We spent 52 days the first time and 6 days the second.  We stayed at Marina Riviera Nayarit which claims it is the finest marina in the Pacific Ocean.  It might be.  It was really nice and cost about $23/day.  There were lots of empty slips, even during busy season, and the Puddle Jumpers rate wasn’t any better than their standard rack rate.  There are very limited services here.  There is a big marine store (Zaragoza) in PV, but it takes about 2 hours round trip to get to.

There’s a decent anchorage right outside the marina entrance, but dragging seems to be fairly standard.  We saw several boats get rescued after grounding during our time.

There are a few other marinas around: Marina Vallarta was a dump.  Didn’t even feel comfortable walking there and there are no services (or stores) anywhere near.  Marina Nuevo Vallarta was better than regular Vallarta, but not close to anything.  It was about the same price as La Cruz and not as nice, albeit closer to PV proper.  Paradise Village was my idea of Hell, but some folks really liked it.  This is where the large power yachts call home.  It’s the closest marina to the town of PV.