Money, Cards & Tipping
Pay in pesos, carry some cash, and always decline the "pay in dollars" offer.
Mexico's currency is the peso (MXN). Many tourist businesses in Puerto Vallarta will quote or accept US dollars, but you'll almost always get a worse deal that way. Here's how to handle money sensibly.
Pesos, not dollars
Pay in pesos wherever you can, and ask for the peso price rather than paying a dollar price a business has set at a rounded, unfavourable rate. When a card machine or ATM offers to charge you in your home currency instead of pesos, or asks whether to accept "the rate", always decline — that's dynamic currency conversion, the rate is poor, and it is where most people quietly lose money. Choose pesos and let your own bank do the conversion.
Cash and ATMs
- Use bank ATMs (inside or attached to a branch) rather than standalone machines in the street, convenience stores and tourist strips, which charge conspicuously more and carry higher skimming risk.
- Avoid airport exchange counters and hotel front desks; rates are poor.
Two charges stack on a withdrawal: the machine's own fee, shown on screen before you confirm, and whatever your home bank adds for a foreign withdrawal or currency conversion. Practical consequences:
- Withdraw larger amounts less often. The machine fee is flat, so four small withdrawals cost four times what one does.
- Check your own bank's terms before you travel. Some cards charge nothing abroad; others charge a percentage plus a fixed fee on every withdrawal.
Cards
Cards are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops in the tourist areas. Smaller family-run places, markets and stands often aren't. Tell your bank you're travelling to avoid blocks.
Card-friendly and cash-only, roughly:
| Cards work fine | Bring cash |
|---|---|
| Hotels and resorts | Taco stands and street food |
| Sit-down restaurants in tourist areas | Local buses and water taxis |
| Supermarkets and pharmacies | Markets and small shops |
| Larger tour operators, booked ahead | Tips, everywhere |
| Airport taxis booked at the desk | Beach vendors and sunbed service |
How much cash to carry
Enough for a day at a time, in small notes. The large notes an ATM hands you are awkward at a taco stand or for a bus fare, and small vendors genuinely may not have change. Break big notes at supermarkets, hotels and busier restaurants, and keep the small ones for the places that need them. Leave the rest in the hotel safe rather than carrying the week's budget on the Malecón.
Tipping
- Restaurants: around 15% (check it isn't already added).
- Bars: a few pesos per drink.
- Tour guides & boat crew: 10–15% of the tour price is generous and appreciated.
- Housekeeping: a small daily amount, left daily.
- Supermarket baggers & parking helpers: small coins.
Tip in pesos. A dollar tip has to be taken to a bank and exchanged, often at a poor rate and sometimes with a wait — so the person you meant to reward receives less than you gave. Tipping in pesos is both better for them and cheaper for you. The exception is if you genuinely have no pesos left on your last morning, in which case dollars are still welcome; small US coins, however, are effectively worthless here and cannot be exchanged.
Common ways visitors lose money
Besides the currency traps above, watch for timeshare presentations offered as "free tours" or discounted activities. They are a long sales pitch; the discount is rarely worth the morning.
For what a day actually costs across different travel styles, see trip cost.
Latest articles
Puerto Vallarta Transport Cost Estimator
What it costs to get around Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay — by bus, Uber, taxi or water taxi — with the…
Read →
Puerto Vallarta Trip Budget Calculator
Work out what your trip will cost — in total, per person and per day — from a guesthouse budget to a resort…
Read →
Puerto Vallarta Map
The city, the beaches, the boat-only coves and the towns around Banderas Bay on one map — each linked to its…
Read →