Bucerías
Village in Banderas Bay on Banderas Bay
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.
Near Bucerías
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.
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.
- Whale watching
Banderas Bay Whale Grounds
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.
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.
- Swimming
Litibú Beach
A Pacific-facing beach on the north shore of the Punta de Mita peninsula, reached by boat around the point from the Banderas Bay marinas.
- Snorkeling
- Scuba diving
- Surfing
- Fishing
- and 1 more: Whale watching
Sayulita
A surf and fishing town on the Nayarit coast just north of Banderas Bay, and a long day out by boat from the bay's marinas.
- Fishing
Puerto Vallarta
A resort city on the Jalisco shore of Banderas Bay, and a base for boat days to Los Arcos, Yelapa and the Marietas Islands.
Maps © OpenStreetMap
About Bucerías
A town on the north shore
Bucerías is a beach town on the north shore of Banderas Bay, in the municipality of Bahía de Banderas in the state of Nayarit. Mexico's national statistics institute counted 16,161 residents here at the 2020 census. On the map it sits between La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, about 2.5 nautical miles to the west, and Nuevo Vallarta, about 4.3 nautical miles to the southeast. The name is said to mean a place of divers.
Getting there by yacht
None of the marinas we board from is in Bucerías itself, so a yacht day along this shore starts from one of the bay's harbours. The nearest is Marina Riviera Nayarit at La Cruz, about 2.3 nautical miles away in a straight line. Marina Nuevo Vallarta is about 4.9 nautical miles off, Marina Vallarta about 7.3 and Opequimar about 7.7. At 20 knots the run from La Cruz takes about seven minutes and the run from Marina Vallarta a little over twenty; a sailing yacht making 8 knots needs about a quarter of an hour from La Cruz and just under an hour from Marina Vallarta.
Where it fits in a day on the bay
Most guests see Bucerías from the water, on the way between the marinas of the north shore and the open water farther west. Punta de Mita lies about 10 nautical miles to the west, and the Marietas Islands about 14 nautical miles away in the same direction. Because the town is so close to La Cruz, it works best as a first or last look along the coast on a longer outing, not as a trip of its own.
What to know
Whether a boat can put guests ashore on the beach here depends on the sea on the day and on the yacht's tender. We'll confirm the landing plan with the captain when you book, along with the route and the time on the water.