Costalegre Villas

The Costalegre is the stretch of Jalisco coast running south from Puerto Vallarta — a chain of small bays, headlands and private estates rather than a resort strip. Costa Careyes and Las Rosadas are residential communities set into the hills above their own beaches, with controlled access and very little passing traffic. Development is deliberately sparse, and that is the point.

Puerto Vallarta at the northern end is the opposite in character: a working city with a restaurant scene, an international airport and villas stacked into the hillsides of Conchas Chinas, Amapas and the South Shore, most of them a short drive from town.

What the two ends share is how the villas work. These are private homes with their own staff — housekeeping, and often a cook, a caretaker and concierge planning — rather than hotel suites. Which coast suits you usually comes down to whether you want a town within reach, or want the road to end at your gate.