Here is everything you need to know about the Gustavo Diaz Ordaz International Airport (airport code PVR) in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!
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Quick Summary of What to Expect on Arrival at PVR
Fill out the paper customs form – you should get this on the plane, otherwise you’ll find a stack at the beginning of the immigration line.
At Immigration, proceed through the e-gate (get a paper receipt – this is your visa, do not lose it) or see a border agent (they will stamp your passport).
Proceed to customs – pick up all luggage at the carousel.
If you are flying carry-on only, proceed directly to the scanners.
Hand the agent your paper customs form and place all bags, luggage, jackets, purses, etc. on the x-ray scanner.
There is no more ‘red-light green-light’ system.
Collect your luggage and exit through the glass doors.
You will walk through a corridor called the ‘shark tank.’
It is full of timeshare reps trying to get your attention by shouting at you, asking where you’re staying, if you need a taxi, which tour company you’re with, if you want a free shot of tequila, etc.
My advice is to walk straight through and say no thank yo or no gracias until you exit the second set of glass doors into the terminal.
This is where you arrange your transportation.
Puerto Vallarta Airport Transportation Options
Taxi
Taxi rates are set depending on which zone you’re headed to. Buy your taxi from one of the 3 official taxi companies inside the terminal.
You’ll get a ticket – take this outside to find your car.
Private Transportation
You can arrange private transportation, especially if you have 4 people or more for a much better rate here, with Nexus Tours Mexico.
Bus
Find the bus stop at the bottom of the pedestrian bridge on either side of the highway, depending which direction you’re going.
Uber
When you exit the terminal, turn left and walk about 10 second – you’ll see the pedestrian overpass that cross the highway.
Walk across this and catch your Uber on the other side.
City Taxi
Just like Uber, you can also grab a city taxi from here which will be less expensive than an airport taxi.
Luggage I Use for my Puerto Vallarta Trips
Here are the 3 bags featured in the video:
My Full Experience Arriving at PVR
There’ve been a lot of questions floating around facebook groups and reddit threads – so I thought I would detail my recent experience so you know exactly what to expect.
I most recently traveled through the airport in December 2024.
The first thing to do before you land is to fill out your customs form
You should receive these on the plane, like we did – so pack a pen with you to fill it out.
When we pulled up to the gate, before we were able to exit the plane, I could hear the airport agent ask if the flight attendants had handed out the forms – so this should occur.
Here is an example of the Mexican customs form you will be filling out.
Don’t worry, if you lose your form or didn’t get one, there is a stack of forms at the beginning of the immigration area, which is what you’ll go through first.
Immigration is your first check point – for tourists you will either go through the e-gates or to a physical person at a booth – it seems to depend how busy it is.
Only those over 18 can use the e-gates, so if you’re a family traveling with children, proceed to the line where you will see the border agent.
If you are a temporary or permanent resident, you cannot use the e-gates, but instead proceed to the far left lane.
We went through the e-gates and it was straight forward. Have your passport open to your picture page and scan your passport.
The first gate will open and then you will have your photo taken. Make sure to remove hats and glasses.
It will then print you out a receipt which is your tourist visa – don’t lose this, just tuck this away in your passport for the duration of your trip.
I should note that this gave me the full 180 day visitors visa.
This is what you get instead of a passport stamp – if you go to the border agent, you will not get a printed receipt, but instead a stamp.
You can put your passport away at this point, you won’t need it again.
After you’ve cleared through immigration, you will proceed to customs.
This is where the baggage carousels are located – so if you have any checked luggage, this is where you’ll collect it.
After you’ve got your bags – or if you’re carry-on only, proceed right through the line to the scanners.
You’ll need to have all your bags scanned, there is no more red light green light system, all luggage, carry-on bags, purses, everything goes through the scanner.
You’ll also hand the agent your customs form here.
As far as how long all this takes, it all depends on how many flights there are – if you can avoid flying on a Friday, saturday or Sunday, those seem to be the busiest days.
Once your bags go through the scanner, you are now free to enjoy Puerto Vallarta!
Upon your exit, you will go through what’s called the shark tank.
This is basically a corridor full of timeshare sales people offering all kinds of free transportation, tequila shots, free tours, and other enticing offers.
Many of them will also ask you where you’re staying – I recommend you just walk right through this area.
Just smile, keep walking and you’ll probably have to say no gracias several times.
It can feel pretty harassing if you’ve never experienced it, but attending one of these presentations is not worth a full day of your precious vacation time.
Once you pass through the second set of glass doors, you’re in the clear – this is where you can arrange your transportation.
First, there are bathrooms all the way to the left if you need those – and there are atms to the right.
If you can, I recommend waiting until you’re in the city to use an ATM since the fees at the airport can be high.
But you’re welcome to check – if it’s under 40 pesos I would say go for it.
Just make sure to decline the conversion rate, since your bank gives you a much better deal.
If you want a taxi, you’ll find a booth straight ahead which is the OFFICIAL taxi service from 3 different companies.
This is where you need to arrange and pay for your taxi before leaving the airport – you can pay by credit card if you wish.
The rates are set depending on which zone you’re headed to.
If you have pre-arranged transportation, they will either meet you inside the terminal behind the big yellow line on the floor (you can’t miss it) or immediately outside as you exit the terminal.
If you need recommendations for transportation services, you can contact this company.
You can also take an Uber – exactly like you would at home. It’s often cheaper – we paid about 200 pesos last trip compared to about 500 pesos.
But you have to walk across the pedestrian bridge and then catch the uber on the side of the highway.
This can be a bit of a pain when it’s hot and if you have a lot of luggage – but if you’re mobile and traveling lightweight, it’s a good option.
I would say it is a little chaotic because of the loud highway noise and the buses, especially if you’ve never really taken Uber before, so just do what’s comfortable for you.
I like to provide this as an option for travelers because it’s what we do.
Then, go have an amazing holiday!
When the time comes, sadly, you’ll have to make your way back to the airport to go back home.
Give yourself plenty of time to arrive before your departing flight and take into account traffic as well.
The check-in counters are located on the ground floor – so if you have bags to drop go here, otherwise proceed up the escalator to head through security.
Apparently at the airline check in gates is where you hand in your paper receipt that you received if you went through the e-gates on arrival.
But since we flew carry-on only and checked-in for our flight online, we were able to proceed straight through to security so no one asked for this paper receipt at any point.
It was the Same thing that happened to me in Cancun as well.
So the last 2 times I went to Mexico no one asked for this paper receipt – but still, you don’t want to lose it.
Really, there’s no reason to – get yourself a nice little passport pouch, and keep it tucked away in the safe for the entirety of your trip.
Now, please keep in mind Procedures are subject to change at any time – this was my experience in december 2024.
It may seem like a lot of information, but honestly, it’s a smooth process, there’s lots of signage everywhere, there’s really nothing to worry about except what flavor of margarita you’re going to choose when you get to the pool!