Punta Mita is the narrow peninsula at the northern tip of Banderas Bay, about 45 minutes north of central Puerto Vallarta. The point itself was a humble fishing village called Corral del Risco until the 1990s, when most of the surrounding land was sold off to luxury resorts — the Four Seasons, the St Regis — and gated golf communities. The original village still survives at the eastern edge, where palapa restaurants serve the fishermen's daily catch and the atmosphere is far more down-to-earth than the resort gates suggest.
For day visitors the main draw is offshore: the Marietas Islands, a small national park where Jacques Cousteau filmed in the 1960s and where the famous hidden beach sits inside a collapsed cavern. Boat tours to the islands leave from the village dock, and permit numbers are now strictly limited to protect the reef, so trips must be booked through licensed operators.
The two Jack Nicklaus golf courses are open only to resort guests, but the public beach at Anclote is excellent for a swim and a long lunch, and the surf town of Sayulita is just up the coast. Punta Mita is the most polished and resort-shaped of the day trips from Puerto Vallarta — worth it chiefly as the jumping-off point for the Marietas and for a quieter beach day away from the city.