Ocho Rios vs Puerto Vallarta

Curved pool with blue water surrounded by lounge chairs and palm trees, white gazebo in center, multi-story resort buildings with red-tiled roofs in background.

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

Ocho Rios 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.

Ocho Rios guide · Puerto Vallarta guide · How we score

By the numbers

Ocho Rios compared with Puerto Vallarta
Ocho Rios	Measure	Puerto Vallarta
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution	U.S. travel advisory	Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
7	Resorts in our catalog	13 (better)
★ 4.5 (better)	Average guest rating	★ 4.3
$117–$430/night pp	Nightly rates	$71–$201/night pp (better)
5 of 7	Adults-only resorts	2 of 13
In the hurricane belt	Hurricane exposure	Low hurricane risk (better)
May–June and September–November; the rain is why it's this green	Rainy season	June–October: dramatic afternoon storms, lush green hills
December–April	Sweet spot	November–May; whales in the bay December–March
Sangster (MBJ) ~90 min, or Ian Fleming (OCJ) for small aircraft	Airport	Puerto Vallarta (PVR), most resorts 10–40 min
Waterfalls + gardens + excursions; couples classics	Best for	Calm swimmable water, town culture with your resort, LGBTQ+-friendly scene
Dunn's River Falls; Blue Hole; Fern Gully	Signature	Banderas Bay sunsets; whales December–March

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

Ocho Rios

Puerto Vallarta

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for Ocho Rios and Puerto Vallarta
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Ocho Rios · high °F	82	82	83	84	86	88	88	88	88	87	85	83
Puerto Vallarta · high °F	82	82	82	84	87	90	92	92	90	89	86	83
Ocho Rios · rain (in)	1.5	1.2	1.2	1.8	4.5	4.0	3.0	4.2	5.5	7.5	4.0	2.2
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 Ocho Rios / St. Ann and Banderas Bay: planning guidance, not a forecast. A deeper tint is a higher number, read within its own row.