Arriving from Guadalajara
Guadalajara is the easiest big-city gateway to our stretch of coast, and the trip got dramatically shorter when the new autopista opened. Here is the whole journey, step by step, with honest cost estimates.
The one thing to know first: the time changes
Guadalajara is one hour AHEAD of Altavista, all year. The coast here runs on Pacific time, so you gain an hour on arrival. Heading back, that hour works against you, so leave earlier than feels necessary.
Driving the vía corta
The trip is about 250 kilometers (155 miles) and takes roughly 3 hours: take the autopista toward Tepic, exit at the Jala junction, follow the Jala to Compostela autopista, then the Compostela to Las Varas section that opened in 2024 and cut that last stretch to about 20 minutes. Exit at Las Varas; from there Altavista is 18 minutes up the road.
Tolls: you pass three toll plazas (El Arenal, Plan de Barrancas, Amado Nervo), roughly $700 to $750 MXN total at 2025 rates. The Compostela to Las Varas section has no toll booth of its own. Toll prices change regularly; treat these as estimates and carry cash.
Drive it in daylight
The Plan de Barrancas stretch between Magdalena and the Nayarit line is the demanding part of this drive: sharp curves, steep grades, and heavy truck traffic, with fog and rain cutting visibility in the early morning and in rainy season. Leave Guadalajara mid-morning, plan to arrive before dark, and check Google Maps for closures before you set out.
Fill the tank in Guadalajara or wait for Compostela or Las Varas; don't count on stations along the new autopista itself.
Bus it or fly it
Direct bus
From the Nueva Central Camionera, Pacifico (economy, roughly $500 to $670 MXN) and Futura Select (roughly $850 MXN) run direct to La Peñita de Jaltemba throughout the day, about 3 to 4 hours.
Buy a ticket specifically to La Peñita, not to Vallarta: the premium Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta buses take the autopista and do NOT stop in our area.
The last mile
Flying into Guadalajara airport first? A taxi or Uber from the airport to the Nueva Central Camionera runs roughly $200 to $350 MXN and takes 15 to 20 minutes; both are on the same side of the city.
At the other end, La Peñita has its own Pacifico terminal, and a taxi from there to Altavista is typically $200 to $300 MXN. Skip rideshare or taxi for the full Guadalajara trip; the distance makes it very expensive.
Fly instead
Volaris and VivaAerobus fly Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta nonstop about 4 times a day, roughly an hour in the air. From PVR it is about 90 minutes up the coast; our Arriving from Puerto Vallarta guide covers that leg.
There are no nonstop flights from Guadalajara to the Tepic airport, so don't plan around that route.
Traveling back to Guadalajara
From the Pacifico terminal in La Peñita, buses to Guadalajara run throughout the day: roughly $670 MXN on Pacifico or $850 MXN on Futura Select. Ask us a day ahead and we will arrange your taxi to La Peñita. Driving, it is the same vía corta route in reverse, about 3 hours plus the same tolls. And remember the hour you gained on arrival gets paid back on the way home.
Flying somewhere else?
Landing in Puerto Vallarta or Tepic instead? Same step-by-step guides: Arriving from Puerto Vallarta and Arriving from Tepic. Or head back to Directions & Map for the last mile into Altavista.