Puerto Vallarta & Banderas Bay · Mexico · Reef · Sand slope
Majahuitas
A garden eel colony dense enough to look like grass
Majahuitas is a dive in Banderas Bay from 5 to 27 m (18 to 90 ft), about 45 minutes by boat from Puerto Vallarta. Its current is tenuous, with one side always sheltered, so it is used for beginner divers. The site is known for a garden eel colony so dense it looks like a field of underwater grass.
Also known as Las Caletas.
Where it is and how deep
20.5072° N, 105.3905° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Majahuitas runs from 5 m (18 ft) down to 27 m (90 ft), with five possible underwater trails along the beaches and capes on the south shore of the bay. The current is tenuous, and one side of the site is always sheltered from it, which is why it is used for beginner divers. The boat ride out from Puerto Vallarta takes about 45 minutes.
The reason to come is the garden eels. They live here in such numbers that the colony looks like an underwater grass field. Rock formations line the trails; on the north trail from Las Caletas beach a sand drop leads to the remains of a couple of small panga boats, and the trail from Cerro Bola follows the shore over a bottom of around 15 to 18 m (50 to 60 ft).
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| 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.
Dive videos
Majahuitas - Puerto Vallarta - Banderas Scuba Republic · Timm Bottoni on YouTube
Majahuitas · silentworlddivers on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is Majahuitas good for beginner divers?+
Yes. The current is tenuous and one side is always sheltered, so the site is used for beginners, though its deepest parts reach 27 m (90 ft).
Sources
- Diving Sites in Banderas Bay — Banderas Scuba Republic
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