Puerto Vallarta Travel Guide (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)

in Puerto Vallarta is no problem - tourist restaurants offering cocktails by candlelight abound - but eating cheaply is somewhat harder. As usual, the market - on the north bank of the river by the upper bridge - has a few cheap comedors tucked away upstairs, overlooking the river, well away from the souvenir stalls that fill the rest of the building. Taco and hot-dog stands line the streets, while vendors on the beach offer freshly caught fish, roasted on sticks. For a fast-food fix, head for the glut of burger chains and pizza places on the malecón and north into the hotel zone. Gutiérrez Rizo Supermarket, at Serdán and Constitución, sells picnic supplies. South of the Río Cuale along Av Olas Altas, and particularly on Basilio Badillo between Suárez and Insurgentes, several restaurants bridge the gap between out-and-out tourist traps and plainer eating houses. Of more expensive places you can really take your pick: most offer some form of music or entertainment, or at least a good view while you eat, and almost all display their menus outside, so you know what you're letting yourself in for.