Puerto Vallarta in Mexico is a popular destination for Canadian tourists, and many of them are waiting to see what will happen next after airlines cancelled flights to and from the area Sunday following an outbreak of violence.
B.C. resident Ryan Voutilainen and his partner are visiting the popular tourist town, staying in the Zona Romantica district.
“Last night was a normal night. It was supposed to be my last night here in Puerto Vallarta, so I was out with some friends enjoying the evening,” he said.
“Nothing last night would have given you any indication that anything unusual was going on.”
He says he travels to the area often and has always felt safe. Saturday night, they went to bed prepared to pack up and head home in the morning.
They didn’t expect to have their plans completely changed.
They got up and were getting ready to head to the airport, and it wasn’t until someone from back home reached out to them asking if they knew anything unusual was going on.
“I don’t actually have any outward-facing windows or doors; it’s all into an inner courtyard,” Voutilainen told CityNews.
“I didn’t hear anything, and it was actually a friend of my partner and mine that was actually messaging us saying, ‘Hey, do you know what’s going on?’”
He says that is when reality hit him.
Mexican army helicopter over and troops in the streets of Zona Romantica, Puerto Vallarta — my friends reporting for those familiar, the Farmacia Guadalajara has been set ablaze. Can hear the low flying helicopter overhead.~1640h CT#PuertoVallarta #Mexico pic.twitter.com/h8gTtTMEfU
“We started checking social media and then found out that there was some sort of issue with cars being set ablaze, not only here, but in other sorts of PV as well,” he said.
“Only to find out later that this was something that was actually happening in multiple different locations across the city and potentially even across the state of Jalisco, which is where Puerto Vallarta is located, the capital being Guadalajara.”
Voutilainen says he went to the rooftop of his Airbnb to see what he could see.
“There’s nobody out there, there’s no car traffic, there’s no pedestrians. There’s no sign of any police enforcement,” he said.
“What I did see during the part of the time that I was watching is there was actually a group on motorbikes that actually pushed the car into one of the intersections and set it on fire. And this is something I’ve been hearing from others I know, some people that actually live here in Puerto Vallarta.”
Later in the day, he saw police, helicopters, smoke, and burned out vehicles and shared images on social media.
He warns people not to believe everything they see or hear.
“I know I’ve seen a couple of pictures of where I’m staying, showing that the whole area’s on fire, and that’s certainly not the case, at least not at this point,” he said.
“I know there have been some videos, for example, that have gone out about people running from Guadalajara airports … then I’m seeing stuff from the …state government stating that some of these videos that are being put out there are not necessarily true.”
Voutilainen says the situation is “a little stressful.”
Seemingly calm with the acrid smell of smoke in the air in the Zona Romantica area of Puerto Vallarta. While most fires are out, there is a sense of unease.A person just walking into the Airbnb from the airport saying it’s “‘mayhem” out there.???? taken at 1508h CT 2026-02-22 pic.twitter.com/pNNOGhNimy
“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.
“That said, I feel like we’re in a kind of a safe position because the building that we’re in is fairly secure.”
But because they were expecting to leave today, they weren’t prepared in terms of having food on hand.
“So that’s going to be now the thing, about if we’re going to, later on today, be able to leave and actually get something to eat from anywhere besides the water that we have here, that we still have left from before.”
Voutilainen says he has been working with Airbnb and the host to make sure they are able to stay there for the night.
“We’re good until tomorrow, at least at this point, and we’ll see how the rest of the thing, the day pans out.”
Update from the #Jalisco state government:In the case of PV, visitors and tourists are advised to remain in their hotels until further notice. Today, roadblocks with burning vehicles were set up at various points …. with the intention of hindering the actions of the authorities https://t.co/lB9VaKV1Pu
He says he received a message from Air Canada informing him his flight was cancelled. Other than that, he says, he hasn’t received much information.
“All I have seen is something from Federal Affairs just telling that there’s a travel advisory now in place and for those that are here to ensure that they are sheltering in place,” he said.
“Myself and my partner, we have already registered with them as well to let them know that we are here in the event things go sideways or things or the situation becomes worse around here.”
Now they play the waiting game as they are stuck in limbo.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that we stay and keep ourselves in a safe position so that we’re not putting ourselves in harm’s way,” he said.
“I guess we’ll see how the next 24 to 48 hours pan out and how things kind of move on from here.”
For now, he says, it is an “interesting scenario to be in.”
“Never thought I’d be here.”
Canadians are urged to register online with the Registration of Canadians Abroad (ROCA) to get the most up-to-date information and guidance as soon as possible.
With files from Michelle Meiklejohn