Look No Further Than Puerto Vallarta For Great Snorkeling
Puerto Vallarta 411
Puerto Vallarta offers a lot to any tourist, with its archeological sites, rolling beaches, and friendly people. It's also a fantastic destination for snorkeling, with a whole world of beauty and splendor available just below the surface.
While Puerto Vallarta is in Mexico, about 50% of the city's industry comes from tourists, so you'll find a very hospitable atmosphere as a US traveler. Don't worry if you don't know Spanish. Most of the people you'll interact with there will know both English and Spanish to ease communication woes.
The average daily high temperature is a balmy 86 °F, dipping generally to 70° F. This makes Puerto Vallarta and snorkeling perfectly matched. While winter is the most popular season to come to Puerto Vallarta, the summer months actually offer the best visibility in the water, up to 150 feet! That's good enough to see one of Puerto Vallarta's snorkeling prizes, the distinctive and beautiful Moorish Idol.
Boats
How are you going to get out there to do your snorkeling? Well, there are many options. There are a number of beaches at Puerto Vallarta to snorkel from, but those who want instant access to the water will want to look into renting a boat. There are a number of ways to do this. You can rent your own boat and go from there, but some people find they are more comfortable with letting other people worry about the details and embark on their snorkeling adventure with an eco-tour company.
Price
As with most other tourist activities, prices here can be all over the board. There are simple snorkeling tours at the popular destination of Los Arcos where you can get four hours of great snorkeling for around 30 dollars depending on which company you go with. This should include all your snorkeling equipment and water transportation.
For those looking for more deluxe models, you can integrate your snorkeling with an entire day of beach activities and fun, with lunch provided. These generally come in the form of Bay Cruises and can run up to $50 for a day that can include snorkeling, whale watching, and pirate-themed shows for the little ones.
Puerto Vallarta Snorkeling Highlights
By far, the most popular destinations are the Los Arcos Marine Reserve and the Las Marietas Islands eco-reserve. Los Arcos is an amazing geological formation of caves and arches flooded with fish almost any time-including at night! You may see stingrays, puffers, sharks, parrot fish…the list is nearly endless.
Las Marietas is a group of three islands proding some of the best snorkeling Puerto Vallarta has to offer. Damselfish and Angelfish are common sightings here, although there are any number of species that take shelter in the recently-named eco-reserve. A short boat ride away from any hotel in Puerto Vallarta, the snorkeling here is a definite must.
