Puerto Vallarta and Bahia de Banderas

• Choose sites that match your experience. Los Arcos and sheltered coves can be appropriate for new divers, while El Morro is often best reserved for experienced divers with solid buoyancy and SMB skills.
• Treat tunnels and swim-throughs conservatively. Surge can push you into rock.
• Use a surface marker buoy on ascents, especially at offshore sites.
• Watch for thermoclines in winter and pack exposure protection accordingly.
• Follow standard no-fly guidance after diving and keep your final day conservative if you have an early flight.
• If you are freediving, use a buoy and buddy system. Avoid breath-hold penetration into caves and tunnels.

Puerto Vallarta is a major tourism center with hospitals, ambulance services, and medical clinics. In an emergency, call 911. Hospitals used by travelers include private facilities in Puerto Vallarta (for example AmeriMed and San Javier) as well as public services. For diving injuries (especially suspected decompression illness), activate emergency services, notify your operator, and contact a diving medical hotline such as DAN so you can be routed to appropriate care.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy clinics exist in Puerto Vallarta. For serious dive injuries, do not self-transport. Use emergency services and professional medical coordination.