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The Marietas Islands have been described as the world's most idyllic bomb site.

As I emerge from crystal water onto the much whispered about 'Hidden Beach', I'm inclined to agree.

Here I am, mere miles away from Puerto Vallarta, on Mexico's west coast - but I could not feel further removed from this all-singing holiday resort.

The Islas Marietas, to use their Spanish name, were first formed centuries ago due to volcanic activity and have never been inhabited by man. Taking advantage of their isolation, in the early 1900s the Mexican government used them to conduct military testing. 

Hidden Beach: This secret crescent, only accessible if you swim through a cave, is an 'idyllic bombsite'

A crater bombed into one of the islands has created the pristine Hidden Beach, a secret crescent of sand that you can only access by swimming through a cave.

As I breast-stroke through this dark tunnel, my guide tells me to keep my face in the water so the tide does not buoy me up and bash my skull into the rock ceiling.

This is not the most relaxing way to start a day of sunbathing.

But I am at peace as soon as I'm out of the cave, with nothing to do except lie on the sand and enjoy the warm ocean waters lapping at my feet.

It really is a private paradise. I wouldn't be surprised if Kim and Kanye made it here during their recent second honeymoon in Punta Mita, an exclusive vacation enclave close by.

Colourful: Puerto Vallarta offers a more traditional slice of Mexican life than its rowdier counterparts

Laid back vibe: People walk the streets barefoot and families crowd the Malecon at sunset

Until recently, Puerto Vallarta, this marvel of Mexico's Pacific coast, was near inaccessible for British visitors, found only at the end of various connecting flights and dreary layovers.

But now, with the long-haul flying range of the Boeing Dreamliner, Puerto Vallarta is just a 12-hour direct flight from London or Manchester. 

The town itself is a smart resort long popular with Americans and Canadians. It offers a more traditional slice of Mexican life than its rowdier counterparts on the Yucatán Peninsula (that would be you, Cancun).

Celebrity hotspot: Kim and Kanye honeymooned on the Riviera Nayarit in June

Downtown, white-washed houses with terracotta-tiled rooftops are backed by green, palm-packed mountains, their slopes free of development.

In front, Banderas Bay is an arc of cerulean sea and golden shoreline, dotted with beachfront hotels.

A stroll along the Malecon (seafront promenade) takes me past laid-back scenes of everyday life.

Mexico is often portrayed as an anarchic warzone populated by drug lords (thank you, Hollywood). But the sight of two tourist police dressed in crisp-white shorts and T-shirts, relaxedly riding segways, reassures me there's not much trouble for them to attend to in this town. 

Young local men walk the streets barefoot, such is the warm, holiday vibe. Families crowd the Malecon at sunset.

On Sundays, you can even catch the townspeople dancing to traditional music in the main square, Plaza Principal.

Pool crazy: Secrets Vallarta Bay is a new resort with an adults-only policy - and a lot of swimming pools

View from the lobby: You can gaze out onto swaying palms and crashing waves

I'm staying a ten-minute drive from Downtown at the beachfront Secrets Vallarta Bay, a new resort with an adults-only policy.

Guests range from twenty- to sixty-somethings, all smooching couples or grinning groups of friends, with as many six-pack-toting, board-short-clad young Americans as there are older, deeply bronzed Brits (they've obviously been quick to book those new flights). 

The hotel lobby lacks a fourth wall, so you can gaze right out onto the swaying palms and crashing waves. Rooms are huge and come with deep baths that turn into hot tubs at the flick of a switch.

It seems too slick to be all-inclusive, but it is. Premium drinks flow freely, room service and mini bar carry no extra charge, and you can eat with abandon at any of the eight restaurants (my favourite is the breakfast buffet, where I load up every morning on freshly made guacamole, washed down with a mimosa, naturally).

There seems to be a wedding by romantic sunset on the beach every night.

It all sounds too luxurious to leave, and many don't, spending their fortnight in the myriad swimming pools and getting pampered in the spa.

There are a few tours I would highly recommend, though, if you can lift yourself from your lounger.

One is to the Hidden Beach in the Marietas. Another, run by local operator Vallarta Adventures, promises to show me 'Hidden Mexico', and I spend the day walking the cobbled streets of quiet, colourful villages and studying petroglyphs - rock engravings left by the Aztatlán. 

Trips worth trying: Local operator Vallarta Adventures shows travellers 'hidden Mexico', including rock engravings left by the Aztatlán (right), and a tequila distillery where the size of agave pods (left) surprised Laura

Thirsty: Laura tries a very large Mexican Bloody Mary

At the end of the tour, I visit a tequila distillery, and am surprised at the size of the agave – the plant tequila is made from. They look like enormous pine cones.

The man who conducts my tequila tasting is almost certainly drunk, insisting on matching me shot for shot (I am a member of only one of several tour groups to pass through that day).

Most Mexicans you meet will extol the virtues of their various types of tequila – some are for sipping, others for mixing – and will probably tell you that Jose Cuervo, the golden-coloured brand that stocks the shelves in the UK, is underwhelming.

I also learn that the worm at the bottom of the tequila bottle is fallacy.

The 'worm' is actually found in mescal – similar to tequila but made from a different type of agave – and is in fact the larva of a moth. Tasty.

At the end of my trip, I decide to head a 45-minute drive north of Puerto Vallarta to Riviera Nayarit, a 200-mile stretch of coastline that caters to a rather upmarket clientele. Think ocean-side golf courses, a Four Seasons, and so on. This is the area where Kim and Kanye holed up in June.

I want to check out the Riviera's 'hippy chic' town Sayulita - once a sleepy fishing village but now the kind of affluent hipster haven that draws any number and range of travellers.

Boho beach babe: Laura tries her hand at surfing off the 'hippy chic' town of Sayulita

I must admit that I'm won over.

There is just the right balance here of easygoing authenticity (cheap taco stands, fresh fish sizzling on streetside grills, studiously tatty beachfront bungalows) and vogue-ish scene (not-cheap souvenir shops, surf schools teaching the sexy and wealthy how to be at one with the Mexican waves).

I spend the morning surfing among the tanned totty and seriously consider converting to a life of boho beach babedom for the rest of my days.

But if posing with beautiful beach bums isn't your thing, remember Puerto Vallarta is just around the corner.

This is what is so great about this part of the Pacific coast.

Whether you're after adventure or pure repose, tradition or 'a scene', they are all within a few minutes of each other in Mexico's hottest holiday haven.