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Nautical Sophistication
The bay out front
Banderas Bay is one of the largest bays in the Americas and it sails year-round. Condominiums facing the yachts, golf with the Pacific behind you, and open-water mornings that in season end with humpback whales in view.
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Where to stay
Homes and villas chosen for this trip.
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What to do
Experiences that sit well with this trip.
December to March
Humpback Whale Encounter
Every winter, humpback whales travel thousands of miles to give birth in the warm, protected water of Banderas Bay. A small-boat morning with a marine guide who reads behaviour rather than chases it — you keep a respectful distance, and the bay does the rest.
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Marietas Islands
A protected national park of volcanic islets where blue-footed boobies nest and the water turns an improbable clear blue. Access is capped by the park authority, so the day is planned around the permit — which is precisely what has kept it worth visiting.
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Los Arcos Snorkelling
Granite arches rising out of the water a few minutes south of the city, with a wall that drops away into deep blue. It is the closest thing Vallarta has to an aquarium you can swim in, and it works just as well for a first-timer as for someone with a hundred dives behind them.
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Private Charter to the Southern Coves
Yelapa, Quimixto, Las Ánimas: a string of coves along the southern shore that no road reaches. A private boat means you set the pace — a long lunch on the sand, a walk to a waterfall, or simply anchoring somewhere quiet until the light goes.
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Deep-Sea Sportfishing
Banderas Bay drops to more than half a kilometre deep within sight of the shore, which is why sailfish, marlin and dorado are a morning's run and not an expedition. Captains work the season rather than the clock.
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