Two Puerto Vallarta beach areas are now under red flags, but the risk is not the same at both sites. Camarones is close to swimmers, while Playa del Holi has a more specific warning near the mouth of the Pitillal River, where lifeguards reported a crocodile identified as 106. Four other beaches remain under yellow flags, leaving swimmers to read the shoreline beach by beach as rough seas and wildlife concerns overlap along one of the city’s busiest coastal stretches.
Puerto Vallarta posts red flags at two beach areas
Puerto Vallarta lifeguards marked two beach areas with red flags on Tuesday, including the mouth of the Pitillal River at Playa del Holi, where Civil Protection said a crocodile identified as “106” was present.
The city’s Civil Protection and Fire Department posted the beach flag update for the stretches covered by municipal lifeguards. Camarones Beach was also placed under a red flag. Under the city’s flag code, red means no entry into the water.
The same notice left Palmares, Conchas Chinas, Los Muertos, and Playa de Oro under yellow flags. That signal allows entry only with caution, and lifeguards can change the posted color as sea conditions shift.
The department asked people on the beach to respect posted signs and follow lifeguard instructions. Its notice added, “Your safety is our priority. Enjoy our beaches responsibly!
A beach by beach warning
The warning does not close every beach in Puerto Vallarta. It draws a more uneven map. Some beaches remain open with caution, while two spots are off limits because the risk is different there.
At Camarones, the red flag points to conditions in the water. At Playa del Holi, the greater concern is the crocodile at the mouth of the Pitillal River. That area has become a recurring trouble spot because it connects a tourist beach to a river corridor used by wildlife.
The flag report also follows a rough-seas warning issued Monday, when Civil Protection warned that mar de fondo could affect local beaches for several days. That earlier alert cited the possibility of higher surf, rip currents, and sudden changes in water level. Hotels, restaurants, and beach service operators were also told to secure furniture and loose equipment near the shoreline.
Crocodile 106 and the Pitillal River mouth
Crocodiles are not rare visitors to Puerto Vallarta’s waterways. Federal wildlife officials have previously handled crocodile cases in the municipality, in coordination with municipal Civil Protection and the city’s Ecology office. In one case in Puerto Vallarta, PROFEPA said a river crocodile captured in Ixtapa was released into the Río Ameca after being found in an urban area.
PROFEPA also noted that the crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, is listed under NOM-059 as a species subject to special protection. That status puts the response in a narrower lane. The immediate public safety action is to keep people away, mark the area, monitor the animal, and use trained personnel if handling becomes necessary.
Puerto Vallarta lifeguards have been preparing for that overlap between public safety and wildlife management. In March, CUCosta trained 32 municipal lifeguards in crocodile behavior, response and conservation, a sign that the city expects these encounters to keep testing beach operations.
The beach flag notice did not say how long the red flags would remain in place. Conditions can change during the day, especially with surf, tide, wind, and wildlife movement. The current instruction at Camarones and at the mouth of the Pitillal River is still the simplest. Do not enter the water while the red flag is posted.
