Puerto Vallarta has a tropical climate with a distinct dry and wet season, and the difference shapes an elopement significantly. As a Pacific beach city backed by jungle, Vallarta is warm year-round, but the rain, the humidity, the crowds, and the lushness all shift through the year. Here is what each season delivers.

Dry Season: November to April

The dry season, November through April, is the prime window for a Puerto Vallarta elopement: warm, sunny days, low humidity, calm seas, and little rain. This is peak season, coinciding with the North American winter and the whale-watching season in the Bay of Banderas, when humpbacks fill the water. It is the busiest and priciest time, but also the most reliably beautiful, which is why it draws so many couples escaping the cold.

Bride and groom running through the surf on a Mexican beach — The dry season, November through April, is the prime window: warm sunny days, low humidity, calm seas, and little rain. This peak season coincides with the North American winter and the whale-watching season in the bay, when humpbacks fill the water, the most reliably beautiful time and the busiest

Wet Season: June to October

The wet season, June through October, brings heat, humidity, and afternoon and evening rain, along with the small risk of tropical storms in late summer. But it also transforms the Sierra Madre into brilliant, vivid jungle, brings fewer crowds and lower prices, and offers dramatic skies. The rain is often a brief, intense afternoon downpour rather than all-day, and for couples drawn to the lush jungle and the value, the green season has real appeal.

Elegant couple walking hand in hand together through green woodland — The wet season, June through October, brings heat, humidity, and afternoon rain, but transforms the Sierra Madre into brilliant green jungle, with fewer crowds and lower prices. The rain is often a brief intense downpour rather than all-day, and the lush green season has real appeal for the right couple

The Whale Season

One of Vallarta’s special seasonal gifts is the humpback whales that migrate into the Bay of Banderas from December through March. For a boat-based portrait session to the southern coves, the chance of whales breaching offshore adds a spectacular, unforgettable dimension. The whale season overlaps perfectly with the prime dry-season weather, a strong argument for a winter Vallarta elopement.

Newlywed couple walking together past tall palms — One of Vallarta’s seasonal gifts is the humpback whales migrating into the Bay of Banderas from December through March. For a boat-based session to the southern coves, the chance of whales breaching offshore adds a spectacular dimension, and the whale season overlaps perfectly with the prime dry-season weather

The Best Window

For most couples, the sweet spots are the shoulder edges of the dry season, November and early December, or April, when the weather is excellent, the whales are present or arriving, and the peak-season crowds and prices have eased from the December-to-March height. These windows balance beautiful weather, the whale season, manageable crowds, and value, the practical best of Vallarta.