Puerto Vallarta & Banderas Bay · Mexico · Reef
Islas Marietas
Volcanic islands with hard coral, sea fans and passing manta rays
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Islas Marietas are barren volcanic islands near Punta Mita, at the north tip of Banderas Bay. They have been a Marine Protected Area since 2005 and are now a Biosphere Reserve. The water around them is 21 to 34 m (70 to 110 ft) deep. The reef carries significant hard coral cover with sponges, gorgonians, sea fans and nudibranchs, and sea turtles and manta rays are often reported.
Also known as Marietas Islands, Marieta Islands.
Where it is and how deep
20.6990° N, 105.5850° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The islands are volcanic in origin and show their erosion as multiple caves and caverns. The water around them is between 21 and 34 m (70 and 110 ft) deep, and the reef below carries significant hard coral cover along with sponges, echinoderms, gorgonians and sea fans.
The reef life is small and varied: numerous species of mollusks and nudibranchs live among the sponges and fans. Sea turtles and manta rays are often reported around the islands, along with octopus and many species of tropical fish, so a dive here moves between the coral detail and the open water.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Sea turtles
- Manta rays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Puerto Vallarta & Banderas Bay: June to November is warm and opens the open-sea islets to the north; from December the sea outside the bay roughens and 20 m water can fall to 13 °C.
Know before you go
- The islands are a protected area; divers leave the coral, sea fans and gorgonians untouched and keep fins off the reef.
Photos from Islas Marietas
Christian Frausto Bernal from Tepic, Nayarit, MEXICO · CC BY-SA 2.0
terri_bateman · CC BY 2.0
Fernando Flores · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dive videos
Scuba Dive Islas Marietas · Christian Hernandez on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How long is the boat ride to the Islas Marietas?+
The boat ride to the islands takes about 70 minutes.
Are the Islas Marietas protected?+
Yes. The islands were declared a Marine Protected Area in 2005 and are now also a Biosphere Reserve.
Sources
- Islas Marietas National Park — Wikipedia
- Islas Marietas — Vallarta Under Sea
Photo credits
- A pale rocky islet of the Marietas with a sea arch at the waterline and green, clear water below by Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Looking out from inside a collapsed crater at a hidden sand beach ringed by rock and open to the sky by Christian Frausto Bernal from Tepic, Nayarit, MEXICO, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A blue-footed booby standing on a rock ledge against a weathered cliff by terri_bateman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A humpback whale breaching out of the sea, its long pectoral fin and grooved throat clear of the water by Fernando Flores, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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