling out paperwork at a kiosk in the Puerto Vallarta airport and other major airports around the country. That said, most visitors find the system tedious and unrewarding and avoid it altogether. You must make purchases at approved stores and businesses, and your merchandise must total $115 or more. Even if you plan to pay with cash or a debit card, you must present a credit card at the time of purchase and obtain a receipt and an official refund form from the merchant. Tax paid on meals and lodgings won't be refunded.
This is the main shopping mall in the whole Puerto Vallarta–Riviera Nayarit area, offering 73,000 square feet of shopping distributed on two floors and a magnificent view of the arriving cruise ships. This mall and the surrounding shops are mainly visited by cruise-ship passengers and Mexican out-of-towners looking for everything from sporting goods to clothing to housewares. Galerías Vallarta has two escalators; restaurants; parking; a 12-theater cinema; and a fast-food court with the ubiquitous McDonald's, Dominos Pizza, Chili's, and Starbucks (it also has the most slippery polished-stone flooring known to man).
Av. Francisco M. Ascencio 2920, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, 48354, Mexico
This is the main shopping mall in the whole Puerto Vallarta–Riviera Nayarit area, offering 73,000 square feet of shopping on two floors and a magnificent view of the arriving cruise ships. This mall and the surrounding shops are mainly visited by cruise-ship passengers and Mexican out-of-towners looking for everything from sporting goods to clothing and housewares. Galerías Vallarta has restaurants, parking, a 12-theater cinema, and a fast-food court with the ubiquitous McDonald's, Domino's Pizza, Chili's, and Starbucks.
It's DIY chic here. You choose the colorful, cotton, triangular sash of your liking, miraculously transforming pretty but baggy dresses into flattering and stylish frocks. The color palette is truly inspired, although the selection for men is limited.
Morelos 552, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, 48300, Mexico
One long block south of the airport, this mall has several banks with ATMs, a dry cleaner, a photo-developing shop, a pharmacy, a café, an Internet café, and several bars and shops. The whole place is anchored by the Mega Soriana supermarket and a McDonald's.
This small mall in the heart of the marina district is home to a number of fine-home-furnishing shops, several classy clothing boutiques, and, just behind it, a few good, casual restaurants.
Blvd. Francisco Medina Ascencio s/n, 48354, Mexico
Please try a broader search, or expore these popular suggestions:
There are no results for {{ strDestName }} Shopping in the searched map area with the above filters. Please try a different area on the map, or broaden your search with these popular suggestions:
Neighborhoods Some neighborhood filters have sub-neighborhoods that can be selected individually in a dropdown by clicking on the icon to the right of the name.
Distance from:
Try increasing the mile radius or searching near one of these popular suggestions:
Playa Los Muertos
La Tovara
Vallarta Botanical Gardens
El Malecón
Enter a sight, restaurant, hotel, or other place to find shopping nearby.
I want emails from Fodor's Travel with travel information and promotions. I can unsubscribe any time using the unsubscribe link at the end of all emails.
Thank you for your interest!
Look out for our newsletters with travel tips and special offers.
Sign up for Travel Tips & News
By signing up for the newsletter, I agree to the Privacy Policy. You must check the box to subscribe
Thank you for your interest!
Look out for our newsletters with travel tips and special offers.