Islas Marietas and Hidden Beach boat trip

Most Marietas trips never set foot on the islands. They are a national park, protected since a campaign started by Jacques Cousteau ended years of military bombing practice here, and only boats holding a federal permit may land passengers, on one beach. That beach is Playa del Amor, the hidden beach: a patch of sand inside a sunlit crater left by the bombs, reachable only at low tide. It is a separate, smaller booking from the usual day out, so check which one you are paying for.

The usual day is a catamaran from Nuevo Vallarta or the Puerto Vallarta terminal, about an hour each way (boats from Punta Mita take fifteen minutes). Around the islands people snorkel with a guide, and some boats carry kayaks and paddleboards. Life jackets are worn for all water activity, sunscreen is not allowed in the water and drones are banned. Blue-footed boobies and red-billed tropicbirds nest on the rocks, and from December to March humpback whales are in the bay. Some boats finish with a barbecue lunch and an open bar on a mainland beach, which makes it a day of seven hours or more.