The 5 de Diciembre neighborhood in downtown Puerto Vallarta has one of the better mercados that is well known for it’s variety of fresh fish. The staff in the fish market is especially friendly and offers good advice on how to prepare what you purchase.

A mercado is a social place that is the heart of the neighborhood. In addition to going shopping, people go to catch up on the latest neighborhood news.

When you visit the mercado don’t expect anything fancy or tourist amenities. Go to get a taste of local life and be sure make the effort to communicate with the staff and the other shoppers. That’s where the fun is. You’d be surprised how far a big smile and an “hola” will get you. Try it. It will make your day.

At the produce stand where you can get any type of fruit, vegetable, or chile that you could want. If you speak some Spanish, the staff will give you tips on how to prepare some of the more exotic vegetables.

The coolers and bins have fresh shrimp sorted by size and price. On this trip, I bought a half kilo of medium size shrimp for $50 pesos. That works out to be about $3.80US per pound. A great deal if you ask me.

A freshly caught dorado. They will fillet and prep your fish any way you like it.

Inside the market are a number of loncherias, lunch stands, that prepare antojitoswhich are simple foods like tacos, sopes, flautas, and enchiladas.

This is the machine that makes tortillas at the tortilleria. A large ball of dough is placed in the hopper. The machine extrudes a dough ball for a tortilla and then it presses the dough into a tortilla. The tortilla is sent down the conveyor belt and through the oven to be baked. The tortillas comes out the other end fully cooked and ready to be placed into one kilo and half kilo stacks.

Map and Directions to the Mercado
The Mercado is located on San Salvador street at the corner of Brasilia street. It is very easy to find. The mercado is directly in front of the main entrance to the cemetary (Panteon).

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