Puerto Vallarta Flights

The road to Puerto Vallarta are rugid & shallow. Do not try to get there by car.. It isn't safe & the wear and tear on your car isn't worth it.

The cheapest flight we found was through continental, plus no layovers in mexico city, like with delta.

Sun Trips contracts with Ryan International Airline for travel from Oakland, CA to Puerto Vallarta. The package deals for air transportation and hotel are about the lowest.

On the airplane, the rows of seats are as closely spaced as possible, so the flight is not comfortable. But it only lasts three hours, and after that you are in sunny Puerto Vallarta.

I got to Puerto Vallarta on Air Transat, it was an all inclusive package from $1200 CDN by airfare, meals and accommodations were all included from Edmonton, Alberta.

It was a great deal I though, including transfers to and from the airport.

This tip may only be relevant if you are leaving from Canada. I know there are many other major carriers going into airport.

If you can wait until last minute I know there were some people that stayed an extra 7 days and paid only half what I did!!!!

Beware of Funjet charters such as ryan international airlines. These charters may be cheap but at what cost ??? I flew Ryan to Cancun last year and my friend flew Ryan to Puerto Vallarta a yr before. We both had bad experiences. I never had a seat , and neither did 6 other people on our flight to Cancun. We had to take the next plane out which was the following day. Funjet paid for our hotel but it was one wasted day of vacation. Also Ryan International has a very old/aging fleet of planes (727s) and an inexperienced staff of ticket agents/flight attendants who have limited training and information. I have only heard negative things about this airline!

Depending where you live, a plane for me would be the best way to get to PVR.....for most people it would be.
As for getting around PV, I would say the city bus or Cabs. the Bus is very inexpensive. For Cabs, make sure before you get in the cab to ask how much it will be. ( ex: to go from the Marina to Downtown, it costs 40-45 pesos. ) dont pay any more than that ....or they are ripping you off.

airplane is best, you can get tourist cards either from the airline steward(esse)s or at the airport; customs is random inspection and fairly cursory; i've driven into mexico only once (border towns are NOT representative) and don't remember encountering a hassle but have heard of people who have; because of the distances and mountains, it is hard to travel much except by plane unless time is not really a problem. local buses are incredibly cheap; i've traveled from city to city but had to rent a car.

Take the plane to get to Puerto Vallarta. The airport is pretty modern and has access from many U.S. destinations as well as Canada. If you have to go through Mexico City, beware, it can be a hassle. During your stay in Puerto Vallarta transportation requirements will be dictated by where you are staying and where your intended destination may be. Most of the time, you will have more than one option.

We flew on Continental from Chicago to Houston then PV.
We highly recommend renting a car and driving yourself. But book the reservation in the
US and get the price in writeing before you go. We saved 50% this way. I would decline the extra insurance. Driving is not 'crazy' it is slow and simple to get around. Easier and safier than say Los Angles or Boston! One thing we noticed was the 'Big rigs' come out at night and on the 2 lane moutain road it is slow going. Making Left hand turns is different and they explain how it is done in PV. Once you know its a piece of cake!