I first visited Puerto Vallarta, México in 2019 and from our house I could see Los Arcos National Park, which is composed of a group of islands off the coast of PVR. Someone told me that I had to visit because there was awesome snorkeling and wildlife over there.
However, I didn’t get a chance to go during that quick trip. I was too busy sipping margs, laughing in the pool and eating so much delicious food I could burst 😉 , I but promised myself that the next time we visited, I would go to that national park!
The year is now 2023 and I’m back in Puerto Vallarta and it was finally time to snorkel with those tropical fish! So I went on the hunt. I did a bunch of research to see what tour boat looked best for the kind of experience I prefer, which is a relaxed, private (if possible) and educational time.
Most tours looked more like party boats with people stuffed in, loud music and bottomless alcohol. That’s not what I was looking for personally, so I was super happy when I found Estigo Tours through their stellar reviews. And I’m so glad I ended up using them because they far exceeded my expectations. Let’s get into how.
Booking
I booked this tour directly through the Estigo Tours instead of Viator, which I usually prefer because I can pay a little extra for free cancellations up to 24 hours before the activity. However in this instance, I didn’t find this particular tour on Viator so I went to Estigo Tours directly. (Quick aside: while doing research for this post I did end up finding the Viator link for this adventure. It’s here if that’s helpful.)
On the Estigo Tours website I paid $147.87 per person for this 4 hour snorkel tour. Apparently there are usually 4-6 passengers with a max of 10 on the boat along with 2 bilingual crew members.
The webpage was very clear about everywhere we would be going and what was provided on this trip. Overall this tour seemed more intimate with its small group size and more efficient with its itinerary, while others had a lot of back and forth on the boat to pick up passengers at different locations.
After booking I was pleasantly surprised to see even more information on the confirmation page that was super clear and even included a picture of the exact spot for our pick up point.
My confirmation email had the same detailed information including what we should bring, such as a swimsuit, towel, sunscreen and pesos for lunch and a tip. This was a great contrast to other tours I was looking at, which included large groups seemingly stuffed on a boat and only vague descriptions of where we would meet and where the boat would go.
A little bit after I got my confirmation email, I saw I had a voicemail from the company saying (in perfect English) that they got our confirmation and were calling to make sure we have all the info we needed and that I should call back if I had questions. Now that is above and beyond! Then the day before our adventure, I got an email reminding me it was happening. They’re on top of this stuff! I love to see it 🙂 .
The Experience
We arrived at the pick up location about 30 minutes before the pick up time. Just in case 🙂 . My partner grabbed a coffee and then we went to explore the Los Muertos Beach Pier (Muelle de Playa Los Muertos).
We saw a few people in neon yellow shirts chatting at the beginning of the pier and after going past them, I saw that the back of one of their shirts said Estigo Tours. Apparently the front said the same, but in fancy cursive that my brain didn’t interpret as letters 🙂 .
Since we were super early and didn’t want to impose ourselves on someone for extra time 😉 , we explored the pier for a bit until I saw a call coming through on my phone 10 minutes before the 9am departure time from a PVR number. Oops! We hurried over to the neon shirted man who introduced himself as our tour guide, Chema.
He then told us that we would have the boat to ourselves that day – jackpot!!! He then pointed out our boat (The Mona Lisa), which was in the marina and he then took us to the end of the pier to board.
They were doing construction on the end of the pier while we were there so it was a bit hectic, but everyone was super nice about us trying our best to board a boat while not getting in the way of their welding 🙂 .
Chema and the boat driver, Manuel, helped us onto the boat and we were off! It was very smooth sailing with calm waters that let us relax while on the boat and take in the scenery. The boat was very comfortable. We hung out at the front of the boat where there were cushions to lounge on.
Chema showed us the cooler where we could put any food or drinks we brought. He also offered us water bottles from the same cooler, which we took. One side of the front of the boat even had cup holders to put them in.
Chema then asked if we would like to play our own music through the boat speakers, which we declined and said what they were playing was fine. He asked the same question on our way back at the end of the day. Very considerate 🙂 .
