15 Family-Friendly Things to Do in Puerto Vallarta with Children
Puerto Vallarta is located in a sunny location on the coast of Mexico.
This lively city is known for its clean beaches, many resorts, and busy nightlife, which makes it a popular place to visit for people from all over the continent.
Children of all ages will enjoy Puerto Vallarta’s many attractions, which include zoos, adventure parks, and beaches.
Here is a list of some of the entertaining things to do in Puerto Vallarta with kids to assist you in creating the most wonderful and unforgettable family vacation possible.
- The beach at Mismaloya
In the southern part of Puerto Vallarta, there is a stunning beach called Mismaloya Beach.
This beach, which is about 1000 feet long, is a top beach destination that attracts visitors from all over the country.
Why We Suggest This Activity
Taking kids to the lovely Mismaloya Beach is one of the best things to do with kids in Puerto Vallarta.
This stretch of the coast is perfect for a wide range of fun activities that will keep your whole family busy during their vacation.
You can engage in a ton of enjoyable activities here.
For instance, while your kids build sandcastles, you can unwind on the beach and work on your tan.
Water sports like jet skiing, stand-up paddle boarding, scuba diving, snorkeling, water skiing, and sailing can make your vacation more exciting.
Suggested Ages
All ages are welcome at Mismaloya Beach, though teens might find it more enjoyable than younger kids due to all the fun things they can do in the water.
- Vallarta Pirate Ship
Guests can ride in an actual Spanish galleon and have fun in a pirate-themed environment at The Pirate Ship Vallarta, a one-of-a-kind tour experience.
Why We Suggest This Activity
Join the Pirate Ship Vallarta tours and have a great time in Puerto Vallarta with your family doing a variety of fun things.
There are two types of tours available: a day tour and a night tour.
Families might benefit more from taking the day tour.
The Pirate Ship Vallarta is a fantastic experience that lets you and your loved ones experience what it would be like to be pirates while sailing the seas in a Spanish galleon.
This trip also takes you to Majahuitas Island and includes face painting, a treasure hunt, and pirate shows for your tribe.
You and your family can enjoy free time on Majahuitas Island by playing beach volleyball, snorkeling, kayaking, or taking a tour of the island on a banana boat.
Suggested Ages
On The Pirate Ship Vallarta, babies, toddlers, kids, teens, adults, and seniors are all welcome.
- A Sea Safari And Riding Tour
Authentic Mexican culture can be experienced on the Sea Safari and Horseback Riding Tour, which Vallarta Adventures offers. It’s a great outdoor activity.
Why We Suggest This Activity
Enjoy a variety of enjoyable family activities to make the most of your time away from home with your loved ones. On your trip to Puerto Vallarta, you really must take the Sea Safari and horseback riding tours.
On this trip, you and your tribe will go on an adventure while kayaking, paddling, and snorkeling; speed boating through the crystal-clear waters of Banderas Bay; and riding horses through the La Puerta River to the highlands.
You’ll also make stops at shops to purchase mementos and souvenirs to take home.
Suggested Ages
Minimum age of 10 is required for both the Sea Safari and the Horseback Riding Tours.
- The Los Veranos Canopy Tour.
The Los Veranos Canopy Tour, which is held at Nogalito Ecopark, is ideal for families seeking an exhilarating adventure amid nature.
Why We Suggest This Activity
If you’re searching for family-friendly activities in Puerto Vallarta, I highly suggest taking your kids to Nogalito Ecopark to try out the Los Veranos Canopy Tour.
While you take a vacation from your hectic city life, your family will enjoy this excursion.
While on a trip, you can enjoy enjoyable activities like visiting an animal sanctuary, traveling across the bay in a speedboat, dining at a riverside restaurant, ziplining through the jungle, and having a blast in the river while swimming and sliding down water slides.
Suggested Ages
Although it is available to all, older kids will benefit more from the Los Veranos Canopy Tour.
Minimum age of five is required for both the speedboat ride and zip lines.
- Romantic Zone in Puerto Vallarta
Old Vallarta, Old Town, South Side, and Zona Romantica are just a few of the names for Puerto Vallarta’s romantic zone.
Its streets are lined with cobblestones, small shops, and restaurants that serve food from the area.
