A Day on the Bay of Banderas

The Bay of Banderas and the coastline around Puerto Vallarta boast some of the most spectacular waters in all of México. I’ve stood on the shore and admired the view of the bay, and dined in restaurants on the ocean front. Wouldn’t it be nice to actually set sail on the bay and discover some of its hidden spaces and beautiful beaches?

Our Majahuitas Luxury Yacht and Snorkel tour with Vallarta Adventures is supposed to do exactly that. Sounds like a fun outing. Let’s check this out.

Our call time was 6:45 am. The sky was still dark when I left my room. As we drove toward the marina, we watched the sky lighten from black to steel blue. The roads around downtown Puerto Vallarta, or PV as it’s called, are pretty bad. That’s not even counting the cobblestone roads. Fortunately, the ride to the port was relatively short. The fact that we were still half asleep probably made the bumpy streets less noticeable.

As we walked out to the dock, we discovered our luxury yacht was actually a luxury catamaran. There were quite a few passengers but it was by no means crowded; plenty of room to stretch out on deck if you wanted. Or luxuriate inside the cabin.

We left the shelter of the marina and headed out onto the bay. All my cares seemed to have been left behind on the shore.

Banderas Bay is the third largest bay in México. It is bordered by the states of Nayarit and Jalisco. The bay’s coastline is somewhere between 50 and 60 miles long, depending on your source. And, depending on your source and your definition of a bay, Banderas Bay is number 21 in the world, right behind San Francisco Bay. You can drive along a road that hugs most of the bay’s shoreline. However, the road turns inland leaving the southernmost 15 or so miles of the bay accessible only by boat.

Why is it called Bay of Banderas? Bay of Banderas (Bahía de Banderas) is Spanish for Bay of Flags. Legend has it that sometime around 1525, when the Spanish arrived in the bay, they were ‘greeted’ by thousands of native peoples. The native peoples came out of the jungle, weapons in hand, waving colorful flags, and intent on defending their homeland.

Above and below the water

With the sun well on its way along its arc across the sky, we began to get a glimpse of other things out here with us on the bay. One of those other things was the Carnival Panorama, which we passed as it was pulling in to port.

Look overhead and you might see a flock of Brewster’s Booby (I think that’s the right species) circling above your catamaran. Suddenly, one or two of the birds will tuck in their wings and dive from a height of 20 to 50 feet above the water to catch fish that you can’t see from the surface. Keep a sharp eye on the bird as it surfaces and you might catch a glimpse of it devouring the fish it just caught before it takes to the air again.

Birds are not the only ones interested in what is swimming below the surface. Banderas Bay is a sport fisher’s paradise; tuna, marlin, sailfish, manta rays, shellfish, and other fish are caught in these waters. If you enjoy fabulous, fresh seafood, you’ll find a ton of it in PV’s restaurants. Some vendors even sell their catch right there on the shore, especially around Playa de Los Muertos (Los Muertos Beach). There you can buy grilled shrimp on a stick, freshly shucked oysters, and fresh ceviche. You can’t get any fresher seafood unless you catch it yourself.

If you’re here at the right time of year, and if you’re lucky, you might see humpback whales spy-hopping or turning up their flukes. In fact, the bay is a breeding ground for humpbacks. We did see a whale, but it was too far away to identify what type it was, much less get a decent photo of it. (If cetaceans interest you, there are tours that are dedicated to whale watching on the bay.) Dolphins also frequent these waters.

Speaking of waters, it was pretty calm out on the bay; bright sunshine, light breeze. A very nice day to be out sailing. No wonder whales detour from their migration route to stay and play here.

On board our catamaran, the staff was busy preparing delightful drinks and mouthwatering hors d’oeuvres for us to enjoy. Some of the passengers took the opportunity to relax. Our group spent the time getting to know each other in between sips of our drinks and bites of the appetizers.

Majahuitas Cove

We dropped anchor at Majahuitas Cove for some snorkeling. This is pretty much a secluded spot; you don’t really see it until you get right upon it. As a matter of fact, even when you are pulling up to the cove, it doesn’t look like much. The jungle seems to be rising right out of the rocks. Zoom out and nothing really grabs your eye. But looks can be deceiving.

