Getting here

Getting to Chimo from Puerto Vallarta

2026-09-16 · 3 min read

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Chimo sits about thirty kilometres south of Puerto Vallarta along the coastline, in the municipality of Cabo Corrientes. There is no paved road to the village. There are three ways in and none of them is quick, which is precisely why the beaches stay empty.

1. By panga from Boca de Tomatlán

The most common route, and the most beautiful one.

Boca de Tomatlán is a fishing village about forty minutes from the Puerto Vallarta airport. You get there by taxi, or on the local bus that leaves from the corner of Basilio Badillo and Constitución in the Zona Romántica — the same one that goes to Mismaloya.

From there the pangas leave. A panga is an open fishing boat that works as a water taxi; it is how this whole coast moves. Service runs daily, roughly 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Reference fares along the corridor, so you have a sense of the scale:

Destination	Approximate fare	Time
Playa Colomitos	$50 MXN	5 min
Las Ánimas	$60 MXN	10 min
Quimixto	$80 MXN	15 min
Majahuitas	$90 MXN	20 min
Yelapa	$120 MXN	30 min

Chimo is further south than all of them. Beyond Yelapa there is no fixed published schedule, and the ride is usually arranged with a boatman. If you stay with us, we handle it: send us your flight and someone will be waiting.

One detail that changes the plan: the last boat leaves in the afternoon. If you land at night you will not reach Chimo that day. Sleep in Vallarta and travel in the morning.

2. By private boat from Puerto Vallarta

From Marina Vallarta the run to Chimo takes about two and a half hours. This is the option for groups, families and anyone bringing luggage or gear, because there is no practical limit on what you load.

Split between several people it stops being expensive, and it has one advantage: you leave when you want and stop where you want. The route passes Las Ánimas, Quimixto, Majahuitas and Yelapa.

3. Overland, via El Tuito

The long way, and the more interesting one if you have the day.

Take Highway 200 south to El Tuito, 46 kilometres from Puerto Vallarta, roughly an hour's drive. El Tuito is the seat of the Cabo Corrientes municipality: it sits at 1,085 metres and runs five to ten degrees cooler than the coast. There is a two-hundred-year-old stone church, panela and Oaxaca cheese, coffee, honey, and the raicilla distilleries — Cabo Corrientes is an official stop on Jalisco's Raicilla Route.

From El Tuito the dirt road begins. It is roughly three hours and you need a high-clearance vehicle. Road conditions change in the rainy season, so it is worth asking before you set out.

If you come this way, it is worth splitting it over two days and adding Mayto — a twelve-kilometre open beach with a sea turtle camp that has run since 2005 — and Tehuamixtle, the oyster bay, where divers visit a shrimp boat that sank in 1920.

What to bring, without fail

• Cash in pesos. There is no ATM in Chimo.
• Your medication. There is a health post but rarely a doctor, and no pharmacy.
• Repellent, sunscreen and a power bank.
• A dry bag if you are loading gear onto the boat.

If the sea turns

It is a small harbour and the port authority can close it. If that happens on your dates, we move you at no cost. We would rather change your day than put you in an open boat in a heavy swell.

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