Majahuitas, another unique beach in Jalisco, Mexico

Majahuitas, despite being a small cove with a small stretch of golden sand beach, is woven into Puerto Vallarta’s colorful history.

After Mexicana Airlines started regular flights to the town, various foreigners moved down to marvel and live in the pristine jungle areas that were bounded by crystal-clear emerald waters and beautiful sandy beaches.

Majahuitas Beach

Majahuitas jumps into the local folklore with the Von Rohr family settling there for many years, who are linked with Archie Alpenia, the original owner of Archie’s Wok Restaurant, who was also John Huston’s personal chef for many years (more below).

Puerto Vallarta’s South Zone beaches

Majahuitas Beach is the place par excellence if you desire to just turn off your cell phone, forget about the clock and completely disconnect from it all – except nature and relaxation, of course.

Getting there is quite an adventure, though it’s easy enough. Access is only by sea, it’s located a mile and a half to the west of Quimixto town and beach (18 miles/29 km from Puerto Vallarta).

Majahuitas Beach looking east

The only way to get there is by sea, starting points are the pier at Los Muertos Beach in the Romantic Zone or, better still, travel by land southward from downtown PV by taxi or bus to Boca de Tomatlán (the last bay before the highway turns inland), where you can take a water taxi (panga) that passes Colomitos, Las Animas, Quimixto and Las Caletas before arriving at Majahuitas (see map above).

Check out the water taxi schedule.

Majahuitas Beach is south of Puerto Vallarta, located between Yelapa to the west and Quimixto to the east.

Majahuitas’ name comes from “Majahua” (Hibiscus pernambucensis – Seaside Mahoe), which was actually the original name of the beach, a local tree (photo above) with large leaves that can grow by the edge of the sea and is commonly found on these beaches of the southern part of the Banderas Bay.

The Majahua tree

Local kids used to use them to make toy bows (for bows and arrows) because they are soft and easy to carve while humid and become tougher and elastic when dry.

Majahuitas Beach, South Zone, Puerto Vallarta

Though the beach itself is part of the Chacala Indian Ejido (commune), this beach was leased to and became the home for the Von Rohr family that lived in a beautiful house in this almost private paradise.

Cathy Von Rohr is a distinguished artist (photo below) and Nevon Seay Von Rohr was a retired businessman that presented Archie Alpenia to John Huston (Archie later became Huston’s personal chef in Las Caletas and was the original owner and founder of Archie’s Wok Restaurant in the Romantic Zone).

Cathy and the Von Rohr family lived at Playa Majahuitas for 27 years but moved into town in 2002 where she has continued working as a renowned artist. Visit: cathyvonrohr.com.

“The Path to John’s” Cathy Von Rohr painting in Archie’s Wok Restaurant

Cathy Lomprey Von Rohr Biography

Born in Toledo Ohio and spent her childhood in Wayne, Michigan. She received a Bachelor of Industrial Design in 1964 from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Worked for GM in Detroit, designing Cadillacs. After a few years in Michigan, she returned to New York to work for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, teach at Parsons School of Design, and freelance as a graphic and exhibit designer. After five years in New York, she moved to Mexico City to work as product and graphic designer for Rafael Davidson.

“Waterfall at Quimixto” Cathy Von Rohr painting in Archie’s Wok Restaurant

In 1967 she met Nevon Seay Von Rohr, a retired businessman from California, and settled with him on the isolated beach south of Puerto Vallarta named Playa Majahuitas (Majahuitas Beach). There she began painting and sculpting. Preferring not to be limited by one recognizable style, her creativity is unlimited and ever open to new stimuli. At peace with nature her paintings glow with tropical themes. Her first show in 1970 at Galleria Uno in Puerto Vallarta marked the official start of her career as a painter and sculptor. Her work is now in private collections throughout Mexico, the United States and Europe.

I can tell you, the place invites you to just lay down and relax, the place makes you feel like you are on a deserted tropical island, the rustle of the palm trees, gentle waves lapping the beach, the warmth, the humidity… but if you feel like doing something, swimming is great, there are kayaks and snorkeling is also available.

In addition to white sand and crystal clear water, you will also find a reef and numerous sea caves inhabited by a wide variety of marine fauna.

These include sea cucumbers, parrotfish, pufferfish, damselfish, angelfish, trumpet fish, moray eels, among many others, that can easily be spotted through the water, or, if you want to appreciate them up close you might be able to find someone to rent you scuba diving gear.

Majahuitas looking west

From the last days of November to mid-March you’ll be able to see and photograph up to four different species of sea turtles plus humpback whales, manta rays, and dolphins.

Majahuitas Beach, tours with Vallarta Adventures & Marigalante

Majahuitas beach is next to the Tuito jungle, between the town of Quimixto and the fishing village of Yelapa, so you will not only find fish of all colors but also a large number of birds that fly over the site constantly. It is also rich in palm trees and all kinds of wildlife.

Majahuitas has a small river too

Being a virgin beach located in the southern part of Banderas Bay is the best place if you enjoy nature, swimming, sunbathing, hikes, and other eco-activities.

Majahuitas beach view from the west side looking east

To get access to this heavenly place, you can take a water taxi (panga) from Boca de Tomatlan or the pier at Los Muertos, or take one of the bay cruise tours that visit different beaches around the bay. The trip in a “panga” from Boca should be no more than 20 to 30 minutes depending on the stops along the way.

Majahuitas cove and the Marigalante Pirate Tour

Many of the main tours provided include a trip to Yelapa too, another one of the beaches and towns in the area that you should not miss. Other activities you can enjoy on the beach are kayaking, hiking, and snorkeling.

Previous home of the Von Rohr family at Majahuitas Beach

Another one of the important reasons why Majahuitas was well known was in great part due to “Majahuitas Resort”, a hotel that was built in this Chacala ejido but is now permanently closed.

In its day, it is one of the few real environmentally friendly hotels in the area. It used renewable solar energy to power the rooms and common areas, they recycled plastic, aluminum, and glass and kept the gardens nourished using compost, and other green practices.

Clear and warm waters of Majahuitas

It has now been replaced with Majahuitas Beach Club, it look trendy and chic, but I am not so sure they keep the same eco-friendly ethos as Majahuitas Resort had in its time, we’ll see.

Majahuitas, Jalisco, Mexico

Now the Chacala Indigenous Community has lent the land concession to Vallarta Adventures and there no longer is a place to overnight on this beach.

I haven’t either heard this tour provider offer any accommodations or camping permissions on the beach, so my guess is that there is no way to lodge here, not anymore.

* Based on information by Eduardo Guereña and Adán Mantecón Montes.