Isla Río Cuale

A shady strip of island in the river that divides downtown from Old Town: craft stalls, a small museum, an arts centre and swinging bridges.

By Sam Med · Last updated October 2026

The Río Cuale at sunset, with buildings on the island and the footbridge to the Malecón — The Río Cuale at sunset, looking towards the sea. Photo: Another Believer, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Just before it reaches the sea, the Río Cuale splits around a long, narrow island, about two hectares of trees, paths and footbridges between downtown to the north and Zona Romántica to the south. Isla Río Cuale holds a craft market, a small archaeology museum, the city's arts centre, a handful of restaurants and a statue of John Huston. It is free, flat and shaded — one of the easiest walks in town, and the natural way to cross between the two neighbourhoods on foot.

At a glance

Where	In the mouth of the Río Cuale, between Centro and Zona Romántica, a block from the Malecón
Size	About 2 hectares — roughly six blocks long and one wide
Cost	Free to walk; museum entry is free too, when it's open
Time needed	An hour for a stroll; longer with lunch or a workshop
Avoid	Heavy rain: the river has flooded the island in recent storms

How the island came to be

The island was formed by a storm flood in the mid-1920s — sources give 1925 or 1926. The first wooden suspension bridge onto it opened in April 1932, and the island was reshaped again after a flood in 1975. The city marked its centenary with a festival in October 2025.

Getting onto the island

From the street bridges. Stairs lead down from the Insurgentes and Ignacio Vallarta bridges, the two road crossings between downtown and Old Town.
From the Malecón. A pedestrian bridge crosses the river mouth on the seafront and links to the island's western tip. It closed in August 2025 for an upgrade due to finish by the end of that year; check it's open before relying on it.
The swinging bridges. Wooden suspension footbridges hang across both channels. They sway as you walk.
From Gringo Gulch. The tiled La Iguana bridge and stairway climbs from the island up to Calle Cuauhtémoc, in the hillside neighbourhood where Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton had their houses.

What's on the island

The craft market

Stalls selling crafts, clothes, silver and souvenirs line the paths on the seaward half of the island. For food and more stalls, the city's municipal market is across the north channel (below).

Museo del Cuale

A small archaeology museum run by INAH, Mexico's national institute of anthropology and history, with pre-Hispanic pieces from western Mexico. It opened in 1978 and was refurbished in 2005; entry is free. INAH currently lists it as temporarily closed, without a reopening date, so don't plan your walk around it.

Centro Cultural Cuale

The city's arts centre, founded in 1983 and run by the Instituto Vallartense de Cultura, offers workshops in painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, music and theatre, and has a small auditorium. Ask at the centre about courses open to visitors.

Statues

A bronze of John Huston, the director whose Night of the Iguana was filmed at Mismaloya in 1963, stands by the entrance of the Le Bistro restaurant. Look out too for a bust of Elizabeth Taylor and Identidad, a sculpture added in 2019.

Restaurants

Riverside restaurants have long been part of the island's appeal. River Cafe, open since 1996, took part in the city's 2026 Restaurant Week; Le Bistro reopened under new owners in 2025. More places to eat across the river in Zona Romántica restaurants.

Wildlife

Iguanas sun themselves on the walls and in the trees, and herons work the river. Parrots and, occasionally, otters have been recorded. The island also has a colony of cats; in 2022 a local animal-welfare group stepped in to care for and relocate them.

The municipal market next door

On the downtown bank, the Mercado Municipal Río Cuale, open since 1957, has two floors: crafts, souvenirs and everyday goods downstairs, and cheap, no-frills fondas upstairs with views of the river. It's a good place for lunch after a walk on the island. The market is due a renovation: in October 2026 stallholders were still waiting for work to start and warned that its wiring was dangerous.

Floods and repairs

The island sits in a river that rises fast in tropical storms. In August 2021, Hurricane Nora flooded it, destroyed the road bridge between Insurgentes and Libertad, which reopened in 2022, and damaged the footbridges; one suspension bridge had to be replaced. In October 2023, Hurricane Lidia made the river overflow again. In late 2025 the city announced around MXN 40 million from its tourism trust to restore the island — paths, reinforced banks, wildlife platforms and an amphitheatre — but no start date had been published by October 2026. Parts of the island may be fenced off while work is done.

In the rainy season, from June to October, keep off the island and the bridges during heavy rain or when the river is high and fast. See weather for when the storms come.

Fitting it into a day

The island works as a link between other things: walk the Malecón south, cross onto the island, browse the stalls, eat upstairs at the municipal market or by the river, then climb the La Iguana stairs or carry on into Old Town and down to Los Muertos. It's also a good hot-afternoon fallback, thanks to the shade. Our 3-day and budget itineraries include it.

Frequently asked

Where is Isla Río Cuale?

In the mouth of the Río Cuale in central Puerto Vallarta, between downtown (Centro) and Zona Romántica, a block from the Malecón. You reach it by stairs from the Insurgentes and Ignacio Vallarta bridges, or by footbridges.

Is Isla Cuale free?

Yes. The island, its paths and bridges are free to walk, and the Museo del Cuale has free entry when it is open; INAH currently lists it as temporarily closed.

What is there to do on Isla Cuale?

Browse the craft stalls, cross the swinging bridges, see the John Huston statue, visit the Centro Cultural Cuale, and eat at the riverside restaurants or upstairs at the municipal market next door.

Is the Museo del Cuale open?

INAH, which runs it, lists it as temporarily closed, with no reopening date. Check before you go.

Is Isla Cuale safe?

It is a busy, central walk in daylight. The main hazard is the river: it has flooded the island in hurricanes, so stay off the island and the bridges in heavy rain or when the water is high.

Sources & updates

Last checked: 8 October 2026.

INAH, Museo del Cuale: history, free entry, "temporarily closed".
Wikipedia on Isla Cuale, Le Bistro, River Cafe and the Mercado Municipal Río Cuale; Visita Puerto Vallarta (2016) on the island's history and bridges; the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board (2016, 2025) on the island and the centenary.
Out and About PV (2022–2026) on Hurricane Nora, the bridges, the centenary and the island's history; The Guadalajara Reporter (2021) on the facelift; Jalisco TV (November 2025) on the restoration budget; Gay PV (2025–2026) on Le Bistro, River Cafe and the Malecón bridge works.
PV Angels (2014, 2022) on the cultural centre, the statues and the cats; Quadratín Jalisco (October 2026) on the municipal market; Wanderlog visitor guide on the market's layout.

Bridge closures, museum hours and the restoration timetable change. Check locally, and keep away from the river in storms.