Quiet beach time is where Sayulita excels
When most people think of a Mexican vacation, this is what immediately comes to mind: all-inclusive hotels, beaches packed ear to ear with sunburned gringos, booze cruises, thumping music, Senor Frog’s, and beach hawkers pestering you every few minutes.
Now if you’re a thirteen-year old teenager, this might sound like a wonderful idea. There was a time in my life when I loved places like this. But for most of us, we want our holiday to be a little bit more… tranquillo.
If you like vacationing in crowds, by all means stay in a resort city
From Acapulco to Z-what-ta-neh-ho, American tourists flock to mega resort in droves. Yet I suspect if you asked them what they really wanted out of their vacation, it wouldn’t be high rises. It would look more like Sayluita.
Same brilliant sun, same gorgeous water, same golden sand, same delicious food, without the drone of jet skis or thousands of obnoxious vacationers competing for the same swath of beach.
Sayulita (pronounced Sa-u-lita) is an example of the kind of destinations we encourage our friends to seek out. And it’s a terrific alternative to the Mazatlan’s, Cancun’s and Cabo’s of the world.
Less than an hour up the coast from Puerto Vallarta, this neat little surfing village has managed to keep it’s mellow vibe, bucking the way of the over developed hotellandia resort cities.
Little towns and cool hotels like these can be found up and down Mexico’s central Pacific coast and it’s easy to find deserted beaches like this one.
Now, in years past, we would have spent weeks backpacking through this area on the cheap, but with a newborn son in tow, we figured this was a good opportunity to use a “home base” approach to travel.
In our case, we rented a beachfront house, which was complete with a full kitchen, small infinity pool, and nice verandas from which we could sit and watch the world go by.
The thunderous waves at our doorstep literally shook the windows, and we were entertained for hours watching pelicans dive bomb fish and humpback whales breeching on the horizon.
This is what we ended up doing most of our trip.
With a lovely location like this, we didn’t feel the drive to venture far from our house. What better view were we going to find?
Like most places in the world, smaller towns like Sayulita feel way safer than big cities. And we felt comfortable sending 14-year-old Macy and 11-year-old Nate into town on their own.
We organized a 50 Peso Challenge (about US $3.25) asking them to buy the coolest thing they could find in the market for under 50 Pesos. Nate returned with a slingshot and a shark tooth necklace, while Macy bought some cool jewelry from a guy making beaded earrings at his street side cart. She also got to try Hot Nuts – a Mexican snack favored by John Green, one of her favorite authors.
Nate scores some Mexican handicraft treasure
A thirty-minute walk led us to la Playa Los Muertos (a beach next to the town cemetery) where it was safe for Ian to “swim.” We bought donuts and coconuts from the local vendors, but the beach wasn’t crawling with poncho salesman or people hawking crap.
Excursions were easy to book – like surfing lessons, fishing charters or this sweet day trip to Marieta Islands where we snorkeled into a cave and saw this a 15-day old humpback whale.
Plenty of great dining could be found in town, but much of the time, we mixed our own margaritas and filled our fridge with Mexican staples – avocado, cilantro, limes, tortillas, tomatoes and eggs and we grazed on fresh ingredients between dips in the ocean.
At the end of the week, we drove back into Puerto Villarta to catch our flight home, and swung through a mega hotel/high rise condo neighborhood in New Villartas in search of a taco stand. I felt sorry for the people we saw. I wanted to scream, “Don’t you know what you’re missing?!? There’s something SO much better just up the road!”
How, sad for them. Well, here’s what they’re missing!
Playa Los Muertos – or “Beach of the Dead” is a short walk from central Sayulita, and is a great place for little ones to catch some waves
Open air shops and restaurants in downtown Sayulita are fun but not gaudy
To Get There:
A dozen or so rental car agencies operate out of Puerto Villarta’s airport. It’s about an hour of easy driving to reach the village. The roads are good, but the town of Sayulita has some narrow streets, so if you rent a car, get the smallest car you can find.
Beware that weekly car rental rates online are ridiculously cheap – ours was a mere of $42 – but wait! The taxes and “required Mexican insurance” pushed the price to around $280 for the week. About normal for a weekly rate elsewhere in the world, but it just feels like a total scam.
You can also arrange for a shuttle from the airport (SayulitaLife.Com is a good place to figure out a car) which would probably end up being a little cheaper. Once in town, most places are within walking distance, or you can hire a golf cart to go exploring.
Where to Stay:
The way to go in Sayulita is to rent a privately owned home, or stay in one of the small hotels that speckle the area. For the record, our house was called Casa Kiara.
Town itself can be a bit noisy at night, and the beach directly in front of the main area is crowded with surfer schools and restaurants (plus it’s not the cleanest part of the beach). A short walk will get you to something quieter and better. Hotel options range from beach swanky to backpacker hostel or beachfront RV park.
SayulitaLife.com is a good place to start your planning.