The main beach is a long arc of dark volcanic sand running the full length of the sandbar. The Pacific here has real surf — not usually dangerous, but big enough to body-surf and powerful enough to knock you over if you are not paying attention. The water is warm year-round, and the beach is rarely crowded by Mexican resort standards.
The beach faces west, which means the sunsets are spectacular. In the evening, families set up on the sand, vendors work the shoreline selling corn and coconuts, and the light turns everything orange. There are no resort facilities along the beach — no sun-lounger rentals, no beach clubs — just the open Pacific and a few restaurants with tables in the sand near the north end of town. That unpretentiousness is exactly what draws people who want to avoid the packaged resort experience of Puerto Vallarta.