Catamaran And Sailing Tours To The Marietas Islands

The catamaran is the boat most people picture when they picture the Marietas Islands: two hulls, a wide net up front, breakfast served somewhere between Puerto Vallarta and the archipelago. The park's official CONANP page lists the islands at 34 km, about 18 nautical miles, from Puerto Vallarta, which is why so many full-day products are built around a big stable platform rather than a fast panga. This guide compares every catamaran and sailing tour on this site, block by block, because the differences between them are exactly the differences that decide your day: duration, group size, what is poured into your glass and whether Hidden Beach is even on the itinerary.

A note on scope. Only listings in the catamaran and full-day cruise family appear here. If you are weighing a small covered boat from Punta de Mita instead, the small group versus large boat comparison covers that trade-off, and the guide to tours from Puerto Vallarta covers every departure from the city's marinas.

What Is A Catamaran Day At The Marietas Islands Like?

A Marietas Islands catamaran day is a long, catered loop: usually 6 to 9 hours dock to dock, with breakfast on the outbound crossing, a snorkel stop in or near the national park, a beach or cove visit, lunch and an open bar on the return leg. The boat, not the islands, is where most of the day is spent.

The firm prices in this family run from $87 per person for the 9-hour Live & Travel Tours cruise to $130 per person for the 6-hour Chica Locca all-inclusive, and the pattern holds across every listing. The Altus Tours catamaran, from $99 per person for 8 hours, lists a continental breakfast with hot cakes, fruit, yogurt and juice on the way out, then a lunch of hamburger, shrimp and a salad bar on the way back, with snorkel, paddleboard and kayak equipment included and an open bar the listing activates only after leaving the islands. That last detail matters more than it looks: alcohol is prohibited inside the national park under the park's own visitor rules, so operators stage the bar for the crossing, not the reef. The Monkey Adventures México half-day listing, from $81 per person, runs the same shape in fewer hours, with hot cakes and eggs for breakfast and a full lunch of roast beef, chicken and chorizo.

The snorkel stop is the anchor of the middle of the day. Most listings in this family name the reefs around the islands or Playa Nopalera, a separate beach that should not be confused with Hidden Beach, which sits inside a crater reached by swimming through a rock passage. If the crater beach is what you are booking for, read the Hidden Beach section below before you pick a boat, because on large catamarans the answer is often no.

Catamaran Or Speedboat To The Marietas Islands: Which Should You Book?

Choose a catamaran for comfort, food and a social day on the water; choose a speedboat or panga if your priority is a short crossing from Punta de Mita, a small group and the best odds of a Hidden Beach landing. Big catamarans on this site carry 40 to 100 travelers; the smallest sailing trip carries a maximum of 7.

On Hidden Beach, the trade is quite clean. Under the reopening rules CONANP set in 2016, which operators still describe, boats carrying more than 15 passengers may not enter the public and restricted use areas of the park, and Playa del Amor groups are limited to 15 people supervised at low tide, 30 minutes per group from leaving the boat. The Vallarta Adventures BBQ listing, the most reviewed product here at 4.3 from 1,150 reviews, states plainly that the tour does not include a visit to the Hidden Beach.

The speedboat side of the ledger is covered in depth elsewhere on this site, including the Punta de Mita and La Cruz departures guide. The short version: small covered boats from Punta de Mita run 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes, from $67 per person at the collective end, with Hidden Beach entry listed as included on several of them, always dependent on tide, sea state and the park's daily rules.

Do Marietas Islands Catamarans Stop At Hidden Beach?

Mostly no. The sightseeing product from Puerto Mágico lists Hidden Beach access only as a separate package option; the sailing trip lists it as an optional extra fee. Two listings state outright that Hidden Beach is not included, and the rest do not state it either way.

On a boat with dozens of travelers, the 2016 rules that CONANP set, which operators still describe, make the landing structurally unlikely. It helps to be precise about what each block actually says, because this is the single most misunderstood part of booking a Marietas Islands catamaran. The table below lists the Hidden Beach line exactly as each listing in this family states it.

Even where a landing is included or optional, entry still depends on tide, sea state and the park's rules on the day, and the park's own hours matter: the official CONANP page states the Playa del Amor site is open Wednesday to Sunday, 8:00 to 17:00, closed Monday and Tuesday, with the whole park closed Monday. The rules, closure days and visitor limits guide unpacks every condition, including the 116 visitors a day figure from the 2016 reopening notice.

