Puerto Vallarta to. Melaque

Suze can give you a nice list of inexpensive hotels in PV. I stay at the Los Cuatro Vientos which for short termers is I beleive $90 a day including breakfast.
Last time I took a bus Manzanillo to PV 10 years ago I beleive it was about 3 1/2 hours maybe 4 so Melaque would be at least a half hour shorter.
It is a small place so no car is needed unless you want to be some exploring hire a cab for the day. Colima is a nice day trip as is Manzanillo. Colima has possibly the pretest plaza in Mexico but little else IMO except a sometimes "puffing" Volcano.

PS The bus station in PV is near the airport so take a cab. Also the bus station at Meleque is/was in a store in the heart of town. Keep in mind it has been a decade since my last visit.

There are buses from PV to Melaque. The trip is around 4 hours and the ticket is less that 350MXN. You can buy the online if you like in www.reservamos.mx.

There are taxies and buses that can get you from the airport to the bus station. Is pretty close, in less than 10 minutes you're there. And it's also cheap.

I never went to Melaque so

Sorry. I sent the message by mistake.

I never been to Melaque so I would know from.that point on.

Also, the time I went to PV and used the buses, I traveled to Guadalajara and barely made it to the bus so I don't know about hotels either.

The Central Bus Station is just to the east of the airport. <snip>
You can also catch it on the southside, corner of Aguacate & Carranza, which is a couple of blocks from some very economical hotels, prices may be a bit higher during our busy period.

I have taken the bus from both the main terminal and downtown PV. Downtown is just a stop on the street but there was a bus office where I bought the tickets. The bus trip is at least 4 hours and I would say maybe longer. Sometimes there is a short stop in a town enroute.
Some people rent cars from Cactus (I think?) in Barra Navidad and seem to be happy. Most people recommend that you get every type of insurance offered and your credit card will not provide enough coverage.
We always had to spend the night in PV so we would stay downtown just to get a little more atmosphere. We have stayed at the Comfort Inn close to the airport when we were leaving from the main bus terminal. LP books give good travel information about buses and other ways around.

I am totally confused. I wish to bus to Melaque but do not know Airport Station or Downtown or both?

You can pick up the bus from either location. The bus starts from the main terminal and makes another stop in downtown PV ( 'old' town center, called Zona Centro) on its way to Melaque. Its probably easier to get on the bus at the main terminal.