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Looking for things to do in Puerto Vallarta when it rains? You’re in the right place.
So you want to go to Puerto Vallarta in the rainy season, but you look at the weather, and it shows rain, rain and more rain. Your vacation is not doomed. I promise.
It does rain during the rainy season.
But not every day. And when it does, it’s rarely all day. Plus, it’s usually only at night. In all the years we’ve been here, I can count on one hand when we’ve had long bouts of grey rainy days. One hand.
There are often long stretches of gorgeous blue skies and sun, although stepping outside can feel like opening a dishwasher mid-cycle.
The cool thing is that some Puerto Vallarta activities are actually better during rainy season.
This rainy season guide is broken down into two parts: fun things to do during rainy season and things to do when it is actually raining.
When is Rainy Season in Puerto Vallarta?
It usually starts in July and ends in October, with September being the rainiest month. It is hot and humid but so very green and lush. The jungles are alive. The mountains that hug the city are covered in a carpet of emerald.
Rain mostly falls at night, and when it comes, it can come down hard, sometimes flooding streets for a few hours.
For a month-by-month comparison, my guide to the Best Time to Visit Puerto Vallarta covers weather, rainfall, crowds and prices throughout the year.
Things to do During Rainy Season in Puerto Vallarta
These aren’t necessarily things to do while it’s pouring. They’re activities that are actually better during Puerto Vallarta’s rainy season, when the jungle is lush, the waterfalls are flowing and, in some cases, the mud is part of the fun. Since most of the rain falls later in the day or at night, mornings are usually your best bet for outdoor activities.
1. Get Muddy, Wet, and a Little Tipsy on an ATV Tour
This is a Private ATV tour with a Waterfall and Tequila tasting.
Here’s the thing about riding an ATV through rivers to a waterfall… you want to get muddy. You want to see a waterfall. If you do this any other time of year, you’re just going to get dusty, and the waterfall will be more like a trickle. Where is the fun in that?
Plus, tequila. Nuff said.
2. Chase a Waterfall and Hike Through the Jungle
Waterfalls are more impressive once the rains arrive. Why bother going on a Jungle Hike and Waterfall Swim with a Nature Expert only to see a dribble? Plus, you’re already getting wet, so if it does rain a bit, it won’t matter.
The hike takes you past swimming holes where you can chill with the fishies, along jungle trails and eventually to a viewpoint overlooking the bay.
Since you’ll be with a local guide, you’ll also learn all about the flora and fauna of the area. Stuff you’d miss if you did this hike on your own.
3. The Zero-Chill Tour
Boats, mules, ziplines, rappelling, waterslides, oh my! This Action Adventure Tour in Puerto Vallarta isn’t for relaxers. You will literally be flying or zooming around on some sort of transportation or apparatus at all times. No sitting still on this 6.5-hour tour.
Make sure you have a chill beach club day planned for the following day.
4. ATV through the Treetops and Jorullo Bridge in Puerto Vallarta
What’s cool about this ATV tour is that you get to drive over one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. It’s 1,542 feet long and nearly 500 feet high above the jungles and the Cuale River, so when it’s dry season, you’re looking at a lot of dry, dusty trees. But during the rainy season, it’s gloriously lush and verdant. Like a sea of malachite.
You’ll also get to swim in the river and, of course, taste some tequila because… Mexico.
5. Watch a Rainy-Season Sunset
Rainy-season sunsets are something special. Storm clouds can paint the sky deep purple and beet red. Grab a seat at a bar with an unobstructed view and let it all unfold.
When we have guests in town, we always take them to Chictini or Residences Sky Bar (both have happy hour from 4-7 pm).
Or we go for a toes-in-the-sand beach sunset at El Solar or Barracuda in Cinco de Diciembre. If it’s raining, you can go inside either place and watch the sun drop right into the bay.
If it is raining and you just need a good bar to wait it out in, here is my list of the top 30 bars in Puerto Vallarta.
