Beach Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit Municipality of Bahía de Banderas Banderas Bay Riviera Nayarit
The Hidden Beach of the Marietas: a patch of sand inside an open hollow in the rock, reached by swimming through a short sea tunnel.
Reached by boat from Punta de Mita: 15 min each way. How to get there ↓
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Plan your visit to Playa del Amor
Where to stay near Playa del Amor
Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Playa del Amor.
Tours to Playa del Amor
Day trips and guided outings from Sayulita often include Playa del Amor; with a local guide you can get there without a car.
Tours from Sayulita
Yelapa & Secluded Private Beach ALL INCLUSIVE Adventure
★ 4.8 (2,559) · From US$135
How to get to Playa del Amor
- Reached by boat from Punta de Mita: 15 min each way.
- From Puerto Vallarta: about 50 min by road (~45 km)
- Nearest airport: Puerto Vallarta (PVR), 41 min by car to Sayulita
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Tours from Sayulita, near Playa del Amor
Tours, prices and ratings from Viator, checked weekly. We may earn a commission if you book.
About Playa del Amor
Playa del Amor, also called Playa Escondida or the Hidden Beach, lies on one of the Islas Marietas, two small uninhabited volcanic islands about 8 kilometers southwest of the Punta de Mita peninsula, at the northern mouth of Banderas Bay. The beach sits at the bottom of a round hollow in the island, open to the sky like a crater: a curve of pale sand roughly 45 meters long under a hole about 35 meters across, ringed by cliffs topped with grass. From the sea you see nothing of it; the only way in is a rocky tunnel of about 15 meters that you swim through when the tide allows.
The hollow is not entirely natural. In the early 20th century the Mexican government used the empty islands as a military target range, and the bombing broke up the soft volcanic rock, which the sea then kept wearing away. Protests in the late 1960s, led by Jacques Cousteau among others, helped end the testing, and the islands are now a national park, a Ramsar wetland and a UNESCO biosphere reserve, home to blue-footed and brown boobies, coral and reef fish.
Fame nearly ruined it. University of Guadalajara studies put the beach's capacity at 116 visitors a day, but by 2016 more than 2,500 people were landing on some days, and CONANP, the federal protected-areas agency, closed the islands that May so the coral could recover. Visits resumed under tight rules that still apply: about 116 people a day, groups of no more than 15 inside at once, up to 30 minutes on the sand, life jacket and helmet for the swim in, and only with an operator CONANP has authorized.
Today a visit is a short boat trip, a guided swim through the tunnel and half an hour on a beach that feels hidden from the world. You need to be a confident swimmer, and the entrance closes when the tide is too high, so even a booked visit is never guaranteed.
How to get to Playa del Amor
Drive from Puerto Vallarta to Punta de Mita: 50 min, 45 km
You can only go on a tour with a CONANP-authorized operator that specifically includes Playa del Amor; not every Marietas tour does. The shortest crossing is from Punta de Mita, about 15 to 20 minutes by boat, and Punta de Mita is about an hour's drive from Puerto Vallarta; buses to Punta Mita leave from the Walmart stop near the marina in Puerto Vallarta and from the airport pedestrian bridge. Tours also leave from Marina Vallarta and the Puerto Vallarta cruise terminal, roughly an hour each way by boat. In high season book two to four weeks ahead.
Reached by boat from Punta de Mita: 15 min each way.
Directions to Playa del Amor on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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From the nearest cities to Playa del Amor
- Puerto Vallarta · 45 km by road, 50 min to Punta de Mita, then 15 min by boat
- Tepic · 144 km by road, 2 h 10 min to Punta de Mita, then 15 min by boat
- Autlán · about 215 km by road, ~3 h 10 min to Punta de Mita, then 15 min by boat
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Before you go to Playa del Amor: hours, prices and tips
- Hours
- Tours run from about 8:00 to 17:00. The beach is generally closed to visits on Mondays and Tuesdays for conservation work. Food and Pleasure · checked Oct 2026
- Entry
- On top of the tour price you pay a conservation fee of about 125 pesos per person for the Islas Marietas National Park. Food and Pleasure · checked Oct 2026
- Time needed
- Tours usually take 2 to 4 hours with snorkeling and other stops; each group gets at most 30 minutes on the beach. Food and Pleasure · checked Oct 2026
- Best season
- The dry season, November to May, brings calmer seas and clearer water; humpback whales are best seen from December to March. Entry depends on weather and is never guaranteed. Visit Puerto Vallarta · checked Oct 2026
- Guide or tour
- Required: you can only visit with a certified guide on a tour run by a CONANP-authorized operator, and you must check that the tour includes Playa del Amor. Tours: Viator GetYourGuide Food and Pleasure · checked Oct 2026
- What to bring
- Biodegradable sunscreen only; you must know how to swim. Helmet and life jacket are provided and mandatory. Food and Pleasure · checked Oct 2026
- Rules
- About 116 visitors a day, never more than 15 inside at once. Fins and non-biodegradable sunscreen are banned. Not allowed for children under 10, adults over 65, pregnant women, or people with heart, back or neck problems or recent surgery. High tide can suspend entry. Food and Pleasure · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting Playa del Amor: what to see and do
Swim through the short rock tunnel, with helmet and life jacket, into the hollow where the beach lies.
Spend your half hour on the sand looking up at the open sky framed by the cliffs.
Snorkel around the Marietas on the same tour, over reefs with tropical fish, rays and turtles.
Watch blue-footed boobies and other seabirds on the island cliffs.
From December to March, look out for humpback whales on the boat ride.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Playa del Amor
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Playa del Amor.
Tours & activities
Day trips and guided outings from Sayulita often include Playa del Amor; with a local guide you can get there without a car.
Rental cars
Pick up a car at PVR (Puerto Vallarta): about 41 min by road to Sayulita, then 22 km more to Playa del Amor, on your own schedule.
Flights
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Puerto Vallarta (PVR), about 41 min by road from Sayulita, the base for Playa del Amor.
Travel insurance
If you plan on swimming or surfing at Playa del Amor, check that your policy covers it: some plans leave adventure activities out.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Sayulita: download a map of the way to Playa del Amor before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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Photos
When to go to Playa del Amor warm
Playa del Amor shares the climate of Sayulita, 22 km away. The best months to visit are March, April, May, and November.
Playa del Amor is best for swimming and time on the water in the warmest months (June, July, and August); in the rainiest ones (July, August, and September) expect storms in the afternoon.
See the month-by-month climate of Sayulita
Weather in Playa del Amor now and the next 7 days
Live forecast from Open-Meteo. Chance of rain is the day's highest.
The closest Pueblo Mágico: Sayulita
Sayulita is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Playa del Amor, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Closest to Playa del Amor
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Islas Marietas · Nature reserve · 1 km away
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Playa El Anclote · Beach · 9 km away
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Punta de Mita · Town · 9 km away
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Playa La Lancha · Beach · 10 km away
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Playa Careyeros · Beach · 11 km away
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Litibú · Beach · 13 km away
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Higuera Blanca · Town · 14 km away
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Playa Destiladeras · Beach · 15 km away
Near Playa del Amor
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Lists with Playa del Amor
Beaches in Nayarit · 25 Beaches near Sayulita · 42 Beaches near Puerto Vallarta · 40Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.