Yachts to El Chimo

Rock under open water

El Chimo sits on the south side of Banderas Bay, across the water from Sayulita and Punta de Mita, toward the far end of the bay from the resort towns at its head. What draws divers is not coral or a beach but stone: the seabed here is broken by tall rock formations and columns that stand up from the bottom. Dive centres around the bay count it among the more unusual sites they visit.

Las Iglesias

One part of the site is known as Las Iglesias, which means The Churches in Spanish. The name comes from a group of rock columns whose shape reminds divers of the pillars and doorways of a church. Dive guides usually describe the two together, and a dive at El Chimo often includes them.

Who it suits

This is not a site for a first dive after certification. The rock reaches deep water, with dives going down to about 130 ft (40 m), and the current here can be strong. Dive centres take only experienced divers, so tell us your diving experience when you plan the day.

Getting there by boat

There is no road to a dive site, so El Chimo is reached by boat only. Dive boats report a run of roughly an hour to 80 minutes each way, depending on where they leave from. Of our boarding points, Marina Vallarta and Opequimar are on the Puerto Vallarta shore, closer to the south side of the bay than La Cruz or Nuevo Vallarta. No source we trust gives the site's exact position, so we do not quote a distance in nautical miles. We'll confirm the boarding point, the dive plan and the gear on board when you book.