Las Ánimas is a small beach village on the southern shore of Banderas Bay, reachable only by boat. There is no road in: water taxis run from Boca de Tomatlán roughly every half hour through the day, and the 15-minute crossing past jungle-covered headlands is half the appeal. The beach is a long stretch of soft white sand backed by a line of palapa restaurants serving grilled fish and cold beer, with calm water that is gentle enough for kids.
Most people come as a day trip from Puerto Vallarta, and the village fills up around midday with the lunch crowd. Stay past three in the afternoon and most of them clear out on the return boats, leaving you most of the beach to yourself for the last hour of the day. There is decent snorkelling at the rocky points at either end of the bay, where the water is clear and the fish gather around the submerged boulders.
A jungle trail leads south from Las Ánimas to the neighbouring village of Quimixto, about 30 minutes' walk away, where another waterfall rewards the effort. Between the easy beach, the snorkelling, and the short hikes, Las Ánimas makes for one of the more relaxed and least developed of the south-shore village trips — quieter than Yelapa and easier to reach than most.