DESTINATIONS · BAHIA DE BANDERAS · SOUTH SHORE
Quimixto by Private
Yacht
A wide amber beach, a village with no road to it, and a waterfall an hour's walk into the jungle.
Photo courtesy of Quimixto Alma
Private charters from 2,000 USD
WHY THIS BEACH
The widest beach on the south shore, and the one that feels least visited
Most of the coves below Puerto Vallarta are narrow — a strip of sand, a wall of jungle, and other people close enough to hear. Quimixto is not built that way. The sand runs long and open, the light comes off it brighter, and the water in front of the village stays clear enough to see your own shadow on the bottom.
It sits in Cabo Corrientes, in the southern arc of Bahía de Banderas, between Las Ánimas and Majahuitas. Around fifty people live here. There is no road in, and there never has been — which is precisely why it still looks the way it does.
That is the whole appeal, and also the whole problem. A place with no road has no bank, no card terminal, no signage in English, and no one whose job it is to look after you. Every arrangement ashore is made by conversation, in Spanish, at a price that may depend on who is asking.
That conversation is mine. You arrive to a day that has already been settled.
Space you do not have to share. That is the luxury here.
Photo courtesy of Quimixto Alma
THE WALK
The Quimixto waterfall: one kilometre of jungle, then fresh water
The trail leaves the village, follows the Quimixto river inland and climbs gently for about a kilometre — twenty-five to thirty minutes at an unhurried pace. Since the rebuild it is largely paved and swept daily by the families who live along it, with two shallow crossings that come up to the ankle.
It is a walk, not a hike. Children of five manage it, often faster than their parents. At the top the fall drops into a clear pool roughly chest-deep on an adult, cold, and quiet apart from the water itself.
Most guests stay in it between thirty and sixty minutes. There is a small rustic restaurant at the fall, cash only, and shade if you want it.
If you would rather not walk, horses wait at the edge of the village and go the whole way up. Quads run the same trail. Both are arranged before you land, at a price agreed in advance — never at the trailhead, never with your family standing there while it is negotiated.
Access to the fall itself sits on private land and carries a small charge. It is settled on your behalf upon arrival.
We recommend a life vest in the pool. One is carried up for every guest who wants it.
Cold fresh water, thirty minutes from salt.
SETTLED BEFORE YOU STEP ASHORE
The eight things that go wrong here, already closed
THE TRANSFER IN
Quimixto has a small pier but no berth for a yacht. Your vessel anchors off the village and a panga carries you in — arranged and paid for in advance, not flagged down from the deck.
WATERFALL ACCESS
The entry charge to the fall is covered. No cash exchanged at the gate, no minimum spend explained to you in Spanish.
HORSES AND QUADS
Reserved and priced before departure. If your party splits — half walking, half riding — both halves are covered.
FOOTWEAR
Water shoes come aboard in your sizes for the river crossings. This one needs telling me in advance; sizes are not sourced on a beach.
CASH
There is no ATM and no card terminal in the village. Nothing in the arranged day requires you to carry pesos.
WATER AND SHADE
Everything sold on the sand costs two to three times what it does in town. Water, sunscreen and repellent come with the yacht.
LANGUAGE
Every arrangement ashore is made in Spanish, by someone who knows what the local price is before she asks for it.
GETTING LOST
You are accompanied from the panga to the pool and back. No one in your party is ever working out where the trail went.
This is a hosted day. When the shore programme is included, I am aboard and ashore with you — briefing the partner captain, walking the trail, holding the arrangements. It is the reason this page exists.
WHAT WE ADVISE
Walking through the village is part of the day
Most visitors step off the pier straight onto a quad and are gone in four minutes. We ask our guests not to. The main street is Quimixto — a few doors, a few families, and the only economy this village has. Walking it, or riding it, is the difference between visiting a place and passing through one.
ON FOOT, OR ON HORSEBACK
We recommend the walk or the horses over the quads. The horses gather near the river at the edge of the village, and hooves on that trail are quieter, cleaner and considerably more memorable than a two-stroke engine. Quads are available if someone in your party needs them — this is a preference, not a rule.
A TASTING ON THE WAY UP
Three small bars sit along the main street — Pistaches, Andy's and Dora's — and any of them will pour a tasting of tequila and raicilla, the local distillate made in this valley. Twenty minutes, no reservation, and far better done on the way to the waterfall than on the way back down.