Things to Do in Puerto Vallarta When it Actually Rains
Even when it’s actually raining, you don’t have to retreat indoors. Some of Puerto Vallarta’s outdoor tours operate rain or shine, and let’s face it, if you’re going to be flying through the jungle or tearing through mud in an RZR, you’re going to get wet and dirty anyway. But if that’s not your idea of a good time, there are plenty of indoor options too.
6. Take a Mexican Cooking Class
Want to learn how to make ceviche? Or mole? Or a killer guac?
This small-group tour starts at a local market and ends with you stuffing your face with everything you just learned to cook with the help of a professional chef. Not a bad way to spend a few rainy hours. And you were going to eat anyway. Might as well learn how to make something delicious and impress your friends back home.
7. Take a Spirits of Mexico Tasting
You might know your tequila and mezcal, but have you ever tried sotol, bacanora or raicilla? Probably not. And unless you have a seriously well-stocked bar back home, you may not get many chances to try them there either.
Corinna, the owner of Vallarta Tequila Tastings, focuses on small-batch, artisanal producers, so chances are you won’t recognize the labels, which is part of the fun.
We’ve done a few different tastings with her, and besides just being an overall badass, Corinna knows her Mexican spirits. Tell her I sent you.
8. Make Chocolate Truffles
The artisan chocolates from Xocodiva are something of an art form. These little sweets look like gems. Learn to make them, from start to finish, in their production kitchen downtown.
With a max of only six people per class, you’ll get a true hands-on-the-goods class. And you’ll go home with a box of 12 truffles, all made by you.
Maybe you’ll even share them.
Go early so you can eat brunch at their cute Xocodiva Café across the street before class.
9. Go to the Movies
At La Isla Mall, a fabulous Cinépolis VIP movie theater plays all the latest movies in English. You can sit in a cushy recliner, order food and drinks and spend a few hours in the cool AC while the rain outside does its thing.
10. Embrace the Downpour
It’s hot. It’s humid. Then the deluge starts. Embrace it. If you are downtown walking around, dance in the rain. It’ll cool you off, and when was the last time you acted like a kid?
11. Go Bowling and Relive Your Misspent Youth
Speaking of being a kid, one of the best rainy-day activities in Puerto Vallarta is going bowling and then playing ALLL the arcade games at Plaza Caracol. You can easily while away a few hours in the Galex Arcade.
12. Canopy Zipline + Jorullo Bridge walk
If you want to zipline through the treetops and then walk across a crazy-long suspension bridge, then this is the activity for you. You get eight different ziplines in the jungle canopy, all with a bird’s-eye view. Like, literally.
They even throw in a little tequila because what would zooming through the air while strapped into a harness be without a little tequila? It’s a rain-or-shine endeavor.
13. Channel Mad Max in a RZR
This RZR Tour is pure chaos in the best way possible.
I didn’t know what a RZR was until we moved here. Think of it as an ATV’s bigger, slightly unhinged cousin: you sit side by side, strapped into an off-road machine built to go places most cars wouldn’t dare.
You’ll get muddy. You’ll be messy. You’ll drive to a ranch for a cooling swim and then taste some tequila, of course. Yes, there is a theme here.
14. Taste Mexican Wine
Believe it or not, there is more to Mexican booze than agave spirits. Mexican wine has gotten seriously good, and this tasting is an easy way to try five of them without leaving downtown.
Casita & Garden is a lovely downtown restaurant, owned by an equally lovely Francie. You’ll taste five wines and snack on a charcuterie board.
During the rainy season in Puerto Vallarta, the tasting is held inside the AC section of the restaurant. Otherwise, it’s outside in the covered garden.
It’s a newer experience and definitely worth checking out if trying Mexican wines is on your to-do list. And it should be.
15. Take an Authentic Cocktail-Making Class
We had a blast taking this cocktail class with a group of friends a few months ago.
Learning how to really shake a cocktail shaker is not as easy as the pros like Alex, the teacher, make it look. There is actually a technique to it, in case you are wondering.
You’ll make three different cocktails, each using a different technique. By the end, you might even look like you know what you’re doing behind a bar.
And you leave with a few new skills to show off back home.
