Jalisco Travel Guide
Blue agave fields around Tequila, Jalisco. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Jalisco is the Mexico of the postcards' imagination: mariachi, tequila, charros and birria all come from here. It is also one of the most complete travel states, pairing the country's second city with a Pacific resort coast and the agave highlands in between.
Guadalajara is the cultural engine: a big, livable city with a handsome colonial center, the Tlaquepaque craft district, and deep food traditions. West lie the blue agave fields of Tequila, a UNESCO landscape. On the coast, Puerto Vallarta has grown from fishing village to full resort city without losing its Malecon and old town.
Destinations in Jalisco
Tequila and the agave landscapeUNESCO-listed blue agave fields around the town of Tequila, with distillery tours from the big houses to family palenques.
TlaquepaqueThe craft town absorbed by the city: mariachi in the restaurants, ceramics and blown glass in the workshops.
Guadalajara CathedralThe twin-spired cathedral anchoring the historic center, surrounded by four plazas.
Puerto Vallarta MaleconThe seafront boardwalk of sculptures, street food and sunset crowds, backed by the Zona Romantica.
Instituto Cultural CabanasUNESCO-listed hospice with Orozco's great frescoes, including the Man of Fire in the dome.
Marietas IslandsThe hidden beach inside a collapsed volcanic crater, reached by boat from Punta de Mita.
Costalegre beachesThe wilder coast south of Vallarta: Punta Perula, Chamela and empty coves.
Teatro DegolladoThe neoclassical theater on Plaza Fundadores, still the home of the Jalisco Philharmonic.- Jose Cuervo Express trainThe tourist train from Guadalajara to Tequila with tastings on board.
- Lake ChapalaMexico's largest lake, with the expat towns of Chapala and Ajijic on its north shore.
Hover a state to explore it. Click a city pin to open its guide.
Top Cities & towns in Jalisco
Regional food
- Birria: the slow-cooked goat or beef stew of the highlands, eaten as tacos with consome
- Torta ahogada: Guadalajara's drowned sandwich in chile de arbol sauce
- Tequila tastings in Tequila town, plus cantaritos in Amatitan
Getting there
Guadalajara International (GDL) and Puerto Vallarta (PVR) both take direct flights from the US and Canada. The Tequila region is an easy day trip from Guadalajara by bus or tour; Vallarta is about 5 hours by road from Guadalajara, or a short flight.