Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a tiny commission if you click and purchase through them, at no extra cost to you! Thank you for helping me do what I love.

If you’ve ever driven around Puerto Vallarta, you know you’ll either end up hopelessly circling the same block three times or accidentally following a stray dog into a one-way construction zone. I might be speaking from experience.

Puerto Vallarta is fantastic, but the city is also a giant maze of bumpy, cobbled streets or laced with heavy traffic and cars that don’t mind rolling through stop lights or swiping parked cars. For me, there is also a language barrier. No hablo español, so booking a guided tour made sense.

I love Mexican food. So when it came time to taste beyond my neighborhood, I turned to Tours by Locals. I’ve used them in many destinations (Europe, South America, Cairo), but had never organized a food tour in Puerto Vallarta, despite numerous visits.

I feel lucky to have found Manuel, who told us to call him Manny. (Read my Local Voices Q&A with him). His all-day private tour (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) sounded right up my alley, and it turned out to be the best part of our recent trip!

Standing in the street with Manuel, our food tour guide in Puerto Vallarta — Our food tour in Puerto Vallarta was one of our best experiences

More Than Just Food

Food tours, it turns out, are about more than just eating. Don’t worry, there is a LOT of food on a Puerto Vallarta food tour. I recommend not eating breakfast at your hotel beforehand. Trust me, you will not go hungry. But the best part of this food tour wasn’t the food at all (though it was delicious).

We bonded with Manny immediately. He grew up in PV, so I knew we were in good hands, but it turns out he lived in Canada for 20 years, too. Since my husband is Canadian, there was an immediate Maple Leaf-fueled bromance and hockey talk from minute one. Cool, heh?

Though Manny had a plan for where and what we’d eat, we also spent a lot of time walking through different neighborhoods, talking about the local history, about the families who lived there, expats who’ve been moving in, and the rise in medical tourism since the cost of healthcare in the USA is loco!

But on to the food. Did you know that chicharrones (deep-fried pig skin) are a popular breakfast food in parts of Mexico? I can already feel my arteries hardening.

Over paletas (similar to popsicles but made with natural, fresh ingredients like real fruit, cream, or milk), Manuel chatted with us on the delicate topic of governments (ours and Mexico’s), cartels, safety, and more.

We talked about it not to criticize or disparage any culture, or to fearmonger, but rather to understand one another’s perspectives, answer questions, and share our mutual humanity. That’s why we travel, isn’t it?

Manny’s adult daughter Gia even joined us for a bit, and by the end of the day, I felt like I had spent a good moment with friends. That’s what travel is really about, non? #gratitude

Family-owned Paleteria Villaseñor in El Pitallal, a more traditional neighborhood of PV — A stop for paletas in El Pitillal

The Flavors of Puerto Vallarta

Fancy and expensive are not on the food tour dance card, which was just the kind of food tour in Puerto Vallarta I was after. We pulled over on the side of the road, walked around blocks, and up to stands that were nothing more than a table, some plastic chairs, and a couple of bubbling pots of stewed meat heated over a propane-fueled burner. Fantastico!

We tasted so many things, and I should have taken better notes, but among them were birria (a traditional Mexican stew that features slow-cooked meat), huraraches (traditional Mexican street food consisting of a thick, oblong, thick masa base, topped with refried beans meat, cheese, sour cream, etc), pork belly tacos, and a lot of different hot sauces.

We washed it all down with cold Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus water)—refreshing on a hot (90-degree) day. We also stopped at a stand to eat tortillas, made fresh before my eyes. I’m ruined for life on ever eating store-bought brands. Oh well!

No Planning No Problem

I am a planner, but sometimes I need a break.

On a Puerto Vallarta food tour, the guide is the planner and the leader, and given the traffic, you’ll be glad about that. All you need to do is show up on time with a good attitude, say hola and gracias to everyone you meet, and drink lots of water (it’s hot), and you’ll have a good time.

Not worrying about the details or everyone’s happiness is a good way to be. It leaves time to stroll, stop for photos, ask questions, shop, and take a bathroom break when you want to, without fretting about keeping the schedule. It’s muy tranquilo, as they say.

And that’s the best reason to book a private tour—it’s 100 percent flexible and easy, the way vacation should be.

Hand-made blue corn tortillas with your pork belly taco? Si! — Hand-made blue corn tortillas? Si, por favore!

Secret Spots of Puerto Vallarta

I know! “Secret” is a term that’s thrown around a lot in travel writing, and I apologize for tossing it in your face here. In this day and age, with Instagram and phones, is anything really a secret anymore?

But there were places on this food tour that I would never have known about or found on my own, so they were secret to me, right?

One example was El Pitillal, once a town outside Puerto Vallarta, but now a part of the urban sprawl of Puerto Vallarta. Still, it feels like a village, far from the tourist zones (which are also just fine, fyi), with markets, food shops with vats of oil ready to cook chicuarones, and a central plaza dominated on one side by a church, the Temple of San Miguel Arcángel.

Manny showed us the street he grew up on, and we ducked into a fish market, and a cemetery that was a vibrant, celebratory place, particularly becuase we were leading up to Día de los Muertos, a day families gather to clean graves, decorate them with flowers (lots of marigolds) and candles, and eat and play music to remember their deceased loved ones.

Manuel, me, and some other fierce faces — Chatting with tour guide Manny and some other friendly faces

Your Way All Day

Because this was a private food tour, it was exactly how we wanted it. When I first looked at the details on Tours by Locals, there were a few things I wasn’t interested in (only because I have been to PV many times and had done them).

Plus, I wanted to keep it food-focused, so once I confirmed with Manny, he got in touch, and we worked together to plan the day, peppered with superb eats and company.

It’s like getting to eat at the best spots in secret neighborhoods of Puerto Vallarta without doing any of the up-front research and work. I can live with that. Chances are, I would not have stumbled onto the places we went, so it’s a win all the way around.

We rolled home happy, about 10 pounds heavier, and full of more love for Puerto Vallarta than ever!