16. Have a Spa Day
I need no excuse for a spa day, but when it’s pouring buckets and you’re inside a dark room getting a rubdown, it feels a little extra luxurious. Puerto Vallarta has all sorts of spas. Depending on your mood, there are lovely high-end spots as well as no-frills, just-good-massage places.
My go-tos for higher-end options are Artepil and Hamam in the Romantic Zone, and MedSpa Vallarta in the Marina.
My no-frills spots for very affordable (think 400 pesos/hour) are Almendras in Centro and Healing Hands in Cinco de Diciembre.
17. Have a Lazy Rainy Day Long Lunch
When the storm is rolling in and you can watch it from the comfort of your dining table, toes in the sand, it’s kind of a rainy day requirement. Head to La Palapa for a lovely atmosphere, right on the beach. It’s a little bougie. The food is fab. The service is always great. And you can while away the time with a mimosa, michelada, or tequila, or all three if you wish. You are on vacation, or… it’s raining, so no judgments here.
Tips for Booking Puerto Vallarta Tours During Rainy Season
- Book morning departures when possible. Rain is more common later in the day and at night.
- Do not cancel solely because the weather app shows thunderstorms. Those little lightning bolts can sit there all week without ruining your plans.
- Check the hourly forecast instead. It’s far more useful than the daily rain icon.
- Rain is one thing; severe weather is another. Rain-or-shine tours may still be delayed or canceled because of lightning, flooding or other unsafe conditions.
- Check each operator’s weather and cancellation policy. I go for free-cancellation tours whenever possible.
- Let the tour operator make the weather call. They know the local conditions and will cancel or reschedule if they can’t operate safely.
What to Pack for Puerto Vallarta Rainy Season
- Small travel umbrella: More useful around town than a heavy rain jacket in the heat and humidity.
- Lightweight rain poncho: Handy for excursions, ATV days and unexpected downpours.
- Quick-dry shorts and tops: Heavy cotton can stay damp in the humidity so the lighter the better.
- Water-friendly shoes with grip: I love my Tevas for rainy days. They are super comfy and easy to hose down after an especially muddy one.
- Dry bag or waterproof pouch: I like this pouch because you can wear it around your waist or chest, and it is big enough for a small sunscreen or bug spray, as well as your essentials. Especially useful for boats, waterfalls and ATV excursions.
- Mosquito repellent: Rain + heat = mosquitoes. This pocket-size spray comes in a couple of scents and is DEET-free but Picaridin-full.
- Sunscreen: A rainy forecast does not mean a sunless day.
- Lightweight sweater: I know it sounds ridiculous when it’s 90 degrees and swampy outside, but restaurants, malls and movie theaters can be freezing thanks to the AC.
- Resealable/waterproof bag: If you get spectacularly muddy and need to change during an excursion, you’ll want somewhere to stash your wet swimsuit or filthy clothes.
Don’t bother with a heavy raincoat. In Puerto Vallarta’s rainy-season heat and humidity, wearing one is basically the same as wrapping yourself in Saran Wrap and going for a jog.
Why I Use Viator for Puerto Vallarta Tours:
I often recommend Viator because you can compare tour operators, prices and verified traveler reviews all in one place. And when you’re about to strap yourself to a zipline or tear through the jungle in an ATV, I like being able to see what hundreds of other travelers have to say first. Also, it’s a Tripadvisor company and offers 24/7 customer support if something goes sideways.
Most Viator experiences offer a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start time, although policies vary by tour. Always check the specific terms before booking. The flexibility is a great backup during Puerto Vallarta’s rainy season, when weather can occasionally force you to change your plans.
Is Puerto Vallarta Worth Visiting During Rainy Season?
Absolutely. I wouldn’t hesitate to visit Puerto Vallarta during rainy season. Yes, it’s hot and humid, and when it rains, it can really come down. But it’s also ridiculously beautiful this time of year. Everything that turns dusty and brown during the dry months comes roaring back to life.
So don’t let a week’s worth of thundercloud icons on your weather app scare you off. Most days won’t be a washout. And when the heavens do open, well, now you know what to do.
