The sparkling waters of beautiful Banderas Bay offer a wealth of cruising delights. From family outings to floating parties or alternative lifestyle events, the protected coast of Puerto Vallarta has a cruise for every age and budget. Many tours even offer half price for children. Several day cruises are available to explore the islands dotting the coast. Excursions that include meals take visitors to watch for whales, schools of dolphins, sea turtles and giant mantas. Catamarans to exotic beaches, accessible only by boat for sightseeing, kayaking, scuba diving, tanning or hiking can be booked. Water taxis can also be hired to travel to these remote beaches.
Marietas Eco-Discovery Tour: A veteran guest on various day cruise “party boats” around North America, I was ready for a change from that type of excursion, which often includes rowdy crowds, rushed itineraries and, frequently, unexpected charges in these alleged “all-inclusive” tours.
If It Looks That Easy, It Probably Isn't!: An accomplished pianist plays Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 as if it were the melody line of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and a gifted chef prepares a perfect Grand Marnier soufflé as easily as you or I would take the lid off a container of ice cream and scoop some into a dish. But what we don’t see when we marvel at the final products of these masters is the hundreds or thousands of hours of practice, revision, training and planning that bring them to such polished levels that they make their art look easy.
Puerto Vallarta as a Homeport: It’s been two years since Puerto Vallarta’s Maritime Terminal underwent a gargantuan expansion, increasing its capacity to receive three full-size cruise ships simultaneously, along with a variety of smaller vessels. Proximity to our main artery, Fco. Medina Ascencio, results in an impressive and hard-to-miss visual feast, particularly on Wednesdays and Thursdays, days in which double and triple cruise arrivals are increasingly more common. And cruise ship passengers are major contributors to Puerto Vallarta’s tourism-based economy, with restaurants, shops and activity providers reaping the benefits of this boom for decades.
America's Cup Tour: Although I’d worked as a “two-stripe” officer on the largest cruise ship in the world prior to returning to Puerto Vallarta, I had never stepped onto a sailboat before. All I knew about America’s Cup sailboats was that they were racing vessels with gigantic sails. Clearly, I was a rookie. However, by the end of the day, I knew the difference between jibbing and tacking, had learned various starting-line strategies to outmaneuver the competition before the start, and was even grinding the winch to help propel our boat to victory!
Responsible Whale-Watching: Undoubtedly, one of the major attractions of the season are the whales that migrate to our shores from their feeding grounds along the northern coast of California, creating one of the most spectacular shows nature offers. Follow these tips to select an environmentally-responsible tour provider.
Discover Banderas Bay’s South Shore: You could spend weeks, if not months, discovering all the wonders that Vallarta has to offer; however, with more than 40 miles of coastline, it is quite tempting to see what lies beyond the city. From snorkeling and kayaking to peaceful sunbathing in secluded beaches, Vallarta’s South Shore features a number of destinations reachable by boat, suitable for day trips or overnight stays.
Learn to Sail With One Of The World's First Solo Female Navigators: Discover the joy of being on the water with American Pat Henry, one of the first women to sail around the world alone, and an international group of dynamic women cruisers with more than 300,000 ocean miles among them.
Take a Sunset Cruise: With Puerto Vallarta and the mountains looking particularly attractive from the water, and no two sunsets the same, dinner cruises that set out before the sun casts its glow are especially popular.
Sail Banderas Bay: Boasting ideal weather conditions most of the year with few craft on it, sailing doesn’t get much better than on Banderas Bay.
Humpback Whales Breach In The Bay: One of the greatest thrills you can experience inside Banderas Bay is watching the play of the humpback whales that return every year to mate and give birth.
Day Cruises: Head out for a day of beach activities at a wide variety of pretty and peaceful spots near Puerto Vallarta.
