Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Oct. 7, 2026 – Puerto Vallarta ranked second among the world’s best small cities in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards, published Oct. 6.
The magazine’s list placed Victoria, British Columbia, first. Florence, Italy, finished third, followed by San Miguel de Allende and Lucerne, Switzerland.
According to Puerto Vallarta’s tourism trust, the city also finished second in 2025. Our coverage of last year’s ranking documented that result.
The local tourism business context
The recognition arrives alongside lower passenger traffic at Puerto Vallarta’s airport, a separate measure relevant to businesses serving visitors.
We compared the award with airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico’s latest passenger report, also released Oct. 6. Its preliminary figures showed about 307,100 passengers in September, down 10.4% from September 2025.
GAP attributed the decline across its Mexican airports mainly to reduced airline capacity. The operator also reported partial disruptions at Puerto Vallarta due to Hurricane Polo’s weather conditions in late September.
The distinction is relevant when assessing the award locally: the magazine ranks reader experiences, while GAP records airport passenger activity.
How the reader awards work
Under Condé Nast Traveler’s published methodology, readers submitted ratings from April 1 through June 30. Candidates needed a minimum number of responses and a minimum overall rating to qualify.
Readers assessed candidates using a five-point scale, from excellent to poor. The publisher converted those ratings to percentages and averaged them to determine final scores.
In its announcement of the result, Jalisco’s tourism office reported 798,867 votes across this year’s awards. It highlighted Puerto Vallarta’s Malecón, food, cultural attractions, and Zona Romántica nightlife.
Because individuals could vote multiple times, the results largely depend on a destination’s ability to get local residents and tourism-dependent businesses to vote often. It earns Puerto Vallarta tourism bragging rights.
Recognition beyond the beach
In its description of Puerto Vallarta Condé Nast Traveler, Condé Nast Traveler’s editors highlighted Old Town’s “winding cobblestone streets lined with bougainvillea.” The entry also directed readers toward dining and boat excursions beyond the busiest tourist areas.
The tourism trust’s guide to Zona Romántica Blog places the district mainly in Emiliano Zapata, south of the Cuale River. It identifies Basilio Badillo as a dining corridor and describes galleries, cafés, and shops along Olas Altas and neighboring streets.