Anyway, we sailed by beautiful landscapes while mostly relaxing with Chema adding a few comments about points of interest, but mostly leaving us to relax, which I prefer. Then we arrived at Los Arcos National Park at 9:30am. The boat went into a cave under one of the larger islands first, which was cool to see. We heard Fruit Bats and looked into the water, which was wildly clear all the way to the ocean floor.
The boat then went to a large roped in area near the other Los Arcos Islands where we would be snorkeling. My partner and I both had worn our bathing suits under our clothes so it was easy to pop those off. Chema gave us snorkels, flippers and life jackets.
When we were all suited up, we jumped in the water from the boat and it was so WARM! I was bracing myself for the initial cold of jumping into the ocean, but it felt like a wonderful lukewarm bath.
Chema snorkeled with us and was very knowledgeable. I was asking him all kinds of fish and bird identification questions and he knew everything I asked.
After snorkeling near the boat for a bit, Chema asked if we wanted to go through the arch, which we said yes to. He led us through the cave arch where we saw scuba divers and to the other side of the island, which no one was exploring!
We had the place to ourselves. There were a fair number of boats next to the islands so I was expecting a lot of people, but there weren’t a lot and none of them drifted far from the boats at all so it felt like we were alone on the other side of the arch.
The most fish were near the boats where more people were, but on the side without people I saw the more elusive fish, such as my Mom’s favorite, the Parrotfish. There were also a bunch of giant Brown Pelicans watching us from their roosts right on the island a few feet from us. It was creepy 🙂 .
I began exploring and birding some more and noticed birds I couldn’t identify on an island that Chema said was called Turtle Rock because it’s shaped like a turtle. I asked him what those birds on top were and he said Blue Footed Boobies!!!
I started freaking out because I didn’t know they were a possibility to see on this tour! Other tours that I had researched seemed to go to Islas Marietas where they roost and mentioned you might see them. I was not prepared to see them at Los Arcos, but it looks like they’re usually here.
Chema said that we could take the boat closer to them on our way out of snorkeling. We snorkeled for about 45 minutes and then were asked if we wanted to stay longer or head out. We had had a great time and felt we had seen all the spots of the island, so we decided to head out.
The boat came to us on the other side of the arch and we climbed on, gave back our gear and started toweling off. Then it was time to see a Blue Footed Booby! The boat went right next to them and it was SO cool to see these bucket list birds. Their feet are indeed bright blue. I wish I was a better wild life photographer, but this was the best I could do:
After geeking out about this avian sighting, we headed further south. We passed Mismaloya, which is apparently where the 1987 Predator movie was filmed.
We also stopped at Playa Colomitos, which is the smallest beach in México…and it’s completely adorable.
Next we passed Playa Madagascar while I marveled at how clear and turquoise the water was. I have videos of these places in my Insta Story Highlights if you want to get a more full picture, but here’s a singular snap:
Las Animas Lunch
And finally we arrived at Playa Las Animas, which Chema told us is only accessible by boat.
He recommended that we eat at the El Coral restaurant that’s situated right on the beach. We settled into a table on the sand with a lovely view of the ocean. If we wanted to get even closer, they also serve food on beach loungers that are right next to the waves.
We ordered a guacamole appetizer, a diet Coke for my partner and 600 grams of Mahi Mahi to share. The guac came quickly and was delicious.
The mahi mahi took about 15-20 minutes to come out, but we didn’t mind at all with this lovely view to occupy us.
When the fish arrived it was worth the wait. Everything was yummy and what we originally thought was lime on top of the fish was actually a type of orange and worked perfectly with the flavors of the fish. We were quickly stuffed with seafood.
After eating, we checked out the bathrooms, which were large and clean. They also included an outdoor shower in case we wanted to get the sand off us and a dressing room to change.
The service at the restaurant was very attentive and since we were directly on the beach, two people did come up trying to sell us things, but they weren’t pushy about it and left after we said “no gracias.”
Well to be specific, the second person asked if I said no thank you because I didn’t like her work and I said I did like it, but I didn’t want to buy it and that I wanted her to have a good day. Spanish lessons for the win 🙂 .
