Yachts and boat tours in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
City in Banderas Bay on Banderas Bay
A fishing village on the northern shore of Banderas Bay, in the municipality of Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, about 25 km from Puerto Vallarta.
Yacht rentals from Puerto Vallarta
30 min by road
Near La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
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.
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Surfing
- Fishing
Punta de Mita
The headland that closes Banderas Bay to the north, in the Mexican state of Nayarit.
Maps © OpenStreetMap
About La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
Getting there by boat
Marina Riviera Nayarit at La Cruz lies inside the town, so a yacht based there leaves straight from the waterfront. From Marina Vallarta the line across the bay is about 8.8 nautical miles, a little over an hour at a steady 8 knots. From Marina Nuevo Vallarta it is about 6.3 nautical miles and from Paradise Village about 6.1, each under 50 minutes at that speed. Along the same shore, Bucerías is about 2.4 nautical miles to the east and Punta de Mita about 7.8 to the west, so La Cruz sits well for a day that works the northern side of Banderas Bay.
The town
The village has grown steadily since the late 1990s. It now has restaurants, hotels, pharmacies, medical and dental care, and inexpensive buses that run through its streets. Its harbour was renovated in 2008 and now holds the marina, and next to the docks a seafood market sells fish and shellfish caught that day. The market is open all year, which makes it an easy stop on the way to or from the boat.
At anchor off La Cruz
A cruising guide names La Cruz as one of only three places to anchor in the bay, with Yelapa and Punta de Mita. Boats lie in the open water off the town. The sources we use give no figures for depth or holding, so the captain picks the spot on the day.
The March regatta
Each March the Banderas Bay Regatta, a cruiser regatta with more than 30 years behind it, brings sailing yachts to the Riviera Nayarit side of the bay. The 33rd edition ran from 17 to 21 March 2026, and the next is set for 17 to 20 March 2027. If your day out falls in regatta week, expect more sails than usual on the water; we'll confirm the race days before you book.
What a guest should know
A charter that starts here can begin or end ashore: lunch in town, or a walk to the market to buy the day's catch. Guests coming from Puerto Vallarta by road can join the boat at La Cruz instead of a marina in the city, and cut the time spent crossing the bay.