La Cruz Anchorage

La Cruz is a hub for cruisers along this coast, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a tight little fishing town with a family vibe and a thriving music scene. Add to this a full-service marina with lots of activities (including a thriving kids club), various marine service providers, a decent selection of good restaurants and easy bus access to Puerto Vallarta, and it’s easy to see why people call it a “velcro” town. Easy to get stuck in. But there are worse things that can happen to your cruising season.

Approach:

Wide open from any obvious approach.

Anchoring/Mooring:

The anchorage is a loosely defined area to the east of the marina, wrapping around the point toward Bucerias, and out to about 40 feet of depth or so. Bottom is mucky sand, mostly, but take care to keep well off the rocky shallow zone off the point, and give yourself plenty of room should the swell pick up. Note that this is not a particularly protective anchorage, as it is open to afternoon wind waves and swell from any direction south of west. Typically mellow in the winter months, things get quite sporty in the afternoons in spring. Nearly every year a boat misjudges the swell/wave action and ends up dragging, sometimes onto the beach/rocks. Don’t let it be you.

Ashore:

Wow, where to start. How about just getting ashore? La Cruz is one of the few spots along this coast where you can come in to a proper dinghy dock, and not test your luck with a beach landing (although you can do that, too, if you like). The dinghy dock is well into the marina on the SW side, past the main office/restaurant building, on dock Two. Current cost (Nov 2021) is 80 pesos for the day, although collection is spotty. To avoid this fee, land on the beach just outside the marina breakwall near the entrance, pull your dinghy up well from the water, and walk into town from there.
For more about the marina and village, see the La Cruz Marina listing »

Don’t Miss:

The La Cruz Sunday Market is a must-see collection of upscale artwork, trinkets and delicious food, sprinkled with live music and hard-to-find grocery items and delicacies. The main food stalls are near the marina entrance and out on the furthest point of the breakwall, basically at either end of the long, strung out market. It’s a lot to take in, but well worth it.