I stayed aboard. For some reason, though I love being in the water, I tend to have issues with snorkel masks slipping off my face, leading to me ingesting sea water when I should be breathing air. Those that did strap on snorkel and fins reported seeing a collection of fish, a few turtles, and some sea urchins among the reef, as promised by the tour’s description. The tour’s description also says Majahuitas Cove is one of PV’s best snorkeling areas. That may have something to do with its relatively secluded location among the rocks and jungle, and its orientation to the Pacific Ocean. From the account our group gave when they climbed back on board, it certainly was a fantastic spot.

Majahuitas Beach

A short time later (which amounted to basically sailing just around the corner) we arrived at Majahuitas Beach.  I think this is a private beach. But you can visit on excursions like this Luxury Yacht & Snorkel Tour we are on. Or you can rent it for special events like weddings. There’s even a beach club just steps from the water’s edge.

With the bay in front, and the Pacific Ocean off to your left, you bask in beautiful views of the waters surrounding PV. Behind you, the Sierra Madre mountains seem to rise up out of the jungle. Though Majahuitas is a beach, it backs right up to a tropical rainforest.

With this scene in front of me, I was completely captivated.  I stripped down to my swim trunks, headed for the back of the cat, and dove in. The water was a mite chillier than I expected but I got used to it quickly. The shore was just a short swim away. If you take this tour, you should know the only way to get to shore is to swim there. There is no dock or marina.

The beach itself was a carpet of latte-colored sand. Coarse sand. I figured it must be a young beach because the grains of sand were larger and rougher than beaches in, say, the Caribbean. I also noticed, when I waded back into the water from the shoreline, there was a strong undertow. Not strong enough to knock you off your feet, but it is strong enough to get your attention.

We were able to enjoy a wide variety of activities on the beach. Waiting for us were kayaks, paddle boards, and lily pads. If you really wanted to get your adrenaline pumping, they had a Banana bus running. A banana bus is an inflatable double boat towed by a motor boat. Because it is a twin-hulled craft, it provided a ride that was kinda tame, in my opinion. But don’t let that assessment fool you. When the tow boat got up to speed and made some of those tight turns the ride is known for, we did lose a few people. You could hear their squeals/screams of delight (and surprise) as they lost their grip and were flung into the bay. (I’m still kicking myself for not bringing my GoPro to record that.)

At what served as a bar, the tour provided refreshments including drinks like tamarind and fresa. You had a choice of three kinds of beer: Pacifico, Pacifico, and Pacifico. I developed a taste for tamarind drinks during my time in Curaçao, so I had to get a tamarind agua fresca. It was very refreshing on this warm day.

Or, if you just wanted to relax, there were a few hammocks and a swing underneath the palm trees inviting you to unplug even further. For some of you reading this, this vista may be your idea of paradise.

A photographer came along on our trip. Somehow, she seemed to be everywhere, and photographed everything. I don’t think there was any activity that any member of our group engaged in that wasn’t photographed. If you like, you can buy a disc of photos of you and your group as the yacht sails back to the dock.

Our catamaran was the first one to arrive at the beach. When it came time for us to reluctantly go back ‘home’, there were four cats anchored there, including ours. One featured an enthusiastic deck hand, microphone in hand, hyping up his passengers (and everyone within earshot) as music blared from the boat’s speakers.

Happily, the luxury didn’t stop at the beach. The open bar was still open. While we were out enjoying ourselves on the beach, the crew had been hard at work on board preparing snack trays for the voyage back. Your snack tray might include grapes, cheeses, dates, bread, salmon, prosciutto, and a brownie. A chocolate brownie. A chocolate brownie made with Mexican chocolate. (Yes, I most certainly did bring home some Mexican chocolate and some Mexican vanilla. IYKYK.)

The marina had come to life by the time we returned. Two large cruise ships were in port; Carnival Panorama and an NCL ship. A few adventurous cruise ship passengers were up parasailing. A mix of vacationers and locals streamed by the marina. And this was on a Tuesday.

On my first visit to PV, we arrived via cruise ship through these waters. Back then, our group just disembarked, walked down the dock, and headed off to our zip-lining excursion. We paid no attention to the bay. We had no idea of its history or what it meant to the people of PV. What a difference it made this time to get out and see firsthand what the Bay of Banderas has to offer.

And those cares I said I left on the shore when we began our cruise? I left them there. They’ve been replaced by the memories of this exciting and at the same time chill experience on the bay.

Note: I was hosted on this trip to Puerto Vallarta by Cross Border Xpress (CBX) and the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board. All opinions are my own.

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