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Amapas · Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
Amapas is the hillside that rises just south of Zona Romántica, between the old town and Conchas Chinas. It is where you buy when you want the view and still want to walk down to the beach. Tom bought a condo in lower Amapas, so this one is personal.
The neighborhood
Amapas starts where Zona Romántica ends and climbs the hill from there. The lower part is a few minutes on foot from Playa Los Muertos and the restaurants of the Romantic Zone. The higher you go, the bigger the view of Banderas Bay, and the more you rely on a car or a taxi for the trip back up.
Most of the real estate is condominiums, many of them in newer towers with pools and gyms built into the hillside so that nearly every unit faces the water. There are also older villas and smaller buildings tucked into the streets, which is where you find some real character and some real value.
Buyers choose Amapas because it is the middle ground: quieter than Zona Romántica, closer to town than Conchas Chinas, and almost always with a view. It rents well for the same reasons.
Living here
Lower Amapas is a walk to the beach. From the upper streets most people drive or take a taxi home, and the taxis know the hill well.
The buildings are built on the slope, so the bay is in front of you rather than beside you. Ask which direction the terrace faces, because sunset is the whole point.
Hillside buildings depend on their elevators, water systems and reserve funds. We look at the HOA books before you make an offer.
In Mexico the covered outdoor space usually counts as part of the home. A published size here includes the terraces, which is how we quote it too.
Before you buy
Yes. Everything on the bay sits inside Mexico's restricted zone, so a foreign buyer holds title through a bank trust called a fideicomiso. It is routine, we do it on nearly every sale, and our article on buying property in Puerto Vallarta as a foreigner walks through the process and what closing really costs.
From lower Amapas, a few minutes on foot down to Playa Los Muertos. From the upper streets it is a short taxi ride or a longer walk that is pleasant going down and less so coming back.
Often, yes, and it works differently than it does at home. We wrote up who qualifies and what a cross-border loan costs in Can You Get a Mortgage in Mexico?
Because it has the view without giving up the neighborhood. Tom can walk to dinner in the Romantic Zone and still watch the sunset from his own terrace. That is the trade most of our Amapas buyers are making.
Amapas
Whether you want a place in Amapas, a different part of the bay, or just to understand how buying here works, the first conversation is free and in whichever language you prefer.