Cheap flights from London to Puerto Vallarta

November is the cheapest month on this route, and it lands at the start of Puerto Vallarta's dry season, so you get lower fares and settled sun before the Christmas rush. September and October are the wettest and quietest months in Mexico, which is why they can look tempting too. From London, Tuesday and Wednesday departures are usually calmer and cheaper than Friday or Sunday. Avoid the last week of December, Easter week and the UK half-term breaks if you are watching the budget, and book winter long-haul seats a few months ahead.

Nobody flies London to Puerto Vallarta non-stop, so every fare you see is a connecting itinerary. The mix is full-service: British Airways, Air Canada, United Airlines, AeroMéxico and Turkish Airlines all sell the route with one or more stops, while Iberia Express, KLM Cityhopper and BA CityFlyer handle the short first hop out of London. Air Transat and El Al Israel Airlines turn up on some combinations as well. There is no budget long-haul carrier here, so what differs is the fare family rather than the airline type: hand baggage only against a checked bag, seat selection, and whether the connection sits on one protected ticket.

Puerto Vallarta has a single airport, Ordaz, and it handles the whole bay, so the hotel zone, the marina and the old town all sit on the same side of it. Taxis and pre-booked shuttles are the usual ways into town; there is no train, and the coastal road north slows down in high season. If you connect through the United States, you clear US immigration at your first point of entry, so leave a generous gap before the final leg. Check the airport code on every leg of your ticket before you pay, and keep the baggage receipt from the first carrier if your bags are checked through.

Currency

MXN ($)

Power sockets

Type A, B · 127 V

Language

Yucatec Maya, Nahuatl, Spanish

Emergency number

911

Driving side

right

Calling code

+52

Internet domain

.mx

Population of Puerto Vallarta

224 k (2020)

Time zone

UTC-06 (America/Mexico_City)

Country facts: Wikidata

• Check which London airport your fare leaves from, because Heathrow, Gatwick, City, Luton and Stansted are not interchangeable on a short connection.
• Confirm whether the long-haul leg includes a checked bag or whether you buy it separately at the gate.
• If your trip is split across two tickets, build in a long buffer in the connecting city, since no one owes you a rebooking.
• Check your passport validity and Mexico's entry requirements well before departure.
• Compare total journey time as well as fare, because every option connects.
• Look at November first if your dates are flexible.