Evaluating 3 of Our Favorite Beach Towns in Mexico
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| Sayulita Beach on a Quiet Day |
Sayulita, Nayarit
Sayulita is a small beach town on the Pacific Ocean, in the heart of the Riviera Nayarit. Not just another Mexican village, Sayulita is unique in
so many ways, a one-of-a-kind pueblo. Some call it quaint. Others
say it is a surfing town with a wonderful bay and beach that became a tourist
attraction. One bumper sticker we saw lately may have summed it up with "Keep Sayulita Strange". Jon and I liken it to our home town of Ashland, Oregon, where the visitors and residents are a diverse international collection, the dress-code is casual to
funky, there are many art and jewelry galleries and little shops selling
eclectic clothing and souvenirs, plus a great selection of restaurants from hot dog stands to upscale, upstairs eateries with a view of the plaza. Sayulita differs
from Ashland in that the hippies have traded their skateboards for surf boards,
much of the art and jewelry is created by the indigenous people, Huichol, and
the streets are cobblestone, lined with taco and burrito stands, surf shops,
fruit stands, and juice vendors. Life moves at a slower pace in Sayulita,
people are mellow, and if a visitor gets annoyed because of slow service, it is helpful
to remember that this is not “gringolandia”.
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| New Pueblo Magico Sign in Sayulita's Plaza |
Sayulita's popularity as a tourist
destination in the Riviera Nayarit is growing each year. One article recently called it the "Crown
Jewel" of the area. In 2015, Sayulita was awarded the sought-after distinction