Is the Pacific Coast of Mexico too hot to visit in August?

July 5, 2006 7:08 AM

(Vacation filter) -- Can anyone give their thoughts or experiences about the Puerto Vallarta area of Mexico during August?

Basically, we're concerned about the weather. The guidebooks say that August is real, real hot. That's fine, but does anyone know if the heat is too unbearable to even really explore the city or the surrounding area? Plus, btw, is the area worth seeing anyways? Thanks!

posted by skepticallypleased to Travel Smart (8 comments total)

I went in mid-September one year.

It was HOT. Really hot. Spend all your time at the swim up bar hot.

We still had a fantastic time. We would venture out for a few hours at a time, and then return to the hotel and play in the water and have drinks.

The main reason we went was that we got an amazing rate because it was so damn hot. I would recommend it if you are in a similar situation, but just keep in mind that all day activities may be a bit draining in the heat.

But if you are planning on a lot of lounging and swimming and drinking mixed in with some shopping and sightseeing trips, I think you will be fine.
posted by Sheppagus at 8:03 AM on July 5

I went on a 4-day trip there in the middle of August, 2001. Like Sheppagus, we got a great deal because the climate is generally not vacation-like during August and September.

We had a wonderful time and the weather was surprisingly nice. I had heard it was going to alternate between super-hot and rainy. It did rain each day, but generally early in the morning and for less than an hour. People were keen to comment that the weather was unseasonably nice.

We spent a decent amount of time on the beach and poked around downtown with no problems. We took a boat trip to the island of Yelapa and rode the puniest horses. We went to church at the cool downtown cathedral. We ate some great great food.

If you understand that it is a bit of a gamble, and you can accept that, I think you can get a lot of vacation for a little money during August. We would go again, I think.
posted by AgentRocket at 8:48 AM on July 5

We did this back in the '80s. It was incredibly hot and humid; stepping off the plane felt like entering a sauna. However it briefly rained most afternoons which cooled things down for the evening.

If you do go, be particularly careful what you eat and drink. The risk of dysentery is highest in the summer, although I don't think it's as bad a problem as it used to be.

We had a terrific time, once we got acclimatized. We found it best to sight-see in the morning and then nap in the hottest part part of the afternoon.

If you're going to Yelapa (which isn't an island, by the way), I'd recommend staying staying a couple of days rather than just doing the day trip. Here's some Yelapa photos from our last trip.
posted by timeistight at 9:28 AM on July 5

My wife and I took a trip to Nuevo Vallarta (basically just a bunch of resorts, just outside of PV) in July about 6 years ago. It was extremely hot and humid. However, there was usually a breeze so sitting on the beach, or swimming were extremely great. Any type of outdoor activity other than swimming was just too hot. As the other posters have said, it did rain every day. Sometimes pretty hard.

We were not up for walking around the city. We made one trip into the city, but it was too stifling to walk around much.
posted by bove at 10:26 AM on July 5

I spent a week up in Bucerias a couple of years ago. Not at that time of year so I can't comment, but if you want to be a little bit off the beaten path but still withing striking distance of PV, it's a good choice.
posted by mikel at 10:38 AM on July 5

Went in late July about three years ago.
It was hot in PV. We drove south to Boca de Tomatlan and took a water taxi along the south side of the Bahia de Banderas. We pointed to a beach we wanted to camp on and the guy dropped us off at the next town, Quimixto. The beach was sunny, but the jungle threw some shade. The water was never more than 20 feet away and you could lay in the water in some shade and read. It was quite lovely. Definitely better than staying in the oppressive heat of the city. We planned on camping for three days and stayed for seven.
posted by Seamus at 11:34 AM on July 5

We went in April, so I can't speak to August's heat. It was plenty hot in April and quite humid. We didn't do anything organized--walked around the boardwalk area on the water, etc. Our favorite things were eating street tacos at the carts that are everywhere (people seemed horrified that we did this, but everything was delicious) and lolling on the beach at our hotel.

I know there are people who love PV, but I didn't see enough of it to distinguish it from every other beach town in the vacation world. And I discovered I'm not the right person for those all-inclusive hotels, don't drink and eat near enough, apparently.
posted by GaelFC at 1:34 PM on July 5

Thanks all for your answers. I think you've saved us a trip to this side of Mexico for this summer at least.
posted by skepticallypleased at 8:02 PM on July 5