If the crater beach is the reason you are booking, the answer is that the products built around it are the small boats, not the catamarans, and the dedicated Hidden Beach guide covers those tours in full. That said, one snorkel-focused option from Marina Vallarta is worth knowing about even on a catamaran page, because it is the most reviewed reef product after the BBQ lunch tour: the Eco Explorer Vallarta snorkel tour, from $99 per person, 4.8 from 1,033 reviews, which lists park permits, the CONANP bracelet and light snacks as included, with the Hidden Beach landing an optional cash extra of MXN 600 per person.

What Do Catamaran Cruises To The Marietas Islands Include?

Across this family, every catamaran and sailing listing includes snorkel gear, and all list food, but the details differ sharply: open bars are listed on all ten blocks, breakfast ranges from hot cakes to fresh fruit, and port and conservation fees are excluded on most, payable in cash on the day. Read the inclusions line by line before comparing prices, because the add-ons can add up.

The fee question deserves its own paragraph because it is the most common surprise at check-in. The Altus Tours listing, for example, excludes a dock fee of US$3 per person in cash and a SEMARNAT and CONANP bracelet at US$10 per person in cash. The Live & Travel Tours listing excludes a dock tax of MXN 35.00 per person plus CONANP and SEMARNAT taxes of MXN 220.00 per person. The Monkey Adventures México half-day excludes MXN 35.00 port fees and a MXN 220.00 Semarnat bracelet. The Chica Locca all-inclusive listing, by contrast, does not list park fees as excluded. There is no general rule here: whether a given ticket includes the fee is a per-listing fact, and the park fee and conservation wristband guide explains the official MXN 125 per person per day entry fee, who is exempt and how the discounts work.

The table below compares what each block in this family actually lists, without transferring a single item from one listing to its sibling.

Two Chica Locca listings sit at the same from-price of $130 and the same 6-hour duration, and mixing them up is easy. The All Inclusive listing, 4.8 from 771 reviews, lists premium all-inclusive food, an open bar, waterslides, paddleboards, kayaks and water tubes. The Snorkel, Kayak listing, 4.8 from 59 reviews, lists a fresh fruit and muffin breakfast, guacamole with blue corn chips and a fajita lunch. Neither block borrows from the other, and neither lists hotel pickup.

How Big Are The Groups On A Marietas Islands Catamaran?

Group sizes in this family run from 7 to 100 travelers, and each figure comes from that listing's own notes. The GoPralia sailing trip caps at 7, the Monkey Adventures México half-day at 30, the Live & Travel Tours cruise at 40, the Chica Locca all-inclusive at 66, the Altus catamaran at 75 and the ParaViajantes day at 80. No tour on this site offers hotel pickup.

At the top of the scale, the Vallarta Adventures BBQ trip lists a maximum of 100 travelers. The spread is enormous, and it maps onto the experience more directly than price does. A maximum of 7 on the sailing trip, as the GoPralia listing's notes state, is effectively a private-feeling day with a crew able to hand you a paddleboard rather than queue you for one. At 100 travelers, the Vallarta Adventures BBQ day, from $79 per person, is a party-boat register: the listing lists a BBQ lunch at Majahuitas with refreshing drinks, and snorkel, kayak and paddleboard equipment, and states there is no dock at any stop, so boarding uses metal ladders from the water.

Capacity notes also carry the fine print that decides whether your teenagers can come. The Chica Locca all-inclusive sets a minimum drinking age of 18 and prohibits drones under federal regulations protecting endemic birds' flight paths. The Live & Travel Tours cruise states it is not recommended for pregnant travelers and that pregnant women beyond four months cannot do the tour. The Altus listing carries back-problem and heart-condition cautions. Age and health rules are per listing, never per park.

Where Do Catamarans To The Marietas Islands Depart From?

**Most catamaran and sailing listings depart from Puerto Vallarta or Nuevo Vallarta: the Puerto Mágico marine terminal, the Marina Vallarta area, Paradise Village public pier in Nuevo Nayarit, or a meeting point chosen at booking. **

The departure map explains the duration column. Puerto Vallarta sits 34 km, 18 nautical miles, from the islands; Nuevo Nayarit 15.96 nautical miles; Punta de Mita 9 km. A big boat based in the city therefore builds a full-day product around the crossing, which is exactly what the 7.5 to 9 hour listings are. The Live & Travel Tours listing asks guests to arrive at 8:30 am at the Puerto Mágico maritime terminal, one of the few listings that states a check-in time outright.

No tour here states that hotel pickup is offered, and several state it is not included. Plan to make your own way to the pier, and check the live listing for the exact meeting instructions for your option.

