Las Animas Beach
Best for. Value minded travellers, families and couples who want a calm, pretty cove with easy food and a lounger, reached by a fun, cheap boat ride rather than a car.
Best spot. A palapa shaded lounger at a beachfront restaurant such as Los Conos or La Pergola, taken for the price of lunch and a couple of drinks.
Know this. There is no road here, so you arrive by panga from Boca de Tomatlan or on foot along the coastal trail, and you build the day around the boat times.
Las Animas is one of the south shore coves that reminds you Puerto Vallarta is more than its town beaches. There is no road in, so you reach it by a short water taxi across Banderas Bay, and that little boat ride is half the fun and part of the value. You step off onto a soft golden crescent backed by jungle, with calm, clear water and a row of barefoot restaurants under the palms. For a value minded traveller it is a lovely, low cost day out, because the beach is free and the only real costs are the panga and a plate of food.
The honest mechanics matter here, and they are all about the boat. Pangas run from Boca de Tomatlan, a short and cheap ride away, and from the Los Muertos pier in town for a little more, and you build your day around the return times so you are not stranded. Once you land, the deal at the beachfront restaurants is simple and good value. You take a palapa shaded lounger and pay for it with a food and drink spend rather than a set daybed fee, so a leisurely seafood lunch effectively buys you the sunbed for the afternoon.
Play it the local way. Come on the first boats to enjoy the cove before the tour groups arrive, pick a restaurant such as Los Conos or La Pergola and settle in for the lounger and lunch deal, and take a mask for the rocky edges where the snorkeling is best. There is even a small adventure park behind the sand if the family wants zip lines. It is busier and more developed than the tiny cove at Colomitos next door, but for an easy, sociable, good value beach day on the south shore, Las Animas is hard to beat.
The lounger comes with lunch
Las Animas has no daybed beach club with a cover charge. Instead the beachfront restaurants lend the loungers, and that is the value.
Do not come looking for a slick beach club with a set daybed fee and a DJ, because that is not what Las Animas is. The club layer here is the row of barefoot beachfront restaurants, places like Los Conos and La Pergola, where you take a palapa shaded lounger and pay for it simply by eating and drinking. A relaxed seafood lunch and a couple of cold drinks effectively covers your sunbed for the afternoon, which is far better value than a fixed minimum spend at a formal club. If you do want the more polished beach club scene, with proper daybeds and bottle service, that lives back in town on the Puerto Vallarta shore, a different and busier kind of day.
On the south shore of the bay
Las Animas has no road, so you reach it by water. The cheapest and quickest way is a panga water taxi from the village of Boca de Tomatlan, a short drive south of Puerto Vallarta, which takes about ten to fifteen minutes across the bay. You can also catch a longer, slightly pricier boat from the Los Muertos pier in the Romantic Zone. A scenic coastal hiking trail of a couple of miles from Boca is the free alternative for the energetic.
Whichever boat you take, note the last return time so you are not caught out, and bring cash for the fare and lunch. The beach is calm and family friendly, but there is no reliable lifeguard, so watch children and take care near the boats and rocks. Bring reef safe sunscreen and a mask for snorkeling, and for a livelier beach club scene head back to the town shore in Puerto Vallarta.
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Las Animas is a free boat access beach, but tell us your dates and party size and we will help arrange a daybed or table at a beach club in Puerto Vallarta. We reply by email.
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Common questions about Las Animas Beach
How do you get to Las Animas Beach?
Only by water or on foot, as there is no road. The quickest and cheapest way is a panga water taxi from Boca de Tomatlan, a short drive south of Puerto Vallarta, which takes about ten to fifteen minutes. You can also take a longer boat from the Los Muertos pier in town, or hike the coastal trail of a couple of miles from Boca. Always check the last return boat.
Is Las Animas Beach free?
The beach itself is public and free. Your costs are the panga fare to get there and, if you want one, a lounger, which the beachfront restaurants lend in exchange for a food and drink spend rather than a set fee. That makes a lunch and a sunbed for the afternoon a good value day out.
Is Las Animas good for swimming and snorkeling?
Yes. The cove is usually calm, warm and clear with gentle waves, which suits swimming and families, and the rocky edges of the bay offer decent snorkeling. There is no reliable lifeguard, so watch children and take care near the boats by the pier. Conditions are typical rather than guaranteed, so use your own judgement.
Do you need to pay for a lounger at Las Animas?
Not as a separate daybed fee. The beachfront restaurants lend palapa shaded loungers to guests who order food and drinks, so a relaxed lunch effectively covers your sunbed for the afternoon. It is worth confirming any minimum spend with the restaurant when you sit down, as details vary and are to be confirmed.
Is Las Animas better than the Puerto Vallarta town beaches?
It depends on the day you want. Las Animas is a calmer, prettier, jungle backed cove with a fun boat ride and good value lounger and lunch deals, quieter than the town. The town beaches such as Los Muertos are livelier, easier to reach on foot and have a fuller beach club scene. Come to Las Animas for a relaxed escape and value.
