The beach at Playa Mismaloya is located in a small cove, just off of Highway 200, a few miles (25 minutes or so) south of Puerto Vallarta.
Mismaloya is the location of the set of the movie, The Night of The Iguana, the John Huston, Richard Burton film that introduced Puerto Vallarta to the gringo world. The old set of the movie is in ruins just to the south of the beach.
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Access to the beach is on the south side of the Resort Hotel Barcelo with a dirt road leading down to the beach. Limited parking is available on this road, as are refreshments and the traditional tourist trinket sales. Several palapa-style restaurants are on the beach.
There are pangas (boats) for hire for travel to the more southerly isolated beaches, back to Puerto Vallarta or for snorkeling trips to the Los Arcos rocks, just off shore. The beach is home to several restaurants and trinket peddlers and the hotel Barcelo.
Inland from the beach is the Puerto Vallarta Zoo and El Eden, a restaurant/canopy ride that was the set of the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, Predator.
The beach is crowded from the resort hotel and there is a sharp drop off just off shore.
Access is by car, taxi or bus from Puerto Vallarta.