Accessible Vallarta

Here is our usual recommendations for Banderas Bay

Starting in the North

San Pancho is pretty accessible in public areas. We aren't familiar with any specific accommodations there, but the streets are tile instead of cobble, there are ramps in most places, and even the public restrooms are accessible. The restaurants at the beach have seating in the town square, but there is no way to get down to the beach without a few steps.

Punta Mita has a lot of accessible options and a lot of very inaccessible options. Shop carefully. The same can be said of the water front. A few places you can get into and a whole lot that you cannot.

Sayulita is very inaccessible. We have several clients who stay there regardless of the challenges. There are a lot of challenges. Cobblestone, narrow streets, few ramps, cars parked in front of the ramps, steps everywhere, and narrow doorways. Cute bohemian vibe, artist, surfers, etc. but most chairs or scooters will not work there. The beach wheelchairs work, but are too wide for some places.

La Cruz is not very accessible. The market is nice, but very crowded and not practical with mobility equipment.

Bucerias is a mix as well. The streets are a challenge, but some of the properties are very accessible. They have a nice art walk weekly that you could not do in a wheelchair.

Nuevo Vallarta West is the most accessible area. The sidewalks are generally wide enough for a wheelchair or scooter. There is a beautiful bike/walking/wheelchair path that runs for miles. Many restaurants are accessible and most of the resorts. Some of the resorts have small elevators and will not guarantee an accessible room, but there are others that will. Paradise Village has fully ADA compliant rooms. As far as we know they are the only resort in the entire bay that can say that. In addition, they have ramps to the beach, wheelchair accessible palapas, and a zero barrier ramp into one of the pools. There are other accessible resorts in Nuevo Vallarta (Grand Velas, Hard Rock, RIU, Marival, Villa del Palmar Flamingos, etc.) but Paradise Village is the most accessible. Also, Vidanta is accessible, but is a huge property and getting from one place to another is a challenge.

Marina Vallarta has a beautiful area around the marina that is quite accessible. There are many condo buildings in the area. Some are fully accessible and some are on the 3rd floor with no elevator. The sidewalks are good, but choose your accommodations by asking a lot of questions. Many of the condo buildings have rentals through internet sites like Airbnb. We have had clients at the Westin and Mariott. Both had challenges but everyone has different needs. Some clients have love each and some could not function with the challenges.

Hotel Zone has new sidewalks that help a lot. The sidewalks do not go through the entire Hotel Zone, but as you get closer to downtown the bike lanes an other ramps have really improved the options. We have a lot of clients who love the Sheraton. It is close enough to wheel to downtown and is very accessible. Now Amber and Secrets on the other hand is a challenge. Only one accessible room and you cannot reserve it in advance.

On a side note, the new luxury mall La Isla is beautifully accessible unless you want to shop. Every store has a step to get inside. It's unbelievable in this day and age that they would build a mall with beautiful ramps throughout but not provide an opportunity for you to actually shop from a wheelchair.

Downtown is a mix. Buenaventura is mostly accessible, but the pools are not accessible and there is no way to get to the beach. Both seem important to me.

Romantic Zone has a lot of new condo buildings that are very accessible. Again, many are listed on internet based owner rental sites like homeaway.com or VRBO.com or Airbnb.com.  The sidewalks have improved over the last few years. You can't get everywhere, but you can get a lot more places than you could just a few short years ago.

South of Vallarta is more and more challenging. Some of the villas have elevators, but there is one repairman in the entire region. If the elevator is not working it can be a month before they can get it repaired. Make sure they have a back up plan. Barcelo is pretty accessible.

Mismaloya and Boca de Tomatlan would be difficult with mobility equipment.

Hope this helps. If you have information to share, drop us a note and we can include your recommendations.