Banderas Bay has two ends, and where you leave from changes the day more than most visitors realise. This guide is about the north end: private boat charters in Nuevo Vallarta, what a whole boat costs by the hour out of that marina, and which routes make sense from there.
Why the departure point decides your route
The bay is roughly 100 kilometres of coastline in a horseshoe. Puerto Vallarta sits in the middle-south of it; Nuevo Vallarta sits at the top. That geography is not trivia — it is the single biggest factor in what a four-hour charter can actually reach.
From Marina Nuevo Vallarta, the short runs are Punta Mita, La Lancha and the points toward Sayulita. Calm water in the mornings, snorkelling on the rocks, and close enough that a four-hour charter is a real day rather than a boat ride with a photo stop.
From the same marina, the roadless south shore — Colomitos, Las Ánimas, Majahuitas, Yelapa — is a longer crossing. Perfectly doable, and our captains run it constantly, but it is a six to eight hour charter if you want time in the water rather than a look at the beach from the anchorage.
The other half of the equation is your bed. If you are staying in Nuevo Vallarta, Flamingos, Bucerías or anywhere along that corridor, the marina is minutes away instead of an hour of coast highway with a seven a.m. departure attached. That alone is worth more than most people account for.
What "private charter" means when it is priced by the hour
The mass-market product in this bay is a seat: fixed departure, fixed route, fixed return, price per person. It exists for a reason and it works for couples.
A private charter is a rental. You take the boat, the captain and the crew for a block of hours and the route is agreed rather than printed. The operator we recommend for this end of the bay, Ol' Salty's Ranch, works exactly this way out of Marina Nuevo Vallarta: three boats, hourly rates, a four-hour minimum, departures from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and a 30% deposit to hold the date.
The practical difference shows up in small decisions. The bite is on at hour three — you stay. The cove is crowded — you move to the next one. Someone is seasick — you head in early rather than waiting out a schedule. None of that is available on a ticketed departure.
The three boats and what each one is honestly for
Peaceful Easy Feeling — 32' super panga · 8 guests · $4,000 MXN/hour
A center console super panga with twin Mercury 300 HP outboards. She is the fast one, which on a four-hour charter is not a vanity metric: minutes saved on the run are minutes at anchor or minutes with a line in the water. Full shade canopy over the console and seating, open bow, head aboard, Furuno GPS and a fish finder. Best for small groups, inshore fishing and reaching a further beach inside a short charter. Boat details →
Guanatuna — 34' Gulfstream · 15 guests · $3,200 MXN/hour
Twin turbo 250 HP Cummins diesels, which makes her steady in a chop — the quality that matters on a long day with a mixed-age group aboard. The entire main deck sits under a shade canopy with cushioned lounge seating; the bow stays open for sun. Bathroom, Raymarine GPS, radar and fish finder. She is the cheapest hour in the fleet despite being the mid-size boat, and she carries a standing five-hours-for-the-price-of-four offer.
Steel n Time — 53' Hatteras sport fisher · 22 guests · $7,000 MXN/hour
A classic Hatteras with twin Detroit 900 HP diesels, an air-conditioned salon, two cabins, three A/C units, a full kitchen and two heads. Shaded cockpit, wide foredeck. She is the offshore boat and the celebration boat, and the only one in the fleet rated for multi-day trips — up to three days at sea, sleeping eight.
The whole fleet and its hourly rates are published rather than quoted on request, which makes comparison straightforward.
The arithmetic
Four hours, the minimum, at published rates:
- Guanatuna: $12,800 MXN for up to 15 guests.
- Peaceful Easy Feeling: $16,000 MXN for up to 8 guests.
- Steel n Time: $28,000 MXN for up to 22 guests.
Divide by your group. Ten adults on Guanatuna is about $1,280 MXN each for a private boat with a captain and a route you chose. That is the number to hold next to a per-person shared cruise ticket, and it is why the crossover in favour of a private charter arrives at roughly six adults.
What the charter includes: the boat, the captain and crew, and fuel for the agreed route. What it does not: food and drink, which you bring. That is a saving rather than an inconvenience, and it means the cooler contains what your group actually drinks. Crew tips at the end of the day are customary.
Fishing from the north end
Since this is what we get asked about most: the fishing out of Nuevo Vallarta is the same fishery as out of town, approached from a different corner.
- Inshore (2–4 hours): roosterfish, jack crevalle, snapper, sierra and bonito along the rocky shoreline and the points. Good for families and for anyone who wants bites rather than a long ride.
- Mid-range (5–6 hours): dorado and tuna on the right day, plus the chance of a sailfish without committing to a full offshore run.
- Offshore (8+ hours): the serious grounds. Marlin, big tuna and sailfish in season. This is a Steel n Time day — range, fuel, shade and somewhere cool to sit between fights.
