Sayulita

The beach is the reason Sayulita exists as a destination. The main bay curves in front of the village, with gentle, rolling waves that make it one of the best places on the Pacific coast to learn to surf, and the day revolves around it. The water is warm all year, around 29°C in late summer and about 24°C in the winter high season.

The town beach gets crowded, and after heavy rain the river mouth at its north end can carry runoff, so many swimmers walk south past the cemetery to the calmer cove of Playa de los Muertos, or follow the jungle path to Playa Carricitos. San Pancho, Lo de Marcos and the beaches around Punta de Mita are all within half an hour, with longer, quieter stretches of sand.

Eating here is casual and mostly good. The best meals are often the simplest: fish and shrimp tacos, ceviche and aguachile made with the morning's catch, and evening taco stands around the plaza grilling al pastor. Beach shacks serve whole grilled fish, and fresh coconuts and fruit are sold along the sand.

Above that sits a layer of cafés, smoothie bowls, wood-fired pizza and international menus that serve the surf and yoga crowd. It is pleasant rather than deep, and the restaurants aimed at visitors can feel interchangeable. For serious dining people head to Puerto Vallarta.

There is very little to see in a sightseeing sense. The village has a small plaza, a modest church and colourful streets hung with papel picado, and the hillside cemetery above Playa de los Muertos is worth a quiet look. The most interesting cultural thread is Huichol art, the beaded and yarn work of the Indigenous Wixárika people, sold in galleries around town. Visitors who want museums or architecture will find none here.

For a village, Sayulita goes out more than you might expect. In the winter high season the streets around the plaza fill after dark, mezcal and cocktail bars stay busy, and a few places keep going past midnight with DJs and a young surf and backpacker crowd. Sunset drinks on the beach are the ritual that starts most evenings.

It remains a small scene, a few blocks of bars rather than a district, and in the hot, rainy summer months many nights end early. People looking for proper clubs drive to Puerto Vallarta.

Sayulita sits in a fold of green, jungle-covered hills that run straight down to the Pacific, and the outdoor life here is mostly on the water. Surfing is the centre of it, with soft waves for beginners in the bay and stronger breaks at Punta de Mita and the reefs along the coast. Paddleboarding, sportfishing and snorkelling fill the rest.

From December to March humpback whales come into the Bay of Banderas to calve, and boats from Punta de Mita also visit the Marietas Islands, a protected bird and marine reserve. On land, footpaths cross the headlands to neighbouring coves and there is mountain biking in the hills behind town. Summer brings heavy rain and lush green, winter dry, clear weather.

The obvious day out is Puerto Vallarta, about an hour south, with its seafront malecón, the cobbled old town around the crowned church of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a proper choice of galleries and restaurants. Closer along the coast, San Pancho is a quieter village with a long beach, and Bucerías and Punta de Mita have their own small-town character.

Further north, the old port of San Blas, with its colonial ruins and mangrove river trips, is a long but rewarding day, and fishing villages such as Chacala and Lo de Marcos make easy outings. It is a pleasant list of coastal towns rather than a set of major heritage sites.

Families come here for the beach and the easy pace. Surf schools take children on gentle waves, Playa de los Muertos is a sheltered cove for younger swimmers, and Mexican culture is warm towards children everywhere. Villas with pools make a good base.

There are no attractions built for children, though: no zoo, aquarium or theme park. Streets are cobbled or dusty, with few pavements and a steady flow of golf carts, which makes pushchairs hard work, and summer heat and humidity are heavy. Families with older children who like the water do best.

The village itself is tiny and you can cross it on foot in ten minutes, so once you arrive there is little need for transport. The catch is the surface: cobbles, dirt lanes, steep hillside streets and almost no pavements, shared with golf carts and cars, and in peak season the centre jams up.

Local buses run along the coast to Puerto Vallarta and its airport, about an hour away, but they are slow. To explore the neighbouring beaches and villages most visitors take taxis, rent a golf cart for short hops or hire a car.

Shopping here has a clear style: small boutiques selling loose linen, embroidered dresses, swimwear and handmade jewellery, plus surf shops for boards and wetsuits. The best local buys are Huichol beadwork and yarn paintings, and stalls near the plaza sell Mexican textiles, hats and pottery. It makes for a pleasant hour or two of browsing, but there are no department stores, markets of any size or fashion streets.

Sayulita costs more than most of Mexico. Rooms, villas and the restaurants aimed at visitors are priced for a North American market. In the winter high season, and above all over Christmas, New Year and Semana Santa, good places book up early and cost accordingly. Surf lessons, boat trips and yoga classes add up.

The cheap side is still there. Taco stands, fruit carts, local fondas and the regional bus are inexpensive, and the beaches are free. Coming in the summer low season makes a noticeable difference to the cost of a room.

There is no theatre, concert hall or formal programme here. Live music means a band or acoustic set in a bar or restaurant on high-season evenings, buskers near the plaza and occasional mariachi. Anyone wanting concerts or theatre has to go to Puerto Vallarta.

Sayulita has a strong yoga and retreat culture. Hillside studios and open-air shalas run daily classes, many villas and small hotels host week-long retreats, and massage, sound healing and the traditional temazcal sweat lodge are easy to find. The rhythm of surf in the morning, yoga in the afternoon and sunset on the beach suits people who come to unwind.

The village itself is not always calm. In high season the centre is crowded, with music from the bars and traffic on the narrow streets, so those after real quiet stay on the hillsides or out towards San Pancho. There are no thermal baths or deep spa tradition here.