Yelapa

Yelapa is a small beachside village on a jungle-covered bay 25 minutes south of Puerto Vallarta by water taxi, entirely inaccessible by road. The village has no streets for cars, no ATMs, and basic but functioning electricity — giving it an isolated, time-removed character that has attracted artists, yoga practitioners, and travelers seeking genuine escape since the 1960s. The bay consists of a broad arc of dark sand beach fringed by palm trees and jungle rising steeply behind. Two waterfalls are reachable on foot from the village — the closer Cascada Yelapa takes 20 minutes on a jungle trail, the farther Cascada Grande takes an additional 40 minutes. Palapa restaurants on the beach serve fresh fish, ceviche, and cold beer; local women known as pie ladies sell coconut and chocolate pie slices to loungers throughout the afternoon. Day trippers arrive from Puerto Vallarta on the first morning water taxis and depart by mid-afternoon, leaving those who stay overnight with the village essentially to themselves. Several small hotels and guesthouses operate in the village, including some set into the hillside with jungle-facing platforms. The water taxis depart from the Los Muertos pier in Puerto Vallarta's Zona Romantica neighborhood and the crossing takes approximately 45 minutes via the water taxi to Boca de Tomatlán and then an onward water taxi to Yelapa. Whale watching from the bay is possible December through March as humpback whales use the Bay of Banderas.