Hike from Boca de Tomatlan to Playa Las Animas - Puerto Vallarta
The Boca de Tomatlan Trail is full of secluded beaches, miles and miles of sand as far as the eyes can see.
Table of Contents
The Hike
The Beginner’s Guide to Hike from Boca de Tomatlan to Playa Las Animas in Puerto Vallarta
If you’re visiting Puerto Vallarta for the first time, you can’t miss this hike! Get out of the city for the day and explore some of the most beautiful beaches the west coast of Mexico has to offer. You’ll walk by stunning vistas, expansive and empty beaches as far as your eyes can see, crystal clear turquoise water, and quite a bit of wildlife throughout the jungle. Grab your pack, head to a bus or boat and get to Boca de Tomatlan for a hike that will make you want to return to Puerto Vallarta as soon as possible!
The hike from Boca de Tomatlan takes 2 hours if you don’t make any stops. Most people plan for 4 to 6 hours on this hike.
The trail starts at Boca de Tomatlan and continues through jungle and along beaches to Playa Las Animas.
What You’ll Need
This is an easy to moderate hike, with quite a lot of stairs, inclines and declines through hilly jungle near the beginning. The hike flattens out to long beaches and rock-paths towards the second half, so as long as you pack comfortable shoes or sturdy sandals (for those who are comfortable hiking in straps), than you should be doing great! You’ll want to bring a hat and plenty of sunscreen, a beach towel and swimsuit if you’d like to swim or lounge on one of the secluded beaches, ample water, and a couple snack bars. Don’t worry about bringing full meals, there are a couple great restaurants you can stop at along the hike, as well as plenty of places to eat in Boca and along Playa Las Animas. Depending on the weather and season, mosquitos can become a nuisance on this trail, so bring a small bottle of mosquito repellent just in case.
The hike from Boca to Las Animas takes about 2 hours if you don’t stop along the way. However, it is more than likely that you’ll make frequent stops, because the hike is gorgeous and you’ll want to soak up as much of the beauty of these beaches as possible, so you should plan a full 4 to 6 hours to not be in a rush and be able to move at a leisurely pace. The trail from Boca to Las Animas is 2.5 miles (4 kilometers).
If you’re looking for where to eat in Puerto Vallarta, check out our favorite restaurants in Zona Romantica.
Palm trees will guide you from Boca de Tomatlan to Playa Las Animas on this tropical adventure.
How to Get to Boca de Tomatlan from Puerto Vallarta
There are two options to get to Boca de Tomatlan from Puerto Vallarta, bus and boat. The bus is the cheapest option at just a dollar or two a ticket, but can take up to an hour and requires navigating the bus schedule. The boat is much more expensive costing $25-$30 roundtrip per person and is sparceley available (only when the water is calm enough). It’s just a 20 minute ride, but is an unreliable mode or transportation since the boats are often not running.
Get to Boca de Tomatlan by Water Taxi / “Pengas”
Head to Playa Los Muertos Pier along the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta’s Zona Romantica. As you walk towards the pier, on your left-hand side will be a water taxi stand. This is the easiest way to get your water taxi pass. Locally, the water taxis are known as “pengas”. They charged us a flat rate of $25-$30 roundtrip. Find 2022 one-way prices below for reference. Either way, they charge the same rates to everyone, so there is no use in bartering here. The water taxis depart from Playa Los Muertos Pier about every 45 minutes starting at 10am. Make sure to tell them that you’ll be returning from Playa Las Animas, and they will give you a time to be back at Playa Las Animas Pier for your ride back. You do not need to take the same boat back that you took there. The last boat heads back to Puerto Vallarta at 6:00pm (18:00). You’ll also find boats to Yelapa and directly to Las Animas. We recommend taking a day trip to Yelapa, but if you’re doing this hike—save Yelapa for a different day!
If you’d like plenty of time for your hike and relaxing at the beaches, we recommend departing for Boca de Tomatlan with the earliest boat at 10:00am. We had a late start to the day and departed around noon, and we really regret that. We didn’t have nearly enough time to relax on the beaches, but we were still able to make a few stops along the way for photos. We departed back to Puerto Vallarta around 5:00pm from Playa Las Animas and honestly wish we had more time!
Get to Boca de Tomatlan by Bus
You can catch the bus from Puerto Vallarta to Boca de Tomatlan at the corner of Basilio Badillo and Constitución Street in the Zona Romantica. The bus is white and orange, and will be going to Mismaloya Beach in the southern district. The busses are also labeled with a sign that says “Mismaloya” and “Boca”. The tickets will cost about 20 pesos for a one-way. This is a much more economical option, but may take a little more planning than just booking the roundtrip with the water taxis. Busses and taxis do not drive to Playa Las Animas, so you’ll need to take a water taxi back to Boca de Tomatlan from Playa Las Animas.
