Zona Roja, Puerto Vallarta

I have heard that Puerto Vallarta has a red light district but I didn`t know where it is. I found it and discovered that it was more than just an "it". PV has at least three red light areas. One is the "zona", the second is called Las Conejitas and the third is an area downtown where the girls hang out on their own. These are all places where the locals go and I didn`t see another gringo all night! This was definately not the ambience of the high priced strip clubs... There were dirt and concrete floors, a general sense of disrepair and just plain ugly facilities. But inside these places were a great number and variety of girls. I was frankly suprised by number of reasonably attractive ones amongst all the fatties! I spent the entire evening looking at the entertainment and I don`t think I spent much more than 40$ on drinks. Most of the beers were 2.50$ and the drinks for the girls were between 4 and 8$. I had a great time! I wouldn`t have found any of the places if it hadn`t been for a local guy that offers tours of these places.. He calls it a Red Zone Tour and took me to a bunch of other places as well as these red light districts! I had a great time!

Dress Code: Absoulutely none!

Zona Roja may not be on every families to do list when vacationing in Vallarta, but let us not forget about the side of life that many of us Americans do not even know exists let alone get to experience.

With a crumbling walls, buildings with partial roofs, and throngs of paunchy blond haired Dutch sex tourists it certainly lives up to the dark and seedy reputation that suites the Red Light District.

I myself did not partake in the “festivities” that are to be had in the Red Light District, but did indulge in the social aspect of people watching. Keep in mind that I am not talking about the tourist geared strip clubs or massage parlors.

The Red Light district is an out of the way place meant for the local working class. Is it a little dangerous… yes, but I believe that as long as you mind your own business and not flash your money, all will be fine.

You will witness a lot of hard working locals who have saved up their money for one night of glory as well as the occasional foreigner who have a penchant for places of ill repute.

If you are adventurous, this truly is a great place to go and see the “other side”.

Dress Code: Well, as you can imagine I would highly suggest that you dress down when going there in order to take a little more attention away from yourself.

I would though suggest that you do not partake in any of the “activities” there because from what I was told that some of the woman there are actually men.

In Mexico I know that it is the law that woman have to get an AIDS/hep test every 3 weeks in order to work in the touristy strip clubs but am not sure if that same rule applies here.