Shopping in Puerto Vallarta

These days it's far easier to get your hands on The Treasure of the Sierra Mardre than it was for a doomed Humphrey Bogart in the 1948 western. In fact, in Puerto Vallarta you'll have trouble leaving without suitcases full of the stuff. Boutiques, galleries, designer shops and craft markets all vie to get their hands on your pesos, but arm yourself with the simple phrase ¿Es su mejor precio?(Is that your best price?), and you get a lot for your money.

Mexico is the world's largest producer of silver and low labour costs mean quality silver jewellery costs a fraction of UK prices. Puerto Vallarta 's silversmiths concentrate on pre-Hispanic designs and a good selection of their work can be found in the Mercado Municipal. When buying silver make sure it's stamped.925, ensuring that it is silver rather than alpaca (which in this case isn't a relative of the llama, but an alloy made from zinc, copper and nickel).

Puerto Vallarta has a thriving art scene with more than 20 galleries showing works from across Latin America. Indigenous folk art is mostly the work of the Huichol Indians who have cornered the Mexican 'beadwork' market. Statues, ceramics, masks, gourds and even furniture are deftly inlaid with a mosaic of brightly coloured glass beads. The Huichol are also famed for their yarn paintings( nierika) where strands of wool are pressed into a waxed board to depict the artist's visions under the control of the hallucinogen peyote. Galeria Nativa in the Old Town is a good starting point if you are interested in native art.

Textiles come in a rainbow of colours, but you must be careful when washing them as the natural dyes used can run. Similarly hand-made clothing may shrink, so buy any loose fitting. Flowers, plants and animals are beautifully embroidered onto blouses, and silk and wool woven into traditional sashes and scarves( rebozos). In the highlands to the east of Puerto Vallarta warm days are often followed by chilly nights and out come the sarapes - brilliantly coloured woollen blankets.

Much more practical for your return to the UK are the number of designer shops, such as Benetton and Gucci, that sell clothes made under license in Mexico. Some believe that they can 'tell the difference' between the originals(made in a third world sweatshop) and the Mexican facsimiles, but resistance is typically low when the price is a third of that back home.

Nearby Guadalajara is renowned for its leatherwork and high quality belts, bags, boots and sandals find their way into Puerto Vallarta 's boutiques. Guadalajara also produces what's widely regarded as Mexico 's finest stoneware crockery.