We had a lovely lunch, but one slightly suspicious thing happened when we were trying to pay. The server set down the check after we asked for it and then left immediately. Up until this point, everyone at the restaurant had spoken to us in English (including the server who gave us the check).
However, the bill had a Spanish phrase that I’d never seen before: “servicio sugerido” and it was written in hard-to-read writing (so we weren’t sure what the word was at first and couldn’t properly look it up):
After some digging I figured out what it was trying to say and found that it means “suggested service” aka suggested tip, but it was presented in a way that implies it was part of the bill and the total at the bottom that’s circled is what we owe (and would usually use to calculate an additional tip).
Up until this point, everywhere in México I’ve heard and seen “propina” as the way to indicate a tip, so I found this a little sus. Their suggested tip was 15% of the bill (tipping in México seems to usually be 10-15%).
However, 20% is what we default to in the US and abroad anyway and we still paid that, but I just didn’t like that this seemed to be done in a way to trip up tourists that don’t speak Spanish and get them to pay more than the usual tip.
Anyway, this wasn’t a big deal. I was mostly just surprised because this was the only slightly sketchy behavior we experienced this entire trip abroad outside regular PVR airport grifters (which I’ll go into detail about in my upcoming PVR Slow Travel Review 🙂 ). It’s a lot less than I expected overall while traveling.
Now, back to the boat trip 🙂 . Chema had mentioned to us that if we wanted to stay longer at Las Animas, the boat is able to extend its time for $60 USD/hour. However, we were on the other side of the scale.
After we ate, we still had about 40 minutes before we were set to head back downtown. I mentioned to Chema that we weren’t in a rush, but if they wanted to head back early we were ready.
So we were back on the boat about 20 minutes before our scheduled departure time of 12:30pm and I’m so glad we were for two reasons. One is that we saw a black and white Guineafowl Pufferfish right next to the ladder we were using to climb into the boat. It’s a pretty fish…and I later looked it up to discover it’s highly poisonous. Good thing I didn’t accidentally touch it 🙂 .
The other cool thing was that we spotted Bottlenose Dolphins on our way back downtown and Manuel stopped the boat to point them out and let us watch this giant pod go by. I once again have full videos in my Insta Story Highlights, but here is a shaky picture – I’m doing my best 🙂 :
Some swam right next to the boat and it was so cool!!! Anyway, after that nerdy detour we arrived back at Los Muertos Beach Pier right on time at 1pm.
The very clear instructions from the Estigo Tours confirmation email had mentioned that a peso tip of 10-15% was standard for these trips so we were sure to bring extra cash. We gave a 17.5% tip to Chema and Manuel. Then Chema asked if we needed help finding a taxi. We declined, thanked them for an awesome time and headed out. What a wonderful day 🙂 .
The Review
I was extremely impressed with this tour. Communication from Estigo Tours was on point and some of the best I’ve ever seen from a tour company. Their customer service was above and beyond and our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, kind and accommodating. I think this tour is worth its price even if we hadn’t been the other people on the boat that day and I’m excited to use Estigo Tours again when I come back to Puerto Vallarta.
Conclusion
I had a fantastic time snorkeling around Los Arcos, watching Bottlenose Dolphins play around our boat and seeing Blue Footed Boobies for the first time. I’m so happy that I was able to come back to Puerto Vallarta and check all these things off my bucket list.
What do you look for when choosing a tour company?
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OMG. What an incredible snorkelling trip! It sounds like a perfect day. Good weather, nice tour operators, good food, a minimum of tourist trapping, and, most importantly, awesome wildlife spotting! That’s as good as it gets.
Yeah we got really lucky 🙂 .
Sounds truly beautiful, what a perfect day.
It was 🙂 . Thank you.
This looks like fun. I’ve always wanted to see national parks in other countries, although there are lots of them in the U.S. I haven’t gotten to yet!
How much experience with snorkeling do you need for a tour like this?
True story 🙂 . I still have a lot to visit in the US as well. This was my first island/underwater national park though. As for snorkeling, I don’t think you need any experience – they mentioned complete beginners are welcome and the water was super calm.