Cruising in Banderas Bay, Mexico one of the great places to sail.
Bahía de Banderas (Bay of Flags) is both a bay and a municipality in the Mexican state of Nayarit. The bay, site of the tourist destination Puerto Vallarta, is bounded on the north by Punta Mita and on the south by Cape Corrientes. It straddles the states of Jalisco and Nayarit. At approximately 100 km long, it is not the largest bay in Mexico, despite what many locals claim. The municipality had a population of 83,739 in 2005 (59,808 in 2000) in a total area of 773.3 km². The municipal seat is Valle de Banderas with a population of 5,057 in 2005. Other towns are San Juan de Abajo (8,159), Bucerías (5,711), San José del Valle (5,188), San Vicente (3,543) and Jarretaderas (3,426). The municipality was created in 1989. In the north the municipality borders Compostela, in the east with the state of Jalisco, in the south with the Pacific Ocean and the state of Jalisco, and in the west with the Pacific Ocean. The economy is based on tourism, fishing and agriculture. The main crops are corn (maize), beans, sorghum, tobacco, rice, watermelon and mango. Exotic fruits like papaya, litchi and guanábana are also grown. Most of the planted area is irrigated. There are several packing houses for papaya and other fruits. Photo credit ©Bob Grieser/OUTSIDEIMAGES.COM Outside Images Photo Agency