Playa Las Animas
Playa Las Animas, Jalisco, Mexico
About Playa Las Animas, Jalisco, Mexico
Playa Las Ánimas is a picturesque vacation destination that lies along the beautiful shores of the Bay of Banderas in the southern zone of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It features a lovely sandy beach with fairly gentle waves and boasts excellent amenities like beach resorts, vendors, restaurants, and places to shop for locally crafted souvenirs. Aside from the commercialization, Las Animas is actually a quaint little Mexican village with no road access that is perfectly tucked into a lush mountainside covered with vibrant green jungle vegetation.
Playa Las Animas is the perfect day trip for those looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and who want to explore the small village or just relax on the gorgeous sand with a cerveza or a cocktail. There are also several resorts and vacation rentals that are available if you would like to stay for an extended period of time.
These days Playa Las Animas is becoming quite the attraction and brings in boatloads of tourists who catch a water taxi from neighboring communities like Puerto Vallarta or Boca de Tamatlan. For the more adventurous types, Playa Las Animas can also be reached by a hiking trail that starts in Boca de Tomatlan and runs along the coast through the jungle. The trail is well worth the energy expended and provides access to several excellent attractions along the way such as Playa Colomitos, Playa Madagascar, and Playa Caballo. If the adventure of hiking through the jungle isn’t enough, then check out the Las Animas Beach Adventure Park where there is a canopy tour, hanging bridges, rock climbing, and a tequila tour.
Much like many of the remote communities along the coast of Jalisco, the village of Playa Las Animas is considered an Indian Ejido, meaning that the lands in the area are owned by local indigenous families that have been living there for many generations. Famous author William (Bill) Reed, lived at Playa Las Animas for many years in the early 1900s and detailed his trials and tribulations of living with the local tribe in his book titled “Escape to Paradise, A Mexican Odyssey”.
Playa Las Animas, Jalisco, Mexico
Exploratory Glory YouTube Videos
How to Get to Playa Las Animas
Las Animas beach is definitely an epic day tour and takes around 45 minutes each way. You will be able to purchase a round-trip ticket from Puerto Vallarta for around $380 MX pesos. There are many different tour operators and salesman waiting to sell you a ticket, so make sure not to get overcharged. There are no roads leading to Playa Las Animas, so other than the water taxi the only other option is to do the 4.5-mile round trip hike from Boca de Tomatlan.
Map of Playa Las Animas
Playa Las Animas, Jalisco, Mexico
Restaurants in Playa Las Animas
Brisas Beach
Los Canos
Pinchon
Restaurante Bar El Caracol
Mariscos Tino’s
El Coral Restaurante Bar and Grill
Restaurant Troncon’s
Restaurant Bora Bora
El Fundador
Restaurant Pancho’s Paradise
OhaNa Beach Club
More Jalisco Beaches