Is A Sailing Trip To The Marietas Islands Different From A Catamaran Day?

Yes, and the difference is scale. The one true sailing product, GoPralia's Marietas Sail, Snorkel and Beach, is from $99 per person for 7 hours with a maximum of 7 travelers, a continental breakfast, deli-style lunch and a domestic open bar served only after water activities. It is the quiet alternative to a 66 to 100 person catamaran, with the same park and reefs.

The listing's own notes sketch who it suits: infants must sit on laps, it is not recommended for travelers with back problems, heart conditions or pregnancy, and it is not wheelchair accessible. Its exclusion list is also the longest in the family: a port tax of MXN 100.00 per person, a Marietas Islands conservation fee of MXN 220.00 per person, transport to and from the marina, and the optional love beach access controlled by the marine park. None of that is unusual; it is simply listed in full rather than folded into the headline price.

Set against it, the featured full-day option on this page, the Chica Locca All Inclusive, 6 Hours listing from $130 per person, 4.8 from 771 reviews, spends its budget on volume: premium food with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, an open bar, waterslides off the back, paddleboards, kayaks, floating mattresses and water tubes, clean bathrooms and a 66-traveler cap. Neither is the better product; they are different products, and the choice is between a floating beach club and a small-boat day.

When Is The Best Month For A Catamaran Tour To The Marietas Islands?

By the numbers, February and March are the driest months, with 12 and 4 mm of rain over 1 rain day each, sea temperatures around 23.9 C, and humpbacks still in the bay until the official season closes on 23 March. December through April is the dry season; June through September brings 227 to 429 mm of rain per month and hurricane-season risk.

No catamaran day is immune to cancellations for sea conditions, whatever the month. The park itself is open year round and CONANP recommends all-season visitation while noting that rainy-season days can bring poor sea conditions.

The whale column is official: the federal SEMARNAT window for the 2025 to 2026 season ran 8 December 2025 to 23 March 2026, and the same aviso restricts whale watching within 1.5 km of the islands. No notice for the following season has been published, so treat next winter's dates as unpublished rather than assumed. Several listings describe humpbacks as a seasonal possibility on the crossing, and that is exactly how to read them: possible, described by the listing, never promised. The whale watching combo guide and the best time to visit guide carry the full comparison.

How Much Should You Budget For A Marietas Islands Catamaran?

Firm catamaran and sailing prices run from $81 per person for the Monkey Adventures México half-day to $130 per person for the two Chica Locca 6-hour listings, with the 9-hour all-inclusive cruise the cheapest full day from $87 per person. Add excluded port and conservation fees in cash on most listings, plus gratuities.

The cheapest headline is not the cheapest day. The from $81 half-day and the from $87 nine-hour cruise both exclude MXN 35.00 port fees and MXN 220.00 conservation charges per person, which the Chica Locca listings do not list as excluded. Weighted the other way, the BBQ lunch tour from $79 per person, 4.3 from 1,150 reviews, excludes a MXN 40.00 port fee and a US$20 conservation fee at check-in, so the real gap between it and the $130 all-inclusive narrows considerably once fees land. The full price ladder across every category, including the small boats and the $369 per group private safari, is laid out in the tour cost guide.

One planning habit is worth adopting whatever you book: read the not-included list before the price. The what to bring guide covers the practical side, including the park's reef-friendly sunscreen rule, applied at least 30 minutes before entering the water, and its no-footwear rule for water and beach activities.

Which Catamaran Or Sailing Day Should You Actually Book?

Book the Chica Locca All Inclusive 6-hour day, from $130 per person, for the full floating-beach-club experience; choose the GoPralia sailing trip for the same islands with a maximum of 7 travelers; or pick the Monkey Adventures México half-day, from $81 per person, for the catamaran format without a full-day commitment. If Hidden Beach is your priority, book a small boat from Punta de Mita instead, from $156 per person.

Every listing in this family can be cancelled at least 24 hours before start time for a full refund, per each block's own cancellation line, which makes an early booking low-risk in a way few travel purchases are. What no cancellation policy covers is the day's sea state: tours can be cancelled for sea conditions, and the crater beach is reachable only when tide, swell and the park's daily rules allow, a point the CONANP reopening notice of 2016 framed in the conditions operators still describe today.

The comparison you are really making is between three formats: a big catered platform, a small sailing day, or a fast small boat. The cards earlier on this page cover the first two plus the half-day middle ground.

Common Questions About Marietas Islands Catamaran And Sailing Tours