Unless you want to hike all the way back to Boca de Tomatlan to catch the bus back, you’ll need to purchase a water taxi ticket at the pier once you arrive to Playa Las Animas to get back to Boca de Tomatlan or Puerto Vallarta. Depending on the water taxi, it may make connections in Boca de Tomatlan, so it can turn into more of a process than what you’re looking for after your day hiking!
However, since the water taxis are sometimes not running from the Los Muertos Pier in Puerto Vallarta now, more and more travelers are frequenting the bus or a regular taxi/uber to get to Boca de Tomatlan, so this is actually now quite a popular route.
Finding the Trail in Boca de Tomatlan
If you’ve taken the water taxi into Boca, you will be dropped off at the pier on the north side of the beach. From there, you’ll walk down a dirt road to the mouth of the river that goes down the center of the beach. Alongside the beach are a few restaurants you can grab a bite at, purchase some water, or pop in to use the toilet. Boca de Tomatlan is a peaceful fishing village that also has an incredible beach. Feel free to spend some time relaxing here before starting the journey, but just keep in mind that the most beautiful beaches are towards the end of your hike!
If you’ve take the bus or a taxi to Boca, walk straight down the road towards the ocean. On your righthand side you will see the beach and boats. Turn to your left and continue down that path until you reach the pedestrian bridge, where you will cross to begin the hike on the main trail.
(2022 Update): The little bridge in Boca de Tomatlan was destroyed in recent years by a hurricane. Instead of crossing the river by the pedestrian bridge, there’s a little extra walking required but you can still easily get to the other side where the trail begins.
To find the trail, follow the river inland until you find an area that connects to the other side. There are now some signs that point towards the trail to Colomitos Cove.
Crossing the pedestrian bridge in Boca de Tomatlan to the start of the trail to Playa Las Animas (the bridge was unfortunately destroyed in 2021 by a hurricane)
The Stops Along the Trail from Boca to Las Animas (Beaches & more)
1. Boca de Tomatlan
The trail is marked with sporadic signs showing the way to Colomitos, but as you walk through the southern edge of Boca de Tomatlan, you’ll see that there are many residential paths off the trail that can be misleading. To stay on track, hug the coastline and avoid walking too close to people’s homes. Once you reach the jungle, the path swerves upwards, and you start the most strenuous part of the hike.
It takes about 40 minutes to hike from Boca de Tomatlan to Colomitos Cove and is about 1 mile in total (1.6 kilometers).
Once you reach the cliffs at the edge of Boca de Tomatlan, the trail turn upwards as you climb up into the jungle.
View of Boca de Tomatlan from above.
2. Colomitos Cove
Getting to Colomitos Cove, you’ll approach a steep decline with many stairs until you reach the Ocean Grill Restaurant. Playa Colomitos is the first beach you will reach on the trail and by far is the most popular because of its proximity to Boca de Tomatlan. The turquoise water will make you want to stay a while, but remember that the beaches get progressively more beautiful as you hike, so keep that in mind! The beach was packed when we arrived, so we just continued up the giant cement staircase on the west side of the beach back into the jungle.
Flowering trees line the path as you exit the trail onto Playa Colomitos.
Ocean Grill
To experience the beauty of Colomitos without the hike, make a reservation at the Ocean Grill Restaurant in advance. Contact Alfonso (reservations@oceangrillvallarta.com) and let him know to expect you a day or two ahead. Take the water taxi or bus to Boca de Tomatlan, and call Alfonso at (322)223-7315 once you arrive in Boca. He will send a water taxi for you for free with your reservation! The water taxi has the name “Lizbeth” written across it, with an aqua blue trip and roof. Keep in mind that the minimum purchase at the Ocean Grill is $50 USD, but it is quite a treat!
If you’re looking for what other restaurants to try in Puerto Vallarta, check out our favorite restaurants in Zona Romantica.
3. Playa Madagascar
Just 0.3 miles (0.5km) from Colomitos Beach is Playa Madagascar, the second secluded beach of the hike. Playa Madagascar was our favorite beach we found by far! The beach is about as big as Colomitos, but conversely far less occupied. The turquoise water and palms hanging overhead make it a truly magical place. We spent some time here playing in the waves and cooling off. If we had gotten up earlier, we would have spent most of the day here.
The most difficult part of the hike is nearly over. The hardest part now from Playa Madagascar is crossing a section of path that seemingly is missing. Following the rocks from the beach, there is a gap that can be difficult for some to traverse across. Be careful here, and once you cross, it’s smooth sailing to Playa Las Animas.
There’s nothing better than relaxing on the beach at Playa Madagascar. Spend as much time here as possible!
