To the south, heading southbound you chance on Conchas Chinas, a luxurious neighborhood teeming with gorgeous houses and breathtaking views. We move past Arcos, three stones jutting out of the sea surface that make this scenery one of a kind. We also drive past Twin Beaches, one of the best foreshores in the area, and trudge on all the way to Mismaloya, a must-see full of history and significance.

The hotel's restaurant still preserves many details of the set of The Night of the Iguana, a movie shot in 1964 that put Puerto Vallarta on the map thanks to the fame of Richard Burton and his romantic affair with actress Liz Taylor. The film changed for good the fate of what used to be a small town and turned it into a world-class travel destination that, fortunately, has never lost its zip. John Houston, the film's director, spent the rest of his life in Caletas, a quasi-uninhabited beach in the zone.

Way over the Mismaloya River, you find Chicos Paradise and The Eden Restaurant, where the movie The Predator was shot. Other paradiselike beaches are ahead on the road:Yelapa, Las Animas, Quimixto and Pisota, among others. Access to them is only possible by boat (known locally as panga). A panga is a sort of cab that shuttles tourists from Playa de los Muertos to Bocas de Tomatlan.

All these beaches have charms of their own, especially because they all convey a feeling of unexplored territories far from the world, not even near the town itself. There you may bask in the sun, take a swim, have tasty homemade pastries, or just read as the waves roll in. That's it! If scouring the inland side is what you're looking for, a stop at El Nogalito and El Tuito -two villages that hold on tight to their image of no-frills small towns stripped of any tourist sophistication- will do the trick.