Puerto Vallarta vs Punta Cana

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

White multi-story resort building with pool, loungers, umbrellas, and palm trees on manicured lawn at Excellence El Carmen.

Puerto Vallarta and Punta Cana, 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.

Puerto Vallarta guide · Punta Cana guide · How we score

By the numbers

Puerto Vallarta compared with Punta Cana
Puerto Vallarta	Measure	Punta Cana
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution	U.S. travel advisory	Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
13	Resorts in our catalog	30 (better)
★ 4.3	Average guest rating	★ 4.7 (better)
$71–$201/night pp	Nightly rates	$68–$505/night pp (better)
2 of 13	Adults-only resorts	11 of 30
Low hurricane risk (better)	Hurricane exposure	In the hurricane belt
June–October: dramatic afternoon storms, lush green hills	Rainy season	May and August–October, mostly brief tropical downpours
November–May; whales in the bay December–March	Sweet spot	December–April
Puerto Vallarta (PVR), most resorts 10–40 min	Airport	Punta Cana (PUJ), most resorts 15–30 min away
Calm swimmable water, town culture with your resort, LGBTQ+-friendly scene	Best for	Value, families, groups, first-time all-inclusive trips

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

Puerto Vallarta

Punta Cana

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for Puerto Vallarta and Punta Cana
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Puerto Vallarta · high °F	82	82	82	84	87	90	92	92	90	89	86	83
Punta Cana · high °F	84	84	85	86	87	88	89	89	88	87	86	84
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
Punta Cana · rain (in)	2.0	1.7	1.7	2.5	4.5	3.0	2.5	3.5	3.5	4.5	3.5	2.5

Approximate climate normals for Banderas Bay and Punta Cana / Bávaro: planning guidance, not a forecast. A deeper tint is a higher number, read within its own row.