The Best Beaches for Sunset in Puerto Vallarta
A bay that opens west, and the sand that catches the last of the light.
The verdict
- Best forTravellers who want the sun to fall into the sea and a short walk to tacos and a margarita rather than a drive home in the dark.
- Top pickPlaya Camarones for the town sunset you can walk home from, Mismaloya for a framed southern cove, Las Animas for a boat beach and a long palapa afternoon.
- One thing to knowThe whole bay faces west, so almost any waterfront works, but the town beaches let you watch the sun go and eat within minutes.
Published 18 March 2026. Last reviewed 2 July 2026
Puerto Vallarta has an advantage most beach towns would trade for, and it is pure geography. The city sits on the eastern shore of Banderas Bay, one of the largest bays in the country, and the bay opens to the west. That means the entire waterfront, from the Malecon boardwalk in the middle of town to the coves strung along the southern shore, looks toward the setting sun. Here the sunset is not a beach you hunt for. It is the default, a daily event the whole town turns out to watch.
So the real question is not whether the sun sets over the water, because it does, but which beach gives you the best version of the evening. The answer depends on what you want after the light goes. Some travellers want to watch the colour fade and then walk two minutes to dinner in the Old Town. Others want a quiet cove framed by green headlands, or a boat beach where a long lunch drifts into the golden hour. This short list covers all three, and every beach on it genuinely faces the light.
We ranked these by how well the beach faces the setting sun, how good the sky tends to be from that spot, and how easy the evening is once the sun is down. Camarones leads because it pairs an honest west facing sunset with the walkable Zona Romantica right behind it. Mismaloya follows for its framed southern cove, and Las Animas rounds out the list as the boat beach reward, best treated as a long afternoon rather than a late arrival. Each links to its full guide.
One honest note before the list. Vallarta is a working city as much as a resort, so the town beaches carry vendors, music and a lively crowd, which is part of the charm rather than a flaw, but not the place for a silent sunset. If you want stillness, the southern coves deliver it. And the sky itself is never a promise. The clear dry season evenings differ from the storm stacked skies of the rainy months, and both can be beautiful in their own way.
Three shores that face the light
A walkable town beach, a framed cove and a boat beach afternoon lead the list.
Playa Camarones
The sunset you can walk home from. Camarones is the wide town beach on the northern edge of the Malecon, a clean stretch of sand that faces straight west across the bay, with palapa restaurants along the back for a drink as the sky turns. It carries the town buzz of vendors and music rather than silence, which suits a social evening, and when the light goes the whole Zona Romantica of tacos and rooftop bars is a short walk behind you. For ease and atmosphere in one, it tops the list.
Playa Mismaloya
The framed cove south of the city, a small bay held between green headlands where the film crews once worked, and a calmer, more scenic evening than the town beaches. It faces the open water of the bay, so the sun drops cleanly into the sea, and the headlands give the sky a frame that the flat town shore cannot. There are palapa restaurants on the sand for a plate of fish as the light fades. It is a drive or a bus from the centre rather than a stroll, so plan the trip back before dark.
Playa Las Animas
The reward at the end of a water taxi, a sandy cove on the wild southern shore reached from Boca de Tomatlan or the Los Muertos pier, with palapa restaurants and calm water for a long afternoon. It catches the golden hour beautifully, so the honest play is a slow lunch that softens into the late light rather than a dusk arrival, because the last boats often leave before dark. Treated that way it is the most memorable of the three, a beach day that ends in gold. Check the return times before you commit to the last of the light.
Town buzz or a quiet cove
Match the beach to the evening you actually want. For a lively, easy sunset with dinner two minutes away, Camarones and the Malecon are the call, and the crowd is part of the show. For a calmer, framed sunset with the headlands around you, Mismaloya is the pick, though you trade the walk home for a drive. For the most beautiful setting of the three, Las Animas rewards a whole afternoon, so long as you treat it as a golden hour beach and not a place to arrive at dusk. All three face the light honestly, which is the whole game.
