Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta named the best small city in Latin America — and second in the world
Condé Nast Traveler readers placed Vallarta behind only Victoria, B.C. What the ranking does, and doesn't, mean for owners.
By Lance Fulford2 min read
Puerto Vallarta has been named the best small city in Latin America — and the second-best small city in the world — in Condé Nast Traveler's 2026 Readers' Choice Awards, as reported by Tráfico ZMG on October 7, 2026. Only Victoria, British Columbia placed higher. It is the second year running that Vallarta has finished second worldwide.
The company it keeps on that list says something about what readers were rewarding. Florence, San Miguel de Allende and Lucerne also appear: small places with a strong sense of identity, walkable centres and a cultural life out of proportion to their size. According to the report, nearly 800,000 readers voted.
What readers singled out
The coverage points to the things anyone who has spent time here would recognise: the historic downtown and its cobblestone streets, the restaurants, and the evening life of the Zona Romántica. It also mentions the boat trip to Yelapa, the views across Banderas Bay and the Sierra Madre rising directly behind the town.
Rankings don't change what a place is. They do change how many people come to look at it.
Why it matters if you own, or want to own, here
The same report notes the infrastructure behind the visitor numbers: more than 27,000 hotel rooms across over 450 lodging properties, and 55 direct air routes, many of them to the United States and Canada. For owners, direct flights are the practical point. A second home is only as useful as it is easy to reach, and Vallarta is a short non-stop flight from much of North America.
For buyers weighing a condominium in the Zona Romántica or on the South Shore, international recognition tends to support demand for well-located, well-run vacation rentals. It is not a reason to stretch on price, and it does not replace careful diligence on the building, its HOA and its rental history. If you'd like to talk through what's available, or what a property here would realistically earn, I'm always glad to.
Source: Tráfico ZMG, October 7, 2026, reporting Condé Nast Traveler's 2026 Readers' Choice Awards.