Lifestyle,  Mexico,  Travel

Hiking from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas – Mexico part 2

Before going to Puerto Vallarta I did a lot of searching to find activities to do outside the city. Puerto Vallarta is definitely a resort city full of retirees, so finding something low key was pretty hard. I found a good bit of reviews and posts about a hike from Boca to Animas. Mostly, all the post were from 2014 and not the most up to date. That being said, the hike is not as secluded as it used to be and we passed multiple groups of people. However, Colin and I both agree this hike made the trip to Puerto Vallarta.

We took a bus from our place (about 15 minutes away) to Boca de Tomatlan for 8 pesos. If coming from town, you need to catch the bus in Old Town on the corner of Basilio Badillo and Constitucion. It will be an orange bus labeled Mismaloya/Boca and will cost 8 pesos. When we arrived in Baco we headed down the hill to the beach, it was an early Sunday morning so there weren’t many people out.

Hiking from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas

You could tell there was construction work happening, but since it was the weekend there was no one there and easy to walk around. We came back to this spot the following day and were surrounded by construction workers and machinery.

We went on a great day. This was the only day, for the week that we were there, that the water was calm and clear! I regret not jumping in the water right then and there, because we never got that great of weather again.

Hiking from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas

To find the exact start of the trial, you need to walk up the river. We ended up asking a local for directions because we weren’t able to find it ourselves. Again, you are going to have to walk through some construction. You can kinda see it on the left side of the photo above in the distance. If you are coming from the bus, walk down the hill until you hit the sand and start walking left up the river.

Hike from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas

There is a small sign that will point you in the direction of a foot bright. There were a few donkeys hanging by the water here.  

Once we crossed over the bridge we hung out at the beach to take some photos.

As you start off the hike you pass through many backyards along the water’s edge. No one pays you any attention or minds. The hike is easy walking along cement paths here.


We stopped in this area to take some drone video that I will be sharing later 🙂



Hike from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas

Leaving Boca.

We were told this hike takes no more than two hours. We spent just one hanging out in Boca and taking photos.

Loved these steps leading into the water.

There are many places to stop along the way and enjoy the view.

As you leave Boca and all the residential areas, you head up the hill into the jungle. I carried bug spray with me, but forgot to put it on! I received a nasty bug bite that stayed red for the whole week. So make sure you wear bug spray for this part of the hike if you don’t want to be bitten!

You pass a few older buildings from up above, this one we could see from the trail.

Hike from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas

First sight of Colomitos Beach coming out of the jungle.

When you start coming back down the mountain you pass over the Ocean Grill. We ate lunch here the following day, so more about our visit in a following post.

Hike from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas

We headed down to the beach and it was packed with crowds of people! At least two tour boats came in with two smaller personal boats. The beach itself was packed! There wasn’t even a place to sit down even if we wanted to. We decided not to even stop here and kept walking. You pick up the trail on the other side of the beach.  This is the only section of the hike some people might have trouble with. We had to help a few older people up the other side of the rocks.
(I read in other blogs there is another pathway that heads up the mountain instead of along the coast. I suggest taking the coast, a lot more scenic and not a consent uphill climb.)

There were a few kids jumping off the rocks here.

If you are looking to enjoy a nice swim, I suggest going to one of the beaches after Colomitos. There were hardly any people, if any, at the next few beaches. I believe the name of this beach is Escondida.

You head back into the jungle for a bit before the trail splits in two, but only one way looks to continue. We headed up the mountain path and started questioning if this was the right way, since we were leaving the coast. We ran into another couple that told us they were walking up the mountain for 45minutes and never came across another person, so they turned around. We also decided to turn around. (I believe this is where the other path from Colomitos Beach comes down from the mountain, but not sure) The other path does continue but goes around the fence to La Troza Beach Resort.

The couple we saw on the mountain stayed here and went swimming. The only other people we saw at this resort were the workers who didn’t seem to mind us.

The path turns back to concrete for a bit before coming to another beach.

Hike from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas

We were starving by this point in the day, so we decided to get a drink and enjoy a late lunch at this restaurant ( Casitas Maraika) on the beach. Just make sure if you eat you have time to spare! This place took FOREVER to receive our food and even a drink, but we enjoyed our time here and view!

There was also a swing!


Next was Caballo Beach

Hike from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas

Hike from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas

We finally reached Las Animas but it was packed with people, so we decided to just catch a water taxi and head back to Boca. Definitely, recommend this hike when visiting Puerto Vallarta!

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