History

Since the 1500's, the beaches of Puerto Vallarta have welcomed "tourists". Unlike other vacation destinations in Mexico (and elsewhere) Puerto Vallarta was not a planned resort town. Puerto Vallarta has always been here.

Back in the 1500's the Bay was named the "Bahia de Banderas" (Bay of Flags) by a Spanish sea adventurer who's arrival was greeted by thousands of natives waving feathered flags.

In 1850,  Guadalupe Sanchez Torres, a salt-shipper from inland Jalisco, decided to move his family to live here. He named the small fishing village "Las Penas de Santa Maria de Guadalupe" because the day that he arrived (December 12) marked the day of the traditional celebration and procession honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe, which continues to be a tradition today.

By 1900, Las Penas had grown to nearly 2000 residents, and in 1918, it became a municipality and was named "Puerto Vallarta" after Ignacio L.Vallarta, the former Governor of the State of Jalisco.

As late as the 1960's , Puerto Vallarta was still a small fishing village of under 10,000 residents. However, when John Huston decided to choose Mismaloya Beach (just south of Puerto Vallarta) as the site for the filming of the movie, "The Night of the Iguana", it didn't take long for things to change.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton had houses built in town . Reporters wrote articles about the quaint little Mexican fishing village. Soon after, hotels and restaurants began to spring up everywhere. And now, some 30 years later, Puerto Vallarta has grown to its current population of about 300,000 people.

Unlike Acapulco, the fathers of the city are keeping in mind the mistakes made there, so as to not repeat them here.  This includes strict beach construction  limits so as to not block the views entirely.  In general, Vallarta  has a long way to go before it hits its peak.