One of the symbols of Puerto Vallarta is the National Marine Park Los Arcos, a sedimentary formation on the south side of Banderas Bay, well known for its arched passages through its islets.
A popular tour destination, Los Arcos attracts visitors to come and go swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, paddle boarding, kayaking, bird watching or to just take a boat ride to enjoy the natural beauty of the place.
This time we chose to go kayaking but to make sure everything went well, we chose to go with professionals and went with Paddle Zone, located on Mismaloya Beach.
The tour started at 10am from the Mismaloya beach (but you can choose to go at 7am which would had been fantastic as well, for you would had been all by yourselves in this beautiful place), where the guys from Paddle Zone prepared the kayaks and a cooler with water, power bars and snorkeling gear among other things.
Armando our guide, explained that we would be kayaking from the beach to Los Arcos and once there we would tour the islets and go through the arched passages if it was safe.
It wasn’t long before we reached Los Arcos on the kayaks and as soon as we did, we went right to the North end of one of the arches. We waited until the waves stopped and went right through it. Immediately you feel captivated by the surrounding natural setting. There is a sharp contrast between the calming sensation of the gentle rocking of the kayak and adrenalin of going through the arched cave before the next set of waves comes however, once you get it done a confidence grows in you and you can’t wait to do it again.
Experiencing Los Arcos on a paddle board or a kayak is certainly different than being on a boat, a person must have the ability to control his/her balance and it is always better to have a guide that will help you in case you need it.
I hope you like the video and if you decide to try it, go with a professional that knows the area and knows what he’s doing.
Here is a short video of this experience: