Local Transportation

Transportation Within Vallarta
Taxis are plentiful and bus service is very good. A minimum taxi fare is around two dollars and buses cost about 40 cents (US dollars).

Urban Bus Service
All bus routes go into the old section of town, (the Romantic Zone) and most go north or south through the center of town "Centro," while others take a peripheral route through a couple of tunnels "Tunel." Green and brown buses drive along Franciso Villa Blvd. and the blue and white bus line passes through the hotel zone with some continuing on to the airport and the bus terminal.

The Bus Routes

Marina Vallarta
The yacht club and all the hotel's in the Marina area like Marriot, are covered by only one bus route; and it comes around every 20 minutes approximately, in order to identify the correct bus you have to read the front upper part, and look for "Marina Vallarta", the fare is $4.00 pesos. Their initial point of start is at Pino Suarez in downtown and they cover the route in 35 minutes one way.

Nuevo Vallarta
Departs from the Medina bus station located at Brasil street No.1410 between Guatemala and Brasilia just before the stadium sports park in the downtown area. Every 20 minutes takes down the Brasilia street and then Francisco Medina Ascencio, main avenue along at determined bus stops. The ride cost $10.00 pesos to Nuevo Vallarta and takes 30 minutes approximately.

Punta Mita
Punta de Mita, Bucerias, Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Valle. All this towns in the Nayarit state are covered by the Medina buses, with the same route as "Nuevo Vallarta", you can go to the bus station in Brasil street to go back to all this destinations.

Mismaloya & Boca
This bus is a south side route that covers all the hotel's located south of downtown, like Conchas Chinas, Camino Real, La Joya de Mismaloya and the town Boca de Tomatlan. The route start at Constitucion and Basilio Badillo corner, taking the highway 200 south. Takes about 45 minutes ride to Boca, de Tomatlan. Cost is $5.00 pesos and this route starts at 6:30 A.M. until 10:00 P.M.

Pitillal
There are two ways to get to Pitillal town. The old route goes along the Francisco Villa Boulevard and usually these buses are green, if you're looking for areas like Gaviotas or The public Library, this is the route to take. The newer way is trough the Blvd. Francisco Medina Ascencio, where all the major hotels are located and turns right at the corner in front of the Terminal Maritima, these buses are blue and white. The ride cost $4.00 pesos.

Hotel Zone
Many of the routes goes along these important zone, specially when they are coming back to the starting point in downtown, just make sure it say "CENTRO", which means it goes straight to the Malecon and leaving you at the Old Town. The cost is $4.00 pesos.

The Marina
"The Marina" may refer to the Maritime Terminal where cruise ships dock (and where the Office of Immigration is located) or to the beautiful Marina Vallarta, a little farther north, with its upscale hotels, shops and harbor for private boats. There is also the Plaza Marina, a large modern shopping mall anchored by a large supermarket. When taking a taxi or a bus, be sure to be clear about which one you want to go to. Only the small white buses marked "Marina Vallarta" enter the Marina and go all the way to hotels there.

Long Distance Buses
There is a modern bus terminal (central camionera) just north of the airport serving all passenger lines to other cities and there are many places in town to buy tickets for long distance bus trips. If you are going south, ask when buying your ticket where you can catch the bus other than at the terminal.