Secluded beaches in Puerto Vallarta?

My first post on here…yay! Returning to Puerto Vallarta this November and don't want to make the same mistake we did 10 years ago. We didn't do enough research and ended up along a murky watered beach and seemed smoggy.

I wanted to see if anybody has traveled north/south from where the ship is and have come across some beautiful, secluded beaches. All we are looking for is a nice, quiet beach for some relaxation and some good, local food. It's just my husband and I, no kids.

I've read about Burro's Beach, Las Animas, but that one is only from a water taxi which I don't know how 'safe' that is.

Any recommendations would be great! Thank you and look forward to posting on here!:)

Hi, I think the only way to find a secluded beach is to take one of the water taxis. The rest of the shoreline is built up with restaurants/hotels etc. since Puerto Vallarta is a big vacation/snow bird area.

IF you don't get many answers here from cruisers then I'd go to the Puerto Vallarta forum on the sister site to this one , Trip Advisor, and ask the folks there who either live in PV or visit it regularly.

Here is a link if you don't know your way around Trip Advisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g150793-i46-Puerto_Vallarta.html

We were on a countryside tour last time that ended on a nice beach in nearby Bucerias and we plan to take the tour to Sayulita on this trip.

I just wanted to add that we are usually do it yourself cruisers who just find a taxi driver and make a deal.

We found that the prices asked to take us to these other areas was actually more expensive than taking a Carnival tour so that is what we ended up doing.

We hesitate to recommend "secluded beaches" since the reality is that none of the PV area beaches are as nice to what folks might be used to in the Caribbean or even South Pacific. But there are some options, which many PV lovers (we live there 2 months a year) enjoy...although none are going to equal what you find in the Caribbean when it comes to the water.

One option is to take a water taxi to the somewhat remote Yelapa. This is an old Indian Village that has a beach, food, some venders (including a very famous Pie Lady), etc. Up until only a few years ago Yelapa did not even have electricity...but that has since been rectified.

Another option is to go to Mismaloya which is a relatively small sandy beach about 9 miles south of PV. You can get there on a bus from the Southside of PV (Romantic Zone) for 8 Euros. There are a few restaurants/cafes at that beach area.

Another option is to go North of Puerto Vallarta where there are several options such as the town of Bucerias (you can Google the place) which has a long-wide sandy beach with plenty of restaurants. And also to the North is a beach called Destiladeras which is actually one of the nicer beaches in the region. But we really hesitate to recommend this beach to cruisers since it is pretty far from PV, a bit remote, and not so easy to access.

I would add that DW and I are beach people, and also big time lovers of PV. In our minds, we love PV despite the beaches since none of them are up to the standards we can find elsewhere in the world. The attraction of PV is not the beaches as much as the entire "package" or atmosphere. DW and I could live anywhere in the world during the winter and certainly could choose places that have fabulous beaches (parts of Thailand come to mind). But we choose to accept the less then ideal beach situation in PV because we just love the city, its people, the atmosphere, and the near perfect winter weather. Having traveled all over the world (to about 100 countries) PV is still the place we call "home" during most of the winter. And we can think of no other place where we rather spend our winters.

Hank

Personally, I would hesitate being anywhere "secluded" around PV. In Mexican cities I believe in safety in numbers.

JMO

Personally, I would hesitate being anywhere "secluded" around PV. In Mexican cities I believe in safety in numbers.

 

JMO

You sound knowledgeable! Not sure we would agree, but we have only spent a little more then a year living in the PV area. Always looking to learn new things :) So with your extensive expertise, would you think that places like Mismaloya, Bucerias or Destiladarus are too secluded? And what spots around PV would you recommend we avoid because they are too "secluded." We will be living there for a couple of months again this winter and need your advice on what to avoid :).

Hank

Personally, I would hesitate being anywhere "secluded" around PV. In Mexican cities I believe in safety in numbers.

 

JMO

Like Hank we only have positive experiences in and around PVR. We stay there each winter for about 5 months since a few years. NO problems in safety ever, in town, in villages around, beaches etc.

Hank mentioned already some nice beaches, but indeed beaches are different from the caribean etc.

If you are in PV just for a day, stick to the beaches mentioned.

Maybe I shouldn't be reading the newspapers and spend more time reading this forum :)

My first post on here…yay! Returning to Puerto Vallarta this November and don't want to make the same mistake we did 10 years ago. We didn't do enough research and ended up along a murky watered beach and seemed smoggy.

 

I wanted to see if anybody has traveled north/south from where the ship is and have come across some beautiful, secluded beaches. All we are looking for is a nice, quiet beach for some relaxation and some good, local food. It's just my husband and I, no kids.

 

I've read about Burro's Beach, Las Animas, but that one is only from a water taxi which I don't know how 'safe' that is.

 

Any recommendations would be great! Thank you and look forward to posting on here!:)

Banderas Bay (Puerto Vallarta) is part of the Pacific Ocean. The water clarity is not what you would find in Caribbean. Murky water was not the result of poor research. It is what it is and we have experienced fluke red tides and the odd jelly fish infestation during the past 14 years we have been going to Vallarta.

Secluded beach and food service are two things not found together. You need to have local/tourist traffic to support a beach bar/restaurant. Off the beaten path locations can be what you are looking for. A water taxi may not be the best way to get there.

Water taxis can be a risky adventure for cruise passengers. Not from a "safety" point of view, more from a potential to miss your ship concern. We're not talking a 10-minute boat ride to a tourist beach like Cabo. A trip to any beach destination on the south shore of the bay involves getting to the Municipal pier on Vallarta's south side and one or more taxi legs along the shore. Yelapa is 15+ miles (as the crow flies) from the Muni Pier. http://www.yelapa.info/transportationnf1.html

You might consider booking the Las Caletas excursion through the ship.

Enjoy!

PV was our down port day on our last cruise, and we ended up taking the city bus to Mismaloya. I can't recommend this highly enough! It was fantastic. The bus dropped us right across the street. We then walked down to the beach and found a prime spot under an umbrella. We did have to order some food or drinks in order to use the facility, but we would have done that anyway. Got a few Mexican Cokes and ended up with a few shrimp quesadillas and guacamole and fresh chips as well. The food was great and the service was outstanding!

The kids really enjoyed playing in the water (as did we), and we just spent a relaxing afternoon playing, lounging, reading, etc. At one point a vendor came by selling shrimp and fish on big bamboo skewers. We bought some (for something like $2 each), and all had a hearty snack. It was seriously the best shrimp I've ever had! And the fish was fantastic too. So fresh, it must have been caught within the last few hours.

After we were drowsy from the sun and sand, we took the bus back into town. The kids all took a little snooze, and then we wandered the Malecon and flea market on our way back to the ship. All in all, a FANTASTIC day! And a great bargain! I think our food bill was about $30 total, and the bus fare was about 50 cents per person. MUCH better than the taxi vans offering to take us all there for $75! (We had a group of 8).