How to Get to Bucerias from Puerto Vallarta: Every Way & Every Budget

Getting from Puerto Vallarta to Bucerias is easy, and you have many different options depending how much money you want to spend.

Whether you’re just planning a day trip to Bucerias, or will be staying for sometime (i.e., traveling with luggage), you’ve got options.

In this post, we’ll cover the following ways you can get to Bucerias from Puerto Vallarta by bus, taxi, Uber or InDriver or private transportation.

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How Far is Bucerias from the Puerto Vallarta Airport?

It’s less than 20 kms, but it usually takes at least 30 minutes by car due to the busy traffic.

If you’re heading straight to Bucerias from the airport, you may take a taxi, an Uber or a bus.

Puerto Vallarta to Bucerias by Bus

It’s easy, inexpensive and safe to take the bus from Puerto Vallarta to Bucerias. There are multiple buses that will take you there.

The easiest way to do this is to get yourself to the big bus stop by the Walmart, not far from the Marina.

Buses come frequently, so you should have to wait more than 10 minutes or so.

There is now usually someone with a clipboard to direct you to which bus if you need help.

Watch for a bus with big letters on the windshield that says either Bucerias or Sayulita.

These are usually the white and green line buses.

You can also look for the ATM buses which are usually blue. Just be sure it says Bucerias on the windshield.

Fares to Bucerias from Puerto Vallarta are 22 pesos per person.

If you don’t have exact change, try to pay with small bills if possible. The driver will give you change.

Where to Get off in Bucerias

Once you reach Bucerias you can get off at the Bucerias Centro bus stop (green highway sign that says centro), which is where the downtown is located, as well as the market and beach access.

You could also choose to get off earlier, at the entrance to Bucerias, which is at the Royal deCameron resort complex.

This is the beginning of the ‘golden zone’ which is a nice street for tourists lined with shops and restaurants.

If you want to stroll through more of the town, start here and work your way toward centro.

This is about a 20 to 30 minute walk.

No matter where you get off, you will have to cross the highway to get into Bucerias.

Getting to Bucerias from Puerto Vallarta by Taxi

From the Airport

If you are heading to Bucerias from the Puerto Vallarta airport, you have two different taxi options.

You can take the airport regulated taxis, which are available as soon as you exit outside the airport (don’t fall for one of the timeshare sales reps inside the airport who pretend to be taxis).

The airport taxis are the most expensive and will run you about $500 pesos for up to 3 people in the car.

For a cheaper option, you can take city taxis from the airport.

When you exit the airport, turn left and take the orange pedestrian bridge. Here a taxi should cost you about 250 to 300 pesos.

From Centro Puerto Vallarta

A taxi from somewhere near Centro Puerto Vallarta should be about 300 pesos.

Make sure you ask or negotiate the price before you get in the taxi.

On the way back to Puerto Vallarta from Bucerias, the taxi fares are usually a little cheaper, around 250 pesos.

Bucerias Taxi Stand

When you’re in Bucerias and want to head back to Puerto Vallarta by taxi, there are a few taxi stands in town.

The biggest one is located on Las Palmas street, in front of the Royal Decameron Resort.

It operates 24 hours per day, and if no one is there when you show, just call the number and one will show up within minutes.

You can also catch taxis on Benito Juarez street, in front of Karen’s Place, which is the best beach bar in Bucerias.

It’s also very easy to catch a taxi in Bucerias centro.

Ride Share Apps Like Uber and InDrive

Uber

There is no Lyft, but Uber is used in Puerto Vallarta and you can usually find a car within a few minutes – but it won’t be as fast a city in the US or Canada.

The great thing about using Uber is that you don’t have to worry about needing to speak Spanish to your driver to get to your destination.

You can track the car and your destination in real time.

Uber is generally cheaper than taking a taxi in Puerto Vallarta and Bucerias, but sometimes you can run into ‘surge pricing’ in which rates are higher than usual due to demand being high.

InDrive

Indrive is our favorite method of transportation in and around Puerto Vallarta – and it’s the cheapest and usually most reliable.

We first used inDriver in Puerto Vallarta and Bucerias in February 2022 and it worked out better than Uber for us.

We were able to get drivers quicker and cheaper.

You’ll have to download the InDrive app and connect it with your Facebook account.

Then when you want to get a driver, you offer a price for your destination, and drivers will then bid on the fare.

Sometimes it will be cheaper, sometimes it will be more expensive than what you are offering.

Once you’ve arrived at your destination, you pay your driver in cash.

Users of this app are not insured, and there are no credit cards like Uber, but if you are fine with this risk then it’s an inexpensive method of transportation.

Also, drivers with InDrive get most of the fare, compared to Uber which takes a large percentage.

If you’re not sure how much fare to offer, open the Uber app and see how much it charges.

Then, you can likely offer a little less than the Uber fare and you should have lots of drivers available.

I hope this transportation guide has helped you decide how to get to Bucerias from Puerto Vallarta.

If you have any further questions, please drop a comment below, or contact me via Instagram.