Whale Watching: Bay of Banderas Adventure

Experience an all-inclusive full-day boat tour to the stunning Marietas Islands. Enjoy delicious meals, snacks, and drinks from the unlimited open bar while participating in a range of exciting water activities.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Bay of Banderas - This cruise focuses on whale watching combined with ocean activities. Our knowledgeable staff and Cruise Director are updated on the latest whale watching conditions and optimal viewing spots. We will navigate to different areas in the bay, keeping an eye out for the majestic fins and tails of humpback whales. You may also…
What's Included
  • Snacks
  • Water toys: Kayaks, Paddle Boards, and water mattresses
  • Open Bar: Water, coffee, juices, sodas, mineral water, margaritas, beer, wine, tequila, piña colada
  • Ground Transport from Sayulita office to La Cruz Marina ONLY
  • IMPORTANT: Choose your meeting place before submitting your reservation
  • Breakfast
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities are not included (optional)
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information

Experience one of nature’s most breathtaking displays from the comfort of our stable yachts as you sail through the picturesque Bay of Banderas. The humpback whale season spans from December to March, when these majestic creatures make this area their winter haven, seeking warmth and safety to breed, give birth, and nurture their young. In addition to…

Location
Chica Locca Tours Paradise Village Pier
Boulevard Nayarit
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(220 Ratings)
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Richard_d
Feb 5, 2026
A 3 hour tour worthwhile. - They whale naturalists, respect the ocean and keeping their distance while whales mate. Generous with drinks too!
Review provided by Viator
Andre_h
Feb 1, 2026
Great day whale watching - The staff were friendly, the music was good, the drinks were great and kept flowing and we saw quite a few whales on the tour.. We all had a good time.
Review provided by Viator
Smileyparks
Jan 23, 2026
Great staff, boat, and tour! - Such a fun time! I went in January, which is a great time for whale watching in Puerto Vallarta. The staff was great, very attentive, and our guide was informative and brought fun energy. The boat was spacious but not crowded, giving everyone space to walk around and sit wherever they wanted. The drinks and snacks were delicious and the captain was quick moving towards any whale sightings.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Whitneyr367
Jan 21, 2026
Highlight of our trip! - Great experience. Great price. Staff was professional, knowledgeable and friendly. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kirsclair8
Jan 20, 2026
A worth it all-inclusive tour. Highly Recommend! - This was a last-minute plan for us to book a whale watching tour. The booking site was smooth, confirmation received instantly. They have 2 meeting points, and since it's early morning, I had to make sure we go to the right place. It's great that they have a WhatsApp and the owner was quite responsive. It's easy to find their office at the port (Puerto Magico) and quite a nice one. Ric in the office is very good in guiding us which line to go and what to do since there's 2 different tours. I like that the tour is all-inclusive which includes the port fee already. We were handed out tickets for that. The tour itself is about 2 hours, and we were served fresh fruits for breakfast and nachos before ending the tour. Unlimited beverages also available.But I must commend how amazing their lemonade was! 🍋The crew were so attentive and friendly. Our child had a great time aboard. They know where to find the whales and gave a good amount of time for us to wait and see one. The catamaran was clean and not overcrowded which was incredible. Even the washroom. The music and overall vibe was wonderful. The only thing to consider is that they didn't start on time based on what was advertised, so make sure you do not have other plans. The tour said 9-11am, but the catamaran wasn't there on the dock. We started around 9:30am and we have to drop off the people from the other meeting point till we got back to Puerto Magico which is already 12:30pm. We were checking out the same day but luckily we stay nearby. I will definitely recommend Chica Loca. The experience was truly amazing!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Notes4mozart
Jan 17, 2026
Favourite Part of Our Trip! - We had an amazing time! The crew was awesome -communicative and hospitable- during our trip. We had a smaller group which was really lovely. Snacks and drinks were included, crew checked on us often to make sure we had everything we needed. We started by joining a few other boats near a pod of whales and then we went off on our own to the north of the bay and found another pod a closer experience. There is a photographer on the boat who takes pictures of passengers and the whales which can be purchased at the end of the voyage. The check in time is what is listed as the start time so, though our departure time listed 8:30am, we didn't depart until 9:50am (due to a delay with our boat). We returned to Puerto Magico around noon so the on-water time was about 2-hour. My partner and I agreed this was the perfect amount of time for the trip. Huge thank you to the crew for making our first trip to Puerto Vallarta memorable!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Keeley_w
Jan 14, 2026
Wonderful experience, go whale watching if there during the season. - Head out for an amazing time on the ocean, seeing the wildlife up close. Birds, dolphins, turtles, whales. Drinks were so good and the chips & guacamole were amazing!
Review provided by Viator
Keeleyw390
Jan 10, 2026
Be sure to go with Chica locca tours. Best time out to see whales. - What a memorable experience! Loved seeing the whales, turtle, seagulls and dolphins. I enjoyed the opportunity to jump in the ocean at the end. Food provided was very good. Highly recommend Chica Loccs Tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trek737994
Feb 3, 2026
Caution if taking this tour from Nuevo Marina! - 1st of all, the tour itself was very good. We saw lots of whales, dolphins and the onboard service was excellent. The issue - and it was a BIG issue, was that we were scheduled to get on the boat at Paradise Village Marina in Nuevo. To our surprise the big boat did not come into the marina to pick us up and we were put on a small transport boat to meet the catamaran out on the ocean. No safety instruction, no life jackets given out or worn. We had to transfer to the catamaran from the boat out in the open water. We were not impressed but assumed the catamaran would bring us back to the marina as we saw this happen other evenings as our condo overlooks the marina. To our surprise, that didn’t happen and they wanted us to get back onto the transfer boat again out in the open water at the end of the tour. This time the water was rough and the boat was bobbing up and down a lot. One woman safely transferred then the next guest a gentleman tried and the boat bobbed up knocking him off balance and he fell into the water almost getting caught between the two boats! He managed to get himself back to the catamaran where staff helped him up out of the water. He was shaken but appeared to be ok. Thank God he didn’t get squished between of boats or drown in the process. This was extremely scary and dangerous and several of us expressed our extreme displeasure to the staff. We refused to get off the catamaran along with a few other couples and went on to the PV marina. Surprisingly other guests did transfer to the boat after this including a mom with a baby(no life jacket for the baby). While on the catamaran we looked up info on website and noted the owners contact info. We called him and surprisingly he answered right away and my husband explained what happened. To his credit he profusely apologized and arranged for ground transportation to take us back to Nuevo from the PV Marina. Morle of the story, if you are departing from the Nuevo marina with this tour company, ensure you are getting on a big catamaran and not a transport boat and for God’s sake, if you are travelling with small children or infants ensure you bring and put them in a life jacket.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trail60890947767
Jan 24, 2026
Does not respond - My wife broke her ancle. I tried to message and cancel a day before and even work with him for credit or even rebooking as she was in the hospital and he just refused to respond
Review provided by Tripadvisor