Tehuamixtle
Bay in the Pacific Ocean off Banderas Bay
A small bay and community in the municipality of Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, on the open Pacific south of the cape that closes Banderas Bay. It is a long run by sea from the Puerto Vallarta marinas, best kept for a trip of more than one day.
Near Tehuamixtle
Los Corrales
A small fishing village at Cabo Corrientes in Jalisco, just around the cape at the southern point of Banderas Bay. It can be reached by boat, or overland by a long trip and then a hike, and it is known for its oysters.
- Fishing
Cabo Corrientes
Cabo Corrientes is the point of land that closes Banderas Bay to the south, with a lighthouse on it that dates from the early 1900s. It lies 26.9 to 29.2 nautical miles in a straight line from the bay's marinas, a full day out and back.
- Snorkeling
- Swimming
Pizota
Pizota sits on the far southern shore of Banderas Bay, 2.4 nautical miles west of Yelapa. Yachts anchor off its quiet cove for a swim and a snorkel in calm, clear water.
Yelapa
A village in the southernmost cove of Banderas Bay, in Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, with no road fit for ordinary vehicles.
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
Maps © OpenStreetMap
About Tehuamixtle
South of the cape
Tehuamixtle is a bay on the Jalisco coast, in the municipality of Cabo Corrientes, with a small community of the same name on its shore. Mexico's national statistics office counted 118 residents in 32 occupied homes at the 2020 census, and also lists the spelling Tehualmixtle. The bay lies outside Banderas Bay, down the open Pacific coast beyond Cabo Corrientes.
Oysters and an old wreck
The bay has a name for several things, and two of them are its oysters and the wreck of a shrimp boat that went down here in 1920.
Getting there by yacht
In a straight line Tehuamixtle is about 31 nautical miles from Marina Vallarta and from Marina Nuevo Vallarta. A boat cannot take the straight line, since the cape is in the way: running to Los Corrales, just around the cape, and then on down the coast comes to about 40 nautical miles from Marina Vallarta and about 39 from Marina Nuevo Vallarta. At 20 knots that is around two hours each way; a sailing yacht making 8 knots needs about five. Los Corrales sits about 12 nautical miles back up the coast, so the two fit on one route, and the bay suits a trip of more than one day better than an afternoon out.
Weather through the year
The climate is tropical savanna, with an average of about 24 °C over the year. May is the warmest month at around 27 °C and January the coolest at around 22 °C. Rain totals some 1,415 mm a year, with September the wettest month and April nearly dry.
What to know
The run back into Banderas Bay is long whichever marina you start from, so plan the return with the light in mind. We'll confirm the anchorage and what is open ashore with the captain when you book.