Cancún vs Puerto Vallarta

White resort building with palm trees, lounge chairs, and umbrellas line a sandy beach with turquoise water under clear blue sky.

Resort pool with white umbrellas and lounge chairs, palm trees, and a multi-story hotel building backed by green mountains.

Puerto Vallarta13 resorts · ★ 4.3 average

Cancún and Puerto Vallarta, side by side: live travel advisories, our resort catalog's real guest data, and each destination's honest weather picture. Everything you need to break the tie.

Cancún guide · Puerto Vallarta guide · How we score

By the numbers

Cancún compared with Puerto Vallarta
Cancún	Measure	Puerto Vallarta
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution	U.S. travel advisory	Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
28 (better)	Resorts in our catalog	13
★ 4.6 (better)	Average guest rating	★ 4.3
$39–$349/night pp (better)	Nightly rates	$71–$201/night pp
11 of 28	Adults-only resorts	2 of 13
In the hurricane belt	Hurricane exposure	Low hurricane risk (better)
June–October, heaviest September–October	Rainy season	June–October: dramatic afternoon storms, lush green hills
December–April	Sweet spot	November–May; whales in the bay December–March
Cancún (CUN); Hotel Zone 20–30 min, Costa Mujeres ~40 min	Airport	Puerto Vallarta (PVR), most resorts 10–40 min
First trips, nightlife + beach combos, nonstop-flight convenience	Best for	Calm swimmable water, town culture with your resort, LGBTQ+-friendly scene

Advisory levels sync from travel.state.gov; catalog figures reflect the resorts we've researched, not every hotel in the country. A marked row is one we are willing to call; rows without a mark are a matter of taste, or we have no comparable figure for both sides.

On the map

Cancún

Puerto Vallarta

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for Cancún and Puerto Vallarta
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cancún · high °F	82	83	85	87	89	90	90	91	89	87	84	82
Puerto Vallarta · high °F	82	82	82	84	87	90	92	92	90	89	86	83
Cancún · rain (in)	3.5	2.0	1.5	1.5	4.0	6.5	4.0	4.5	8.5	8.5	4.0	3.5
Puerto Vallarta · rain (in)	0.4	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.5	7.0	11.0	10.5	13.5	4.0	0.8	0.5

Approximate climate normals for Cancún hotel zone and Banderas Bay: planning guidance, not a forecast. A deeper tint is a higher number, read within its own row.