Nestled among the Sierra Madre mountains on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, Puerto Vallarta is known for its abundance of restaurants and bars, beachfront resorts, breathtaking coastal and waterfall hikes, vibrant sunsets, colourful cultural attractions and its large migrating humpback whale population. Puerto Vallarta also attracts another population that likes to migrate south: the gays.
Puerto Vallarta, which has a metro population of about half a million people, is known as a top LGBTQ+ travel destination, and for good reason. The centrally located Zona Romántica gaybourhood is home to an abundance of bars, clubs, clothing stores, queer-owned and queer-focused accommodation, beaches and festivals like Vallarta Pride and BeefDip. Everywhere you look, there are rainbow flags and ads for daily drag shows. Homo-fabulous touches like posters of sexy mermen and Freddie Mercury murals send a clear message: gays are welcome here. While it’s clear that PV is a fantastic hub for gay men looking to party by the beach, I had a question of my own: What’s it like for lesbians?
From my perspective as a cis woman, I can see that the town is welcoming to much of the queer community. On my recent trip there with my wife, we noticed lots of same-gender couples, and we felt very safe saying that we were wives both at our hotel and out and about in town. But we saw far fewer queer women than gay men. It seems we’re still a bit of a rarity. We were occasionally met with surprise by people who thought we were friends. Even Alexis Mateo, a queen of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame, who happened to be performing in town when we were there, was surprised to learn we were spouses when she called us up on stage for a booty shake-off. She made a quick Ellen DeGeneres joke and moved on with the show. (Sadly, our booties weren’t bountiful enough to slay the competition.)
In gay male-dominated spaces, we were always greeted enthusiastically and with kindness. This was in pleasant contrast to some other well-known gay destinations we’ve been to. On Mykonos, for example, we spent evenings at gay clubs dodging elbows and being jostled between sweaty, muscled torsos. (Yes, it’s as ideal as it sounds for gay guys.)
For the most part, PV isn’t a lesbian-oriented destination, but it’s definitely a lesbian-friendly one. The sapphics are there, it just takes a little more work to find them. Fortunately, lesbians are used to digging a little deeper for gratification, so I was eager to try my hand at the challenge.
If you want to connect with other queer women in Puerto Vallarta, I’ve discovered some great places to start.
PV Lesbian Social Club on Facebook. This is the perfect jumping-off point for Facebook users. It’s an extremely active group, and if you post your trip dates on the page, group members will let you know what’s going on in terms of meetups or live music. These women organize weekly Happy Hour meetups at Signature Lounge (Púlpito 180, Zona Romántica, Puerto Vallarta), which offers gorgeous sunset views from its hillside location. Expect about a dozen attendees. It’s generally attended by queer women a couple decades older than our thirty-something selves. Many of the women have part-time homes in the area and use the meetup to build and maintain community, but it’s for everyone. We personally love forming multi-generational connections, and we learned a lot about life in PV and talked travel with our new pals while enjoying half-priced mango margs.
Elixir Mixology Bar (Basilio Badillo 419, Zona Romántica, Puerto Vallarta). You can’t go to Puerto Vallarta without visiting this sapphic-owned bar. The space is cozy and romantically lit. It immediately felt like home. I was greeted by a friendly dog, and one of the bar’s equally friendly co-owners wasn’t far behind, bringing welcoming words and a smile. Though not explicitly a lesbian bar, the vibes definitely make lesbians feel prioritized. Before the space opened in 2021, co-owner Laura’s house parties were a hub for the area’s lesbian community. Elixir’s not-so subtle merch is covered with vulvas, in your choice of Lesbian or Trans flag colours. Never have I bought a T-shirt so quickly! You pretty much have a 100 percent chance of finding queer women there. The craft cocktails are creative, delightfully strong and made with high-quality ingredients, thanks to co-owner Elena’s prior experience in mixology. If we didn’t have tickets to a drag show (we couldn’t miss a Beyonce Tribute), we would have stayed for hours chatting with the crowd and petting the dog—who somehow ended up on my lap.
Elixir hosts mixology classes, live music, events every night during Vallarta Pride Week and even a “Mama Bear” event during PV’s Bear Week. They keep their Instagram updated, including any unexpected closures, like if there are water issues in the area (which happened while we were there).
Las Mambas. This badass “all girl rock-pop cover band” also happens to be queer and popular among sapphics, so you’re almost guaranteed to find lesbians at their performances. They play six nights a week around the PV area and along the coast. Check out their Instagram or Facebook page for their weekly schedule. Some of their shows are as far outside of the Zona Romántica as Bucerías (another town about an hour away) and Nuevo Vallarta (also called Nuevo Nayarit), so plan ahead if you want to see them right in town.
Women’s events during Vallarta Pride Week (May 17 to 25, 2025). In addition to the official all-rainbow events at Pride, there are usually some unofficial events for lesbians. This year, queer women’s event and travel producers Ladies Touch Events & Travel is hosting events during the week. Think beach party, sunset sail and mixers, and other gatherings. Elixir will also host events, and the PV Lesbian Social Club’s social media can direct you to other Pride Week activities.
