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    Mismaloya beach and cove, Jalisco

    Photo by colorqueeny, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Sand and boats on Mismaloya beach, Jalisco

    Photo by David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Houses of Mismaloya village among the trees, Jalisco

    Photo by colorqueeny, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Mismaloya

    Village Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Municipality of Puerto Vallarta Banderas Bay

    Village and calm cove beach where The Night of the Iguana was filmed in 1963, with Los Arcos offshore and the El Edén river jungle up the valley.

    From Puerto Vallarta: 20 min by car (16 km by road) How to get there ↓

    Near here

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    Plan your visit to Mismaloya

    Where to stay near Mismaloya

    Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Mismaloya.

    Hotels in Mismaloya Houses on Vrbo

    Tours to Mismaloya

    Day trips and guided outings from Sayulita often include Mismaloya; with a local guide you can get there without a car.

    Puerto Vallarta City Tour: Malecon, Mismaloya & Tequila Tasting ★ 4.1 (113) · From US$15
    Find tours on Viator GetYourGuide

    How to get to Mismaloya

    • From Puerto Vallarta: about 20 min by road (~16 km)
    • Nearest airport: Puerto Vallarta (PVR), 41 min by car to Sayulita
    Rent a car at PVR Flights to PVR

    Route, map and directions ↓

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    Popular tours to Mismaloya

    Puerto Vallarta City Tour: Malecon, Mismaloya & Tequila Tasting ★ 4.1 (113) 10 h 30 min From US$15
    Fun Horseback Tour in Mismaloya ★ 5.0 (41) 3 h From US$80
    Mismaloya Waterfalls and Mountain Hike. Full-Day tour ★ 5.0 (36) 8 h From US$127
    Bioluminescence-Beach-rio-tasting in Mismaloya + transport ★ 5.0 (21) 4 h From US$99
    Beginner Scuba Diving Exploration in the Arches of Mismaloya ★ 5.0 (20) 3 h From US$198

    Tours, prices and ratings from Viator, checked weekly. We may earn a commission if you book.

    About Mismaloya

    Mismaloya is a small village and beach on the south shore of Banderas Bay, on Highway 200 about 12 km south of Puerto Vallarta's Zona Romántica, where the Mismaloya River reaches the sea in a jungle-backed cove. The name comes from the Nahuatl michmaloyan, "the place where fish are caught by hand". In the 2020 census the village had 561 inhabitants.

    It is the place where modern Puerto Vallarta began. In 1963 John Huston chose the cove to film The Night of the Iguana, from Tennessee Williams' play, with Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr; at the time there was no road from Vallarta, and the publicity around the film and around Burton's affair with Elizabeth Taylor put the town on the world map. The sets and crew quarters were built on the hill at the south end of the cove. They were open to visitors until the 1990s, but the ruins have long been closed to the public. A path at the south end of the beach runs under a rock arch along the shore; it was built for the bus that appears in the film.

    Today the beach is about 350 m of golden sand in a sheltered cove with calm, clear water, good for families. Palapa restaurants serve grilled fish and cold beer and lend chairs, umbrellas, bathrooms and showers to their customers, while the Barceló resort, once La Jolla de Mismaloya, fills the north end. Boatmen sell snorkel trips to Los Arcos, the granite islets just offshore, and pelicans fish close to the boats. Up the river valley are the Vallarta zoo, the Mamá Lucía tequila distillery and El Edén, the jungle river where Predator was filmed.

    How to get to Mismaloya

    Drive from Puerto Vallarta: 20 min, 16 km

    Mismaloya is on Federal Highway 200, about 12 km south of the Zona Romántica. White buses marked Mismaloya or Boca leave from the corner of Basilio Badillo and Constitución in the Zona Romántica about every 20 minutes (10 pesos in January 2026); the ride takes about 25 minutes. By car, follow Highway 200 south towards Barra de Navidad; there is parking by the beach. Boca de Tomatlán, where the water taxis leave, is 4 km further on.

    Directions to Mismaloya on Google Maps

    Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.

    Where to stay Hotels in Mismaloya Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Mismaloya. See prices →

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    From the nearest cities to Mismaloya

    Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

    Before you go to Mismaloya: hours, prices and tips

    Entry
    The beach restaurants share their chairs, umbrellas, bathrooms and showers with customers who eat and drink there. PuertoVallarta.net · checked Oct 2026
    Best time of day
    Arrive before 10 am to get a front-row palapa; the sheltered cove has calm, wave-free water. PuertoVallarta.net · checked Oct 2026
    Best season
    The rainy season runs from June to October, with the heaviest rain from July to September; November to May is dry. Wikipedia · checked Oct 2026
    What to bring
    Cash: most businesses here are cash only. Wikivoyage · checked Oct 2026

    Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.

    Visiting Mismaloya: what to see and do

    Swim in the calm water of the cove and eat grilled fish at a beachfront palapa.
    Take a panga or snorkel trip to Los Arcos, under ten minutes offshore.
    Walk the shore path under the rock arch at the south end, built for The Night of the Iguana.
    Visit the Vallarta zoo and the Mamá Lucía tequila distillery in the village.
    Go up the valley to El Edén to swim in the river where Predator was filmed.
    Catch a bus on to Boca de Tomatlán or the Vallarta Botanical Gardens.

    Plan your trip

    Places to stay in Mismaloya

    Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Mismaloya.

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    Tours & activities

    Day trips and guided outings from Sayulita often include Mismaloya; with a local guide you can get there without a car.

    Viator GetYourGuide

    Rental cars

    Pick up a car at PVR (Puerto Vallarta): about 41 min by road to Sayulita, then 41 km more to Mismaloya, on your own schedule.

    EconomyBookings Discover Cars

    Flights

    The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Puerto Vallarta (PVR), about 41 min by road from Sayulita, the base for Mismaloya.

    Kiwi.com

    Travel insurance

    Medical and trip cover for Mexico, by the week or month.

    SafetyWing

    Mobile data

    Signal can drop away from Sayulita: download a map of the way to Mismaloya before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.

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    Photos

    When to go to Mismaloya warm

    Mismaloya shares the climate of Sayulita, 41 km away. The best months to visit are March, April, May, and November.

    See the month-by-month climate of Sayulita

    The closest Pueblo Mágico: Sayulita

    Palm-shaded street of shops and stalls in the center of Sayulita, Nayarit warm
    Nayarit Sayulita

    Sayulita is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Mismaloya, with places to stay, food, and more to see.

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    Near Mismaloya

    Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.