Why We Suggest This Activity
The Puerto Vallarta Romantic Zone is the perfect location to spend quality time with your family while you cruise the streets and browse the neighborhood boutique shops selling a variety of goods and trinkets.
The ideal setting for experiencing Mexican culture is there as well.
Your kids will love exploring the different-colored buildings and trying the many street foods and specialties that are available here.
A beach, a pier, a farmers’ market, and a host of other exciting things are all close by in the Puerto Vallarta Romantic Zone.
Suggested Ages
Whatever the ages of your family members, Puerto Vallarta is a terrific destination.
I advise packing strollers with larger wheels if you’re traveling with a baby.
- Las Animas Adventure Park
The Las Animas Adventure Park is a great place to do different things in the air, on land, and in the water while being in touch with nature.
Why We Suggest This Activity
This weekend, go to Las Animas Adventure Park and have a blast with your tribe while you bond and create new memories with a variety of enjoyable activities.
Rock climbing, rope climbing through a web of ropes, ziplining, walking through a suspension bridge, swinging on ropes, and dining in a restaurant with kid-friendly options are all available at Las Animas Adventure Park.
The abundant marine life, including dolphins, humpback whales, and manta rays, may also be observed by going out into the ocean and participating in water activities like sailing, snorkeling, beachgoing, and swimming.
Suggested Ages
There is no set minimum age limit for admission to the Las Animas Adventure Park.
For individuals who want to try the rope courses, the height requirement is at least 4 feet.
- El Faro Lighthouse
One of Marina Vallarta’s most recognizable landmarks is the El Faro Lighthouse, which is 110 feet tall. This is why we suggest doing this activity.
Head right over to the El Faro Lighthouse to spend some quality time with your family while taking in the most beautiful views of the city below.
The best place to watch the sunset together is from this lighthouse.
The cocktail lounge on the top floor of the lighthouse is a great place to take lots of pictures with your loved ones while enjoying recorded jazz or live jazz concerts.
Suggested Ages
Your older children will enjoy the El Faro Lighthouse more than your younger ones, despite its being accessible to all ages.
- The Los Muertos Pier
The nice Los Muertos Pier, which is on the beach at Los Muertos, was built by an architect who won an award.
It’s close to a lot of stores and restaurants and has stunning views of the ocean and coast.
Why We Suggest This Activity
One of the best free, family-friendly things to do in Puerto Vallarta is to visit Los Muertos Pier and its beach.
Your children can have a blast playing on the sand, swimming in the ocean, parasailing, or taking a scenic bike ride down the pier.
While your kids are building sandcastles, you and your partner can spend a romantic evening walking around Los Muertos Pier and watching the sun go down.
There are also several eateries, cafes, and shops where you can buy delicious snacks and fun souvenirs for the whole family.
Suggested Ages
Every age group is welcome at the Los Muertos Pier.
- Malecon
Possibly the center of Puerto Vallarta is the Malecoón, a gorgeous boardwalk.
There are lots of shops and restaurants there, as well as lots of vendors, different sculptures, art galleries, and street entertainers.
Why We Suggest This Activity
You can do a variety of fun things at Malecoón to make your trip even more memorable, including getting your portrait done by street artists, taking lots of pictures of your family in front of picturesque scenery, and trying out the local cuisine.
Malecoón is home to a large number of sellers who sell a wide variety of products and souvenirs that you can take home as keepsakes.
The Papantla Flying Men, a vibrant dance that displays a prehistoric dance to the gods, is one of several free street acts that you may enjoy.
Suggested Ages
Malecoón welcomes people of all ages, whether they are bringing their young children or their elderly parents.
- ChocoMuseo
The Puerto Vallarta ChocoMuseo is a museum dedicated solely to chocolate. Visitors can take seminars, purchase delectable goodies, and learn how to create chocolate here.
Why We Advocate This Exercise
If you’re looking for kid-friendly activities in Puerto Vallarta, consider going to ChocoMuseo.
This museum is a sanctuary for your chocolate-obsessed children and is great for low-cost family entertainment.
At the ChocoMuseo, there are workshops for kids where they can do a fun activity while staff members explain how chocolate is made.
You can also choose from a variety of additional training packages, such as ones that teach you how to make flavored ganache for truffles and filled chocolates.
