While on our trip to Puerto Vallarta, my fiance Kevin and I decided we wanted to see a little more of what Mexico had to offer. I had researched Puerto Vallarta a bit before going and saw many posts mentioning taking day trips to Yelapa. We planned on staying in Puerto Vallarta our whole trip but near the end, we decided we wanted a change of pace. The beaches near us in Puerto Vallarta were too rocky and wavy for us to want to swim in for long, so we decided to take a day trip to Yelapa to visit the beach there!
We left our hotel in Puerto Vallarta at 7 am. There’s a water taxi you can catch from the Los Muertos Pier in Puerto Vallarta or you can take a bus or Uber to Boca de Tomatlan to catch a water taxi from there.
We took an Uber from our hotel, Canto del Sol to Boca de Tomatlan, which took about 30 minutes. We decided to catch the water taxi from Boca de Tomatlan because the water taxis had earlier pick-up times at that dock and we wanted to beat the rush in Yelapa. Our Uber dropped us off right by the dock, we got there about 20 minutes before the water taxi was supposed to arrive, so we waited on the beach. We bought one-way tickets from a restaurant owner on the beach, but it seems like the boat captains prefer cash, so if you’re going it’s probably better to just pay cash each way.
Our water taxi ended up being late, they said the boat was on its last life so we waited for about an hour before the boat arrived. The boat was small and the waves were big but we were going fast enough to cut through all the waves. A few minutes before docking in Yelapa they told everyone to put their lifejackets on, they started taking buckets and dumping water that was leaking into the boat out. Not sure what exactly was going on, but it made my heart race.
Once we arrived safely in Yelapa we walked through the town and followed the signs to the waterfall. The signs were easy to follow and we got there pretty quickly. We were the only ones there when we first arrived, but it seems like it gets busier later throughout the day with tour groups. The waterfall was nice and it was a beautiful walk through Yelapa to get there.
After that, we kept walking around a bit, looked at some of the vendors that were around, and admired the beautiful scenery. In Yelapa, there are no cars, just ATVs, mules, and horses. That was super cool to see. Yelapa is very walkable, anywhere you would like to go is within a 30-minute walk.
We made our way to the beach and a restaurant offered us free chairs, towels, umbrellas, wifi, and use of their bathrooms. We needed a place to change so we took them up on their offer. Before visiting Yelpa we heard about restaurants doing this and it being called a scam due to them pressuring you to order. We asked about this before sitting and they said that we won’t need to order if we don’t want to. We stayed for about an hour and didn’t feel pressured to order. We got to enjoy swimming at the beach. We looked at the menu but none of the food seemed very appetizing to us.
After a while, it started getting busier so we decided to move away from the chairs and sat on our towels away from the restaurants so that paying customers could have our seats. A vendor came by and offered us homemade empanadas for sale, we bought a couple and they were delicious!
There was also a man with an iguana wearing a tiny hat walking around offering people to take pictures, it was cute but we opted not to. He was persistent and kept offering us other things to buy but we still weren’t interested. So he left us alone. I had heard a lot about the “pie lady” who apparently has delicious pies which I would’ve loved to try but unfortunately, it seems like she wasn’t around that day.
We walked along the beach some more, watching the paragliders take off and the boats come in. Then went back into the main part of town exploring more of what Yelapa had to offer.
Kevin and I started making our way back to the boat dock, our boat getting to Yelapa was late and after hearing horror stories about people getting stuck there due to boats being full by the end of the day we didn’t want to take any chances, and planned to leave a few boats early before the last boat arrived. We wanted to catch the 3:30 pm boat, three or four boats before the last one arrived for the day. On our way to the dock, we stopped at Cafe Eclipse.
Cafe Eclipse is a cute little spot that serves breakfast, smoothies, coffee, freshly squeezed juices, sandwiches, Mexican food, and snacks.
They’re known for their delicious breakfast but we opted to have chips with salsa and lemonades to drink. The salsa was freshly made and is for sure one of the best I’ve ever had.
They’re located on a main street in Yelapa so we were entertained by dogs walking by, donkeys, and deliveries coming in. They only take cash so if you’re planning on stopping for food in Yelapa make sure to take enough cash for food and for your boat ride back! We were going to order more food but realized we wouldn’t have enough money for the food, tip, boat back, and bus ride back to downtown Puerto Vallarta. We’re so glad we realized and that we counted the money before we ordered because we originally were pretty sure we’d have enough cash. There aren’t any ATMs in Yelapa so be sure to bring enough cash for the boat rides, food, and tips!
After we had our food and drinks at Cafe Eclipse we went to sit on the dock while we waited for the boat. We went to the dock that they seemed to stop at first, right by the Yelapa welcome sign. We showed up at the dock at 3 pm so about 30 minutes before, just in case they were early.
They showed up around 3:20 pm and we hoped on, they stopped right on the beach and picked up a few more people, then stopped at the last dock next to the beach and picked up a bunch of people. The boat was full now and we went back towards Boca de Tomatlan. There were huge waves on the way back but we made it back safe and sound. Originally we planned to order an Uber from Boca to get back to the hotel but there weren’t any Ubers available because Boca is still pretty remote. Our backup plan was to take the bus back, so we ran up to the bus stop and the bus was just arriving! Perfect timing! The bus was very cheap, only 8 pesos each, and was empty when we got on but about halfway through the bus was very packed.
We got off the bus in the Romantic Zone because the bus wouldn’t have taken us to our hotel, without transferring, we walked around a bit and then ordered an Uber back to the hotel.
Yelapa was a lot of fun and I would go back. I’d love to spend more time there and even stay for a couple of nights, but if you’re planning a trip to Puerto Vallarta I would recommend spending a day in Yelapa. It’s a very different vibe from Puerto Vallarta and a lot less touristy. Yelapa is a very laid back relaxing place with a beautiful atmosphere. I’m going to be posting a full guide on Yelapa and how to get there, attractions, scams, and other things to know very soon.
