Sayulita, Mexico is one of the premiere vacation destinations on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, located in the heart of what’s known as the Riviera Nayarit. If you have a trip planned there, we’ve got some tips on fun things to do.
Day 1: Fishing – If you’re even remotely interested in fishing, we highly recommend you stroll down to the beach, and go out with any of the panga boat fisherman. A panga boat, is an open style boat with sun shade to protect from the strong Mexican sun. Fidel is a great guy to go with. We’ve been out with a few times, and always seem to catch something, and you get to keep some of the catch in case you want to grill it up later that night! Some of the species you might catch are tuna, rooster fish, dorado (mahi-mahi) sail fish, and bonita. The boat will leave likely around 7am (make sure to set it up the day before), and come back around 2pm, so take the rest of the day off and rest in the hammock, but don’t forget to save some time to grill up that fish.
Day 2: Fitness – After all that sitting around in the hammock and panga boat, maybe it’s time for some… Yoga! Ommmm – you say, well, when you check out these locations, I think you’ll be glad you came, even if you do walk out a little bit sorer. There’s usually yoga and fitness classes from Monday to Saturday. Some of the ones our reviewers have checked out are Om Yoga, Paraiso Yoga, and MexiFit.
Spend the sunset hours sipping great Margarita’s at any of these great beach side destinations, Don Pedro’s (ask to sit out on beach side patio), La Terazola (it’s over on the other side of the river, the “left surf break”, or La View.
Day 3: Playa de Los Muertos – Beach Time! If you’re still itching for more beach time, there’s a less visited beach located on the far left side of the bay (walk through Hotel Amor property to access). It’s popular because it has protection on both sides by rocks, and the waves don’t break as strongly as the main beach. It’s good for families with small children, and more quiet.
Learn Spanish – There are some great language schools located right in the Sayulita. One of the private schools, Colegio Costa Verde, offers some good options, such as 1-2 week intensive courses, private instruction, all taught by native Spanish speakers that are also fluent in English. The rates are extremely reasonable too, subject to change, but at the time of this writing they were as follows:
One Week Intensive: $70USD
Individual or Small Groups; $15USD private, $10USD 3 students, $8USD for more than 3 students.
Day 4: Surfing – OK, you can not come to Sayulita, one of Mexico’s premiere surfing destinations, without going out and catching some waves. Here’s a great surf report tool. This one is recommend because it shows Punta Burros (directions), and Anclote’s (located right off the main beach in the town of Punta Mita), two popular Punta Mita spots. The reading I use most on this report is wave energy. Anything around 100 should be fun shoulder high waves, above 300 and if you’re just starting out, maybe think about staying on the beach.
There are a few rules to surfing that you should know before heading out. The most important of these is the Right of Way – that being the person closest to the peak or breaking part of the wave, has the wave. If that’s not you, get off. Other than that, go out and have fun. Chances are good you’ll be able to catch some fun waves during the week on either the right break, or the left.
Day 5: Volunteer Opportunities? Yes, we’re part of a charitable town here in Sayulita, with many examples of the town pulling together in hard times, to help each other out. Here are some of our favourite ones.
Grupo Pro Sayulita: Here you can have a chance to work along side some of the great folks that help keep the town clean, and looking good. They’re involved in public recycling projects, maintaining the public bathrooms, security, and the cultural center. While some of you may only be staying for a short time, stop by their offices as they’re always looking for help fund raising, clerical assistance, or perhaps donate some funds to this great charity.
Sayulita Animals: Sayulita Animals helps curb the population of the packs of dogs you’ll immediately notice walking the streets of the town. Without the assistance of this organisation, the dogs would literally outnumber the people as they nearly did a few years ago. Sayulita Animals always needs adoption assistance, medical aid for rescued dogs, and help with educational outreach, spreading the word outside of Mexico in your home town. There’s been more than a number of examples of dogs being taken while picking through trash in Sayulita, to happy lives up north.
Day 6: Farmers Market – Provided day 6 falls on a Friday, there is a fantastic farmers market known as Mercado del Pueblo. This event is held during the winter months from mid November to mid April, and is growing in popularity with local vendors, who’ve been known to drive several hours just to host a table. There’s all kinds of organically grown vegetables, locally grown coffee (one of the best is called Off The Porch), fresh tamales of all kinds (even chocolate!!), lovely cool drinks with mixes of kiwi, cucumber, parsley amongst others fruits -it’s great! If nothing more, stroll down street, and grab some lunch, you won’t be sorry.
Day 7: Take the day off! Whew, with all of those activities, I think you’ve earned it. If you’re still feeling the energy, we recommend a nice horseback ride along the beach with Mi Chaparritas, or take a ride up (taxi cost should be $MXN100 or $USD8) to the next town north called San Francisco, or San Pancho to the locals. While driving through the town, don’t forget to stop by the great Community Center called Entreamigos. Maybe you’ll be inspired to take an art class, or be lucky enough to catch one of their cultural events.
Well, congratulations! You made it through a busy week here in the beautiful town of Sayulita, located in the heart of Riviera Nayarit. We hope that you had a great stay, and we hope we’ll be lucky enough to see you walking the streets on many return visits.
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