Be realistic about the town and the season. Vallarta is busy and social along the central beaches, especially through the winter high season and around the holidays, so if you want stillness you either head south to the coves or go early before the evening crowd builds. The rainy months from June to October bring humidity, afternoon storms and mosquitoes at dusk, but they also bring the dramatic cloudscapes that make the best photographs, so pack repellent and read the forecast rather than writing the season off.
Keep the practical points in mind. All Mexican beaches are public and free, so you pay only for comfort, a lounger or a table, and any minimum spend at the palapa restaurants and beach clubs is to be confirmed on the day. Lifeguard cover is limited and the light fades fast once the sun is down, so watch the water before any last swim, keep an eye on the surf on the more open southern beaches, and carry a little cash and a phone light. Treat a calm, clear evening as typical rather than a guarantee.
A lounger, a table and a margarita
On these beaches the palapa restaurants and beach clubs are how you hold a good spot for the evening, a lounger or a table that comes with the food, the drinks and the front row view of the bay. Camarones has the town clubs and restaurants along its back, Mismaloya its palapas on the cove, and Las Animas its line of beachfront kitchens on the sand. We keep the live names and any current minimum spend or day bed details on the directory, since operators and prices change through the seasons. Tell us your dates and whether you want a lively table in town or a quiet one on a cove, and we pass the enquiry on.
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Before you go
Which Puerto Vallarta beach is best for sunset?
Playa Camarones is the easy pick, a wide town beach on the edge of the Malecon that faces straight west across Banderas Bay, so you can watch the sun drop into the water and walk to dinner in minutes. For a framed, quieter evening the southern cove at Mismaloya is lovely, and for a boat beach with a palapa lunch that runs into the golden hour, Las Animas rewards the trip. Skies change through the year, so treat any single evening as typical rather than guaranteed.
Does the sun set over the sea in Puerto Vallarta?
Yes. Puerto Vallarta sits on the eastern shore of Banderas Bay, which opens to the west, so nearly the whole waterfront looks toward the setting sun. That is why the Malecon boardwalk and the Los Muertos pier fill every evening, and why the town beaches and the coves along the south shore all catch the light over the water. It is one of the most reliable sunset coastlines in Mexico.
Where do you eat after sunset in Puerto Vallarta?
The Zona Romantica in the Old Town, just behind Playa de los Muertos, is the obvious move, a walkable grid of taquerias, seafood houses and rooftop bars a short stroll from Camarones. Along the Malecon you can eat with the bay in view, and out at Las Animas the palapa restaurants serve fresh fish right on the sand if you would rather not rush back. Pick the town for choice, the beach for the setting.
Do you need to pay to watch the sunset on these beaches?
No. Every beach in Mexico is federal land and free to the public, so you can walk on and find a spot for the evening at no cost. What you pay for is comfort, a lounger, a table and table service at the palapa restaurants and beach clubs, and any minimum spend there is to be confirmed on the day. Bring a little cash for a margarita and you can settle in for the show.
What is the best time of year for sunsets in Puerto Vallarta?
The dry season from about November to April gives the clearest, calmest evenings and is the reliable window for a crisp sunset. The rainy season from June to October brings humidity and afternoon storms, but it also stacks the sky with cloud that can turn spectacular colours when it clears, so it is a trade rather than a loss. Check the forecast, and remember the sun sets earlier in winter, so plan dinner around it.
Is Las Animas worth the boat ride for sunset?
It depends on your evening. Las Animas is reached by water taxi from Boca de Tomatlan or the Los Muertos pier, so it is a day beach that spills into the golden hour rather than a place to arrive at dusk, since the last boats leave before dark in many seasons. Go early, take a long palapa lunch and let the afternoon soften, then head back with the light. For a sunset you watch and then walk home from, stay in town at Camarones instead.