Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta is a bay-town in the state of Jalisco, one of the most important ports in Mexico. City hitch-hiking works pretty fine here, so you might want to thumb instead of taking long-distance walks.

Going out towards Guadalajara

One of the best ways to get out of the city is to catch a bus to Ixtapa or even further out, to La Desembocada or El Ranchito. The latter two are right next to each other, beyond Ixtapa on the 70/544 highway to Guadalajara.

Buses to either of the three traverse the length of Puerto Vallarta from south to north, along Calle Juárez and Calle Colombia through Centro and 5 de Diciembre, and then Blvd. Francisco Medina Ascencio (the big boulevard just off of the beach) to up past the airport. The buses will have 'Ixtapa', 'La Desembocada', or 'El Ranchito' on the front among their destinations (you can ask if you're not sure). As of December 2021 the ticket will cost you 10 pesos.

If you get the bus to Ixtapa, you'll have a 15-minutes walk to get out of the centre. Be advised, there is a prison right on the outskirts of Ixtapa, on the edge exiting to Guadalajara where you'll want to stand. The last tope (speed bump) is not far before the prison.

If you are going to La Desembocada or El Ranchito, the bus will pull a u-turn just past the airport where the highway to Guadalajara splits and follow that highway on the northern edge of Ixtapa (even if you want to hitch from Ixtapa this bus may be better to take, to save the walk from the centre). If getting off in Ixtapa, on your right you'll pass a large soccer field, a turn into town, and then the final tope before the prison.

If you're continuing, there will be a short stretch of straight road past the prison (which is on your right), on which there will be a gas station (but to your left, on the wrong side of the highway (and there is no tope there or shade where you would stand)). The highway will continue on going straight a while further and then make a sharp left turn - you're almost there. The bus will shortly pull off to the right into La Desembocada, and you'll get off there on the highway. You'll find that the vast majority of the traffic that would have passed you in Ixtapa either stayed there or turns into La Desembocada/El Ranchito (and if you get a short ride to a nearby town like Las Palmas you'll see just how little traffic goes any farther than that, too).

There is a tope right there at the turn to La Desembocada/El Ranchito, and though traffic isn't heavy you shouldn't have to wait long (Movethathoof waited around 40 minutes for a ride there in December 2021 (being Sunday morning almost every vehicle passing was absolutely packed) for a ride to Las Palmas, from where he quickly had a ride to just past Ameca, most of the way to Guadalajara)

Sleeping:

• 1. If you want to spend a night close to Puerto Vallarta and hitch-hike in the morning, this might be a good option. Get to Ixtapa (like it was mentioned above), go to the main square of the town and find «Delegacion Municipal». On the left from the main door there’s another entrance to the building, and if you ask for a permission to put your tent right next to their office, they might be happy to help you. Basically it’s a small local police office. They have gas stove and water there, so you can cook and stay overnight in a safe place.

• 2. In the centre of Puerto Vallarta there’s a church called «Iglesia de Guadalupe». They allow homeless people to stay at their patio for a night. If you really have no place to go, it might be an option, but make sure to keep an eye on your belongings. At 9:00 in the morning the church gives free food to everyone who needs it.