A cafe and a store selling a wide range of chocolate-based goods are located on the museum’s upper floor.
Suitable Ages
The ChocoMuseo offers family-friendly, age-appropriate exhibits and workshops.
- Vallarta Zoo
The Vallarta Zoo, also called Zoológico de Vallarta A.C. locally, is a classic zoo with a wide variety of animals, both domestic and exotic.
Why We Advocate This Exercise
One of Puerto Vallarta’s top family-friendly attractions is the Vallarta Zoo.
You can buy animal treats here, such as carrots and seeds, so your kids may feed the animals while they tour the many displays.
You and your loved ones can interact with the babies of lions, jaguars, and other animals at the Vallarta Zoo.
After you’ve seen everything at the zoo, you can relax and eat a delicious meal at the restaurant there.
Suitable Ages
There are no age limits at the Vallarta Zoo.
- Cuale River Island.
Isla Cuale, commonly known as Cuale River Island, is an island oasis tucked away on the Rio Cuale River’s banks.
Why We Advocate This Exercise
You should include Cuale River Island on your list of things to do in Puerto Vallarta.
Here, you can sample different Mexican cuisines, go shopping for inexpensive local things, and take a stroll with your loved ones in a more tranquil setting.
The main street market on this picturesque island sells a wide range of items, including handicrafts, sombreros, clothing, toys, ceramics, souvenirs, and much more.
On Cuale River Island, there are a lot of interesting locations to explore, in addition to the market.
For instance, you could go to the Cuale Archaeological Museum to look at the island’s hanging bridges and find pre-Columbian figures.
Suitable Ages
The Island of Cuale River welcomes tourists of all ages.
If you’re going with a baby or child, the routes are smooth enough for you to push a stroller.
- The Naval Historical Museum
The Museo Histórico Naval is a museum with a coffee shop and displays about Mexico’s maritime history. It is south of Malecón.
Why We Advocate This Exercise
After seeing Malecoón and other nearby attractions, go to the Museo Histórico Naval to learn about Mexico’s naval history and look at displays of model ships.
The museum offers a variety of audio-visual exhibits to keep the attention of your children.
One of these is a five-screen navigation simulator that gives your children a taste of what it would be like to steer a ship across diverse terrains and weather patterns.
If you go at night, you may sit in the café’s outside seating area with your kids and sip on a great beverage while listening to a live performance by a navy jazz band.
Suitable Ages
No matter their age, everyone is welcomed with open arms at the Museo Histórico Naval.
However, older kids might find the exhibit more fascinating.
- A tour of Las Caletas Beach Hideaway
The only way to reach the lovely beach is through Vallarta Adventures’ Las Caletas Beach Hideaway Tour.
The tour package includes lots of family-friendly activities.
Why We Advocate This Exercise
The Las Caletas Beach Hideaway Tour is something I wholeheartedly recommend if you’re still trying to figure out what to do in Puerto Vallarta with kids.
It includes doing fun things like kayaking, snorkeling, and stand-up paddleboarding, as well as useful things like taking cooking classes and making things out of clay.
This tour package also includes lots of fun activities for children.
For instance, they may go to the Kids Adventure Park, where they could ride a donkey, experience a kid-friendly zip line, and the Teen Adventure Cove, where they could go on downhill water slides and climb things.
Suitable Ages
Your young children aged 4 to 11 should visit the Kids Adventure Park, while those aged 12 and over should visit the Teen Adventure Cove.
- Playa Camarones
One of Puerto Vallarta’s busiest beaches is Playa Camarones.
It is a favorite among tourists because it is close to many high-end hotels and resorts.
Why We Advocate This Exercise
Visiting any of Puerto Vallarta’s immaculate beaches is among the most entertaining things to do with kids, with Playa Camarones being one of the most popular and attractive.
This beautiful beach has a soft, powdery beachfront and crystal-clear water.
As your children create castles, forts, and sculptures out of the sand, you can spend the day tanning on the beach.
Your family can enjoy a wide range of water sports, such as stand-up paddleboarding, jet-skiing, boating, parasailing, and flyboarding.
Suitable Ages
All ages will enjoy Playa Camarones, a family-friendly beach.