Caballo Beach (El Caballo) Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, Mexico

Caballo Beach, Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, Mexico

Caballo Beach (El Caballo), Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, Mexico

Playa Caballo (or El Caballo, I’ve seen it mentioned both ways – Horse or The Horse) is a beautiful, relatively isolated, beach just northeast of Las Animas Beach in the South Zone of the Banderas Bay.

You can get there directly by water taxi (panga) you can ask to be left off at Playa Caballo, it may not be viable due to waves and tides. If you are not looking to get wet, maybe it’s best to arrive at the pier at Las Animas and then walk northeast along the beach, take the path to Hotelito Mio, and to the right of the hotel is Caballo Beach. If you continue northeast you’ll get to Casitas Maraika, that has a small nice beach just to the right of it too.

Caballo Beach Panorama

The beach has light yellow sand, clear emerald green-blue waters, the waves can be stronger than the ones at Las Animas. Because Las Animas is a popular beach destination for a number of bay cruises, if you want a bit more privacy and want to enjoy a calmer day at the beach, you should consider walking to this beach. If you need a drink and snack, you can go to the bar of Casitas Maraika and enjoy the view too.

This beach is less known than Las Ánimas and Colomitos. You’ll normally find it almost devoid of tourists, so it’ll have a bit of an isolated tropical island beach. The beach is 300 meters from east to west (just under 1000 ft long) and 30 to 40 meters wide (100-120 ft wide), the sand is a light yellowish/golden tone, the sand is soft and the waters transparent emerald green. Waves tend to be stronger here and there is no lifesaver, so I would be careful and avoid swimming on this beach.

There are no services on the beach, it’s the beach, palm trees, and the sea. On the west side, you’ll find Hotelito Mio and you can maybe buy some drinks and food from them. I haven’t tried. On the east side, you’ll walk along the path there that continues eastward and after some 80 yards (240 feet) you’ll arrive at Casitas Maraika, where you can get drinks and snacks at their bar. I really enjoyed their lemonades, big, cold and tasty, just what you need when you are thirsty and hot.

There are two main ways to get there, for most visitors, only one.

• Take a vehicle (bus, taxi, Uber) from Puerto Vallarta to Boca de Tomatlan and from there speed off southward in one of the many water taxis that leave to the remote landlocked beaches in the south edge of the bay. You’ll take the water taxi to Las Animas Beach, get off on the pier and walk eastward (to your left when walking off the pier). Right before you arrive at Brisas Beach (the east end of Las Animas), there will be a path going up and behind the restaurant. There are also signs showing the way to the beach and Hotelito Mío and Casitas Maraika, it’s the same path. Once you pass Hotelito Mío, you’ll arrive at Caballo Beach.

Route from Las Animas Beach to Caballo Beach

• There’s a hiking path from Boca de Tomatlán to Colomitos Beach, the hiking route continues westward and goes by Majahuillas Beach (newly dubbed Madagascar), La Troza Beach, and then after a total of 6.5 kilometers, you arrive at Caballo Beach.

Playa Caballo (El Caballo/Horse Beach) is located in Puerto Vallarta’s South Zone. It’s one of the beaches you can get to via water taxi (panga) from Boca de Tomatlan in the southern part of Banderas Bay. Most of the beaches are only accessible via water taxi or in the case of Colomitos and Las Animas along a complicated hike along the edge of the sea and through the jungle.

You’ll find Caballo Beach between La Troza Beach to the northeast and Las Animas Beach that’s located southwest of it.