THE RESTAURANT AT THE FALL
The restaurant beside the waterfall asks for a minimum order in exchange for access to the pool. Take a cold drink there and leave it at that — the setting is worth the stop, the kitchen is not where the good food is.
WHERE TO EAT INSTEAD
Los Cocos and Charly's, both directly on the sand, do the honest version — ceviche, whole fish, cold beer, cash only. Or a partner chef cooks aboard and you come back to a table already laid. Either is better than eating at the fall.
THE RHYTHM
How a day in Quimixto usually falls
01
02
03
04
05
Boarding, and the crossing south along the cliffs
Anchor off the village · panga ashore
The trail — on foot, on horseback, or both
The pool, and as long in it as you want
Back aboard for lunch, or a table on the sand
The order is not fixed. Families with small children often swim off the yacht first and walk in the cooler part of the afternoon. Snorkelling in front of the village is good on a calm morning — the water there is unusually clear for the bay, and equipment is aboard.
DISTANCES & TIMING
How to get to Quimixto
from each marina
PRIVATE YACHT CROSSINGS TO QUIMIXTO, CABO CORRIENTES
DEPARTURE
CROSSING, ONE WAY
CHARTER WE RECOMMEND
Los Muertos Pier
about 1 h
6 hours
Marina Vallarta
about 1 h 30
7 hours
Nuevo Nayarit
about 2 h
8 hours
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
about 2 h 20
9 hours
Calculated at a ten-knot cruise — the honest speed for a comfortable passage rather than a fast one. Allow three and a half hours ashore for the waterfall, the pool and lunch. A shorter charter works if you come only for the beach and the swimming; say so at the inquiry and the day is composed around that instead.
Fifty people, no road, and one very good reason to come.
Photo courtesy of Quimixto Alma
COMPOSED FOR
Who this day suits
Families with children
The walk is manageable from about five years old, the pool is fresh and calm, and the horses turn the trail into the part they remember.
Three generations at once
Grandparents ride, parents walk, children run. Nobody stays behind on the boat because the day only had one shape.
A first time in Mexico
The village is the real thing, not a set. Meeting it with someone who speaks for you is the difference between charmed and uneasy.
Anniversaries with an appetite
Quiet water, a long walk, cold fresh water at the end, a table waiting. Not a champagne-on-deck day — a better one.
With children under five, Las Ánimas is the better call — shorter crossing, no trail, restaurants directly on the sand. I will say so at the inquiry rather than after.
Photo courtesy of Quimixto Alma
SAID PLAINLY
What I do not control
The fall is fed by the river. After the summer rains it runs full; in April and May it can be closer to a heavy spill than a cascade. The pool is there either way, and it is cold either way — but I will not describe June water to you in March.
The trail is largely paved now and maintained daily, though a wet section can be slippery and the middle of the day is genuinely hot. We walk early or late for that reason.
Sea conditions decide the panga transfer, not the schedule. If the swell makes landing unwise, the partner captain says so and the day is redirected to sheltered water — Las Ánimas, Majahuitas, Colomitos. The charter is not lost; the destination changes.
BEFORE YOU ASK
Questions people actually
ask about Quimixto
How long is the walk to the Quimixto waterfall?
About one kilometre along the river — twenty-five to thirty minutes at a relaxed pace, with a gentle climb and two ankle-deep crossings. Mostly paved since the rebuild, and swept daily.
Can children do the walk?
From about five years old, comfortably. Younger than that, either carry them, put them on a horse, or choose Las Ánimas instead, which asks nothing of small legs.
Is there snorkelling at Quimixto?
Yes. The water in front of the village is unusually clear for this part of the bay, best on a calm morning. Equipment is aboard.
Should we take a quad or a horse to the waterfall?
We recommend walking or riding. The horses gather near the river at the edge of the village, the trail is quieter without engines, and the walk through the main street is where the village actually is. Quads are available if someone needs them.
Can we reach Quimixto without a private yacht?
Yes — public pangas run from Boca de Tomatlán and cost very little. What they do not give you is a fixed return, shade, a bathroom, somewhere to leave your things, or anyone answerable for the day. That is the difference this page is about, and it is worth being honest that the beach itself is free.