In the end, the choice comes down to what you really want from your vacation. For a romantic and peaceful getaway, villas in Punta Mita are exquisite, while larger groups, families, and those looking to get a little wild will probably find the villas in Puerto Vallarta more to their liking. Punta Mita isn't so much a town or city as Sayulita and Puerto Vallarta. Punta Mita is a small area that houses a couple of ultra-luxurious hotels.
There are quite a few options, but I recommend staying in St. Regis Punta Mita and Four Seasons Punta Mita. The ambiance of the Four Seasons Punta Mita is that a Mexican hacienda meets a luxurious jungle lodge and a tropical beachfront resort. I went to Puerto Vallarta with Contiki two years ago, it's definitely a busier part of the area, but I had a lot of fun.
While Mexico tends to have a bad reputation when it comes to safety, it's important to note that most violence occurs outside tourist areas and away from the gated community of Punta Mita and the resorts I have included here on this list. Punta Mita was designed as a complete getaway and has become in a perennial option to relax and unwind for the richest people in the world. Once in Punta Mita, a car is useful to reach the different destinations, even if booked in a villa within one of the resort or town properties. Although they are very close to each other, Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita and Punta Mita are very different places with their own unique charm.
But if you want to get up close and personal with the marine life of the surrounding waters of Puerto Vallarta, diving in Los Arcos is an activity you don't want to miss. Punta Mita is a completely gated community, with a TON of security measures in place: they have tightened security over the past few years and I have never felt unsafe in any of these resorts. The answer is YES, Punta de Mita is said to be one of the safest places you can visit where relaxation awaits you. But between Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita and Punta de Mita, you can easily see that no two beach towns are the same.