4. Playa Hacamiya & La Troza
From Playa Madagascar, walk along the rock paths with the ocean spraying alongside you. You’ll walk beside Playa Hacamiya which is dotted with tons of huge rocks. Once you reach La Troza, a beautiful resort that the path literally runs right into, you will know you aren’t far off from Casitas Maraika. We quickly hiked through this portion of the trail as we wanted to give ourselves time to enjoy a drink at Casitas Maraika and still have a bit of time at Playa Las Animas before catching our boat back to Puerto Vallarta.
Walk along the cobblestone path next to the rocky beaches near Casitas Maraika.
5. Casitas Maraika
The distance from Playa Madagascar to Casitas Maraika is about 0.75 miles (1.2 km) and is much easier than the path from Boca to Colomitos. The trail empties out onto a beautiful palm-lined beach with the tropical hut, Casitas Maraika overlooking at the western end. Follow the cobblestone path up to Casitas Maraika and find a table with a view. We read a little about this place prior to our hike and made sure we took time to really enjoy it. Casistas Maraika is a treat! This little bungalow of paradise serves incredibly fresh fish with just as impressive guacamole. If you aren’t hungry, you can simply enjoy a coffee or start early with a cocktail! Whatever you’re feeling, please do yourself a favor and make time to stop here! This was one of the highlights of our entire trip.
From here, Playa Las Animas is really not far off. It might look like it’s a ways away on the map, but the end of the trail is practically just a quick walk across Playa del Caballo, and then you’ve made it! So don’t stress if you’re running short on time to get back to the boat. It will not take you long to finish the hike.
6. Playa del Caballo
Next time we go to Puerto Vallarta, we are going to book a water taxi straight to Playa del Caballo. The beach is huge, secluded, and empty. The palm-fringed, shimmering white-sand practically begs you to spend a day here. It’s a 5 minute walk from Playa Las Animas, which is hugely popular and full of people, but few know that just beyond is a hidden slice of paradise! Make your way across Playa del Caballo, and over the small hill of houses down the path to the final stop of the hike.
Arguably the most beautiful beach on the hike is Playa del Caballo.
7. Playa Las Ánimas
Restaurants and bars border the beach and the pier cuts down the middle. This is the perfect place to end your hike. Take a seat at any one of the beach chairs and grab a drink while you await your water taxi to arrive. Depending on the day, your water taxi could be running early, or be incredibly late. We had bad luck, and ended up waiting over an hour for our water taxi to arrive. If you’re paying attention for your boat, you can keep on enjoying your drinks on the beach! The last boats directly to Puerto Vallarta leave around 5pm.
Sunburnt and happy, with a beer on the beach of Playa Las Animas!
Our Experience
This hike is one of our fondest memories from our five day trip to Puerto Vallarta. Overall, we had a fantastic time. We did this hike in February. The weather was cool enough that we weren’t suffering, though we’ve heard that it can get quite hot in the summer months. We did wish that we brought more than just a single water bottle each. We highly recommend leaving early to do this hike. A few hours is just not enough time to actually enjoy the beautiful beaches along the way. Mosquitos can be an issue, so also keep that in mind when you are planning. I wore sandals, while Michael opted for a comfortable pair of tennis shoes. If you have tough feet, you will do just fine in sandals!
We did have a little trouble figuring out how to get to Boca de Tomatlan from Puerto Vallarta, and we struggled figuring out if we were on the right path to Playa Las Animas at the beginning. That’s ultimately why we decided to write this post. We wanted to provide a guide that walks you through the entirety of the hike so that you know exactly where you’re going, and you don’t have to waste time trying to figure it out (like we did).
The signage from Boca de Tomatlan is lacking, so if it’s your first time there, it’s understandable that it can be difficult to find the pedestrian bridge since it’s inland a little ways from the beach. Just follow that river inland, and before you know it, you’ll be passing the pedestrian bridge on your right side. There are a few signs pointing towards Colomitos along the way, but just keep in mind that the trail hugs the coast for the most part until you get to the steep stairs around the bend. Hiking from Boca de Tomatlan to Colomitos can be difficult for some, and if we didn’t feel like sweating a little, we might have just booked a boat directly to Playa Las Animas and spent the day hanging out on Playa de Caballo and grabbing a bite to eat at Casitas Maraikas. The beautiful thing about this area is that you can really customize the day to your liking.
We would absolutely do this hike again, and we would personally opt to spend the majority of our time at Playa Madagascar or Playa de Caballo. We would bring a six-pack of beer with us to enjoy and just soak up the sun. No matter what beach you want to spend time on, you are really going to love this hike!
Taking a moment at Boca de Tomatlan before starting our hike to Las Animas.