All pvr tours · Nuevo Vallarta
A full day on a small boat from the Paradise Village pier in Nuevo Vallarta, built around the swim through the rock tunnel into the Hidden Beach. Pick it if the crater is the reason you came: most Marietas tours never go inside, and this listing says entry is guaranteed.
All pvr tours runs this trip from the public pier next to the Paradise Village hotel in Nuevo Vallarta, just north of Puerto Vallarta across the state line in Nayarit. The day starts on board with a continental breakfast and a briefing from the guides. Then the boat heads out across Banderas Bay to the Marietas, two uninhabited volcanic islands that CONANP has protected as a national park since 2005.
The main event is the Hidden Beach (Playa del Amor, also called Playa Escondida) on Isla Redonda: a round crater open to the sky with a small beach at the bottom. The only way in is by water. The listing describes a swim of roughly 80 metres through a rock tunnel in a life jacket, and then 15 to 20 minutes on the sand before you swim back out. The park caps visits at 116 people a day and only lets permitted operators land, which is why most boats skip it. After the crater you snorkel at other spots around the islands, with a light lunch and a domestic open bar on the way home.
Now the caveats. The listing says entry is "guaranteed", but the tunnel only works at low tide and calm swell, and the park can suspend landings on the day. Expect an honest captain to call it off if the sea is wrong. The swim is real too: you go through in a life jacket and, under the park's rules, without fins, sometimes against a surge. The age window is tight (no children under 10, nobody over 60), and the listing also mentions a government tax for the Hidden Beach access bracelet, so ask whether it's already in your price. The CONANP park fee is 125 MXN per person.
Board at the public pier next to the Paradise Village hotel. Continental breakfast, then the guides walk you through the swim, the gear and the park rules.
The ride out to the islands from Nuevo Vallarta. In winter, keep an eye out for humpback whales on the way.
Life jacket on, fins off. You swim roughly 80 metres through the rock tunnel with the guides, spend 15 to 20 minutes inside the crater, then swim back to the boat.
The boat moves to other snorkel spots around the islands. Mask, snorkel and fins are on board.
A light lunch and drinks from the open bar on the crossing back to the same pier.
★★★★★Top notch experience! We have been on many and came back because we loved this one so much the first time.
★★★★★This activity was amazing. The island and beach far exceeded our expectations.
★★★★★We had a good experience with this tour team. They helped us a lot such as swimming and snorkeling.
★★★★★Amazing! What a day, it was the best part of our entire trip! [...] don't take the swim lightly.
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The listing says entry is guaranteed, and it's built around the landing. The tunnel still depends on the tide and the swell on the day, and the park can close the beach. If it's unsafe, nobody goes in. Our Hidden Beach guide explains the rules.
The listing says roughly 80 metres through the tunnel, in a life jacket and without fins. You then get 15 to 20 minutes on the beach before swimming back out.
From age 10. Children under 10, people over 60, pregnant women and non-swimmers can't join. For younger kids, the Los Arcos snorkel trip takes children from 8.
The Paradise Village public pier in Nuevo Vallarta, next to the Paradise Village hotel. The boat brings you back to the same pier.
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A full day with the Hidden Beach swim guaranteed by the listing, snorkelling, breakfast and lunch. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
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