Banderas Bay Whale Grounds whale watching tours
Waters in Banderas Bay off Banderas Bay
The open water of Banderas Bay, where humpback whales spend the winter, a short run from Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta and La Cruz. It is an area, not a spot: the whales move every day, and a sighting is never certain.
- Humpback whales, December to March
Marinas
- Marina Nuevo Vallarta
- Marina Riviera Nayarit at La Cruz, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
- Marina Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta
When to see Banderas Bay Whale Grounds
| Species | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humpback whale | Seen | Seen | Seen | Seen |
The darker mark is the months the source names as best. Months from sidof.segob.gob.mx.
Near Banderas Bay Whale Grounds
Banderas Bay
The Pacific bay itself, closed by Punta Mita to the north and Cabo Corrientes to the south, with Puerto Vallarta on its shore. Its islands, rocks and dive sites sit in this water.
Wild Dolphins of Banderas Bay
Wild dolphins share Banderas Bay with the boats that cross it, and a morning spent looking for them is one of the quieter ways to see the bay. It is a search on open water, so a sighting is never certain.
- Snorkeling
- Scuba diving
- Fishing
Nuevo Vallarta
A planned resort town on the north shore of Banderas Bay, built around canals, golf and a long white-sand beach.
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
A fishing village on the northern shore of Banderas Bay, in the municipality of Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, about 25 km from Puerto Vallarta.
Bucerías
A beach town of about 16,000 people on the north shore of Banderas Bay, in Nayarit. Yacht days along its shore start from Marina Riviera Nayarit at La Cruz, about 2.3 nautical miles away.
- Snorkeling
- Swimming
- Paddleboarding
- Scuba diving
Los Arcos de Mismaloya
Five granite islets just off Mismaloya, about 12 km south of Puerto Vallarta in Banderas Bay, with arches cut through the larger rocks and reef walls below.
- Scuba diving
Princesa Vallarta Wreck
A sunken boat on the floor of Banderas Bay, a little under 200 metres off the Las Gemelas beaches south of Puerto Vallarta. It is a deep dive for certified divers, about 6 nautical miles by boat from the Puerto Vallarta marinas.
- Snorkeling
- Scuba diving
Majahuitas
Majahuitas is a small cove on the southern shore of Banderas Bay, between Quimixto and Yelapa. No road reaches it, so guests arrive by boat.
Maps © OpenStreetMap
About Banderas Bay Whale Grounds
A stretch of water, not a spot
Every winter humpback whales come into Banderas Bay, many of them mothers with calves, and the open water of the bay is where boats from its marinas go to meet them. The shaded area on our map is an approximation of that water: the middle of the bay, clear of the closed strip along the north shore and well away from the Marietas Islands. It is not a line in law and not a fixed spot. Whales move from one day to the next, and the captain works the water wherever they are showing, sometimes further south toward Los Arcos or west toward the mouth of the bay.
The season
The federal government sets the whale-watching dates each year. For the 2025-26 season it set December 8, 2025 to March 23, 2026 for Banderas Bay, on both the Jalisco and the Nayarit side. They are wild animals, so no trip can promise a whale, and some mornings pass without one.
The rules on the water
Two parts of the bay are closed to whale watching because mothers and calves gather there: a strip 2 km wide along the coast from Punta de Mita to the mouth of the Ameca River, and the water within 1.5 km of the Marietas Islands. Mexico's whale-watching standard, NOM-131-SEMARNAT-2010, keeps a boat longer than 10 metres at least 80 metres from a humpback whale. No more than four boats may stay with one group, for at most 30 minutes, and no one may swim with the whales. Only boats with a SEMARNAT authorisation may run whale-watching trips.
Getting out by boat
Marina Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta and La Cruz de Huanacaxtle are all within a short run of the open bay. On a yacht of your own, how long you spend with the whales is yours to set inside the rules, and from Puerto Vallarta the morning can end with a swim at Los Arcos. We'll confirm the plan and the boarding point when you book.
What to bring
A hat, sun cover, drinking water, and binoculars or a camera with a long lens. Mornings are usually the calmest time on the bay.