Boca de Tomatlán
Village in Banderas Bay on Banderas Bay
A small fishing village at the mouth of the Horcones River, about 17 km south of downtown Puerto Vallarta. Its pier is the main departure point for the public water taxis to the beaches and villages of the southern shore.
Near Boca de Tomatlán
- Snorkeling
- Swimming
Playa Caballo
On the south shore of Banderas Bay, Playa Caballo sits just north-east of Las Ánimas, on the Boca de Tomatlán side. No road reaches the sand, so it is a swimming and snorkelling stop that guests land at from the boat or walk to on a trail.
- Snorkeling
- Swimming
Las Ánimas Beach
A broad stretch of sand south-west of Puerto Vallarta, on the far side of Banderas Bay from the marinas, that works well as a lunch and swim stop on a day out by boat.
Mismaloya
A small village and beach on the southern shore of Banderas Bay, south of Puerto Vallarta, looking out to the Los Arcos rocks. The Night of the Iguana was filmed here in 1963.
- 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.
- Snorkeling
- Swimming
Quimixto
A small village on the southern shore of Banderas Bay that has no road and is reached only by boat. Palapa restaurants face the water on its beach, and a trail up the river valley behind it leads to a seasonal waterfall.
- 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
Las Caletas
A small boat-only cove on the southern shore of Banderas Bay, below a nature preserve, where the film director John Huston once lived. One tour company runs the beach and grounds as its own day trip, and the sources do not settle whether a charter yacht's guests may go ashore.
- 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 Boca de Tomatlán
Where the road meets the boats
Boca de Tomatlán is a small fishing village on the southern shore of Banderas Bay, in the municipality of Puerto Vallarta in the state of Jalisco. It lies about 17 km south of downtown Puerto Vallarta on Highway 200, a little past Mismaloya, at the point where the Horcones River comes down out of the hills into a sheltered cove. Much of the coast farther south is hard to reach by road, if it can be reached at all, and that is what gives the place its role: it is the main spot where the public water taxis load for the southern shore.
The water taxis
Open fishing boats, known locally as pangas, leave from the village pier through the day for Colomitos, Las Ánimas, Quimixto, Majahuitas and Yelapa. The crossings are short: around 5 minutes to Colomitos, about 10 to Las Ánimas, 15 to 25 to Quimixto, about 20 to Majahuitas and roughly half an hour to Yelapa. One-way fares have been quoted at roughly 50 to 130 pesos per person, climbing with distance, and they shift with the season and the boat. The boats work in daylight, and the last runs of the day leave in the early evening.
Getting there by yacht
Measured in a straight line from the village, Opequimar is about 9.6 nautical miles away and Marina Vallarta about 9.9. Marina Nuevo Vallarta is about 10.7 nautical miles off and Marina Riviera Nayarit at La Cruz about 14.7. Following the coast adds a little to each figure. At 20 knots the run from Marina Vallarta takes around half an hour; a sailing yacht making 8 knots needs about an hour and a quarter. Our yachts do not board here: a charter leaves from one of those marinas and passes the cove on its way along the southern shore, and Los Arcos is only a short way up the coast for a stop on the same day.
On shore
Village life is gathered around the river mouth. There is a pier, a waterfront walkway shaded by palms, and fishing boats pulled up or moored beside it, with a few restaurants looking onto the sand. A footpath runs along the rocky shore toward Colomitos and continues on toward Las Ánimas for anyone who wants to cover part of the coast on foot.
What to know
By road the drive from central Puerto Vallarta takes somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes, depending on traffic. Panga times and fares are set locally and change without notice, so read the figures here as a guide rather than a timetable. We'll confirm whether a stop off the village suits your route when you book.