Riviera Nayarit Winter Golf: Courses, Bases, and How to Plan the Trip

Winter along Riviera Nayarit means dry-season rounds and Pacific light within a drive of Puerto Vallarta. The official destination lists layouts by Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Jim Lipe, Percy Clifford, and Von Hagge & Baril — El Tigre, Flamingos, and Vidanta on the Nuevo Vallarta side, Higuera farther up at Litibú, and Bahia and Pacífico at Punta Mita when you want the ocean-side week.

Why winter here works

US and Canadian groups come for championship golf they can actually book, with a beach resort close enough that the week does not turn into a logistics project. Pick the stretch of coast that matches the courses you want, then lock rooms and tee times around that.

Where to stay

Nuevo Vallarta / Nuevo Nayarit sits closest to PVR and puts El Tigre, Flamingos, and Vidanta golf nearby. Paradise Village’s El Tigre is the Von Hagge championship 18 — a straightforward first round. Flamingos is a natural second public round in the same corridor. Vidanta’s Nayar, Greg Norman, and The Lakes add more resort golf if you are staying that side of the bay.

Punta Mita is the ocean-view stretch for Bahia and Pacífico. Pacífico has the Tale of the Whale island green; Bahia is the other main course on the peninsula. Stay there if those two sheets are the week.

Litibú / Higuera sits farther north for the Greg Norman public course (now Higuera Golf Club after renovations). An Iberostar-area stay fits that stretch of coast.

Official course overview: Riviera Nayarit golf courses. El Tigre’s home page is eltigregolf.com.

Courses to look at

If you are booking as a visitor, these are the main options:

• El Tigre (Nuevo Vallarta) — Von Hagge championship 18 at Paradise Village; stay-and-play packages and day play when available.
• Flamingos — public corridor golf with water and bunkers; a natural second round near El Tigre.
• Vidanta Nayar / Greg Norman / The Lakes — resort golf when you are at Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta.
• Higuera (Litibú) — Greg Norman public course on the Litibú coast; confirm current routing after renovations when you book.
• Bahia and Pacífico (Punta Mita) — the ocean-side pair when you are staying on that peninsula.

Smaller public options like Las Huertas (El Monteón) and Field of Dreams (San Pancho) work for a lighter day. Confirm tee times on each club’s own booker.

Print the packing list once you know whether you are walking El Tigre heat or packing layers for an evening on the marina.

How to plan the trip

Fly Puerto Vallarta International (PVR). Some travelers look at Tepic (TPQ) for the northern corridor, but PVR is the main gate for most US and Canadian groups heading to Nuevo Vallarta or Punta Mita.

Rent a car if you are mixing Nuevo Vallarta with Litibú or Punta Mita in one week. If you stay put at one resort with golf on site, a hotel transfer is usually enough — book that when you lock the room.

Lock the dates, book the golf on the course or resort sites you want, book a refundable room near those rounds, then buy PVR. The golf vacation planner helps if you are still choosing between Nuevo Vallarta and Punta Mita.

Match the stay to the golf: Nuevo Vallarta for El Tigre and Flamingos, Vidanta if that resort sheet is the week, Punta Mita for Bahia and Pacífico, Litibú when Higuera is the public round you came for. Then open Riviera Nayarit’s golf page and the club bookers.

Questions? Email info@destination-golf.com.