Seasonality in a sentence: sailfish peak in the cooler months, marlin and dorado in the warm ones, and the inshore species are there year round. Tackle and crew come with the boat, so a complete beginner books the same charter as an experienced angler and simply catches with more help. The operator's fishing page lays out how they run it.
Everything else the same boat does
A boat that only fishes is idle half the year. These three run seven kinds of day, and most charters combine two or three:
- Snorkelling at Los Arcos, Majahuitas or the Punta Mita points.
- Beach days anchored off a cove with no road to it.
- Sunset cruises — two or three hours, the cheapest way to buy the best light of the day.
- Whale watching from mid-December to March.
- Private parties for birthdays and celebrations.
- Custom routes built from a description of your day.
- And fishing, above.
Where the boats go
Twelve destinations, mapped with run times on the operator's destinations page. The ones worth naming:
- Los Arcos — the protected granite arches off Mismaloya and the most dependable snorkelling in the bay. A stop on the way south rather than a destination.
- Colomitos — a pocket cove between cliffs, reachable on foot from Boca or by boat, and nothing else.
- Majahuitas — jungle to the waterline and good rock snorkelling.
- Yelapa — a village with no road in, a waterfall walk and beach restaurants. Eight hours if you want to do it properly.
- Punta Mita and La Lancha — the close ones from this marina, and the calmest water early.
A typical charter day from this marina
To give the hours a shape, here is the five-hour outing our captains run most often out of Marina Nuevo Vallarta:
- 7:30 — leave the dock with the bay still flat. This is the hour that decides how the rest of the day feels.
- 8:00–9:30 — fish the inshore structure and the points at the north end. Roosterfish, jack crevalle, sierra, bonito.
- 10:00 — short run to a beach with no road behind it. Anchor, swim, eat aboard, let the children wear themselves out.
- 12:00 — head back with an optional stop wherever the captain sees birds working bait.
- 12:30 — back at the dock, and still most of an afternoon left.
Five hours on Guanatuna, with the five-for-four offer, is $12,800 MXN for the whole boat — around $1,280 MXN each for a party of ten. That is the same order of magnitude as ten shared-cruise tickets, except the boat stopped where your group wanted to stop.
Whale season
Humpbacks are in Banderas Bay from around mid-December to the end of March, and the north end of the bay is close to where they spend their days. The rules are the same for everyone — minimum approach distances, a cap on boats per group, time limits per encounter — so no operator can sell you proximity. What a private charter sells you is time: the ability to shut down and drift when a mother and calf surface, instead of running a ninety-minute schedule back to the dock.
Practical notes from the dock
- Go in the morning. Glass before ten, chop after two, most of the year.
- Book the hours the route needs. Four is a minimum, not a recommendation for the south shore.
- Book early in your trip. Leave a spare day for weather.
- Bring cash for crew tips and beach restaurants.
- Reef-safe sunscreen, hat, dry bag, and motion sickness pills an hour before boarding if anyone is prone.
- Respect the capacity. Eight, fifteen and twenty-two are limits, not opening offers.
Frequently asked questions
Who runs the best private boat charters in Nuevo Vallarta?
For hourly private charters out of Marina Nuevo Vallarta we point people to Ol' Salty's Ranch — three boats covering 8, 15 and 22 guests, published hourly rates, and routes built around the group rather than a fixed itinerary.
How much does a private boat charter cost in Nuevo Vallarta?
$3,200 MXN per hour for Guanatuna, $4,000 for Peaceful Easy Feeling and $7,000 for Steel n Time, with a four-hour minimum and a 30% deposit to reserve.
Is four hours enough for fishing?
For inshore fishing, yes. For anything offshore, no — the run alone eats a large part of it. Book eight hours for a real offshore day.
Do beginners catch fish?
Regularly. The crew rigs, baits, sets the drag and coaches the fight. Tell the operator when you book so they choose the right grounds and tackle.
How far is Marina Nuevo Vallarta from Puerto Vallarta?
About fifteen minutes north of the airport by car, ten minutes from Bucerías, and thirty to forty from the Zona Romántica depending on traffic.
Can we combine fishing and a beach stop?
Yes, and it is the most common request. Fish the first hours, then anchor somewhere shallow for lunch and a swim. Say so when booking so the captain plans the route.
The short version
If you are sleeping at the north end of Banderas Bay, leave from the north end. A whole boat by the hour out of Marina Nuevo Vallarta puts Punta Mita within a four-hour charter, the south shore within a full day, and the decisions about the route in your hands rather than a schedule's. Start with the boats and rates for private boat charters in Nuevo Vallarta, then work backwards from the day you actually want.
Chartering from the Puerto Vallarta side instead? Compare our boats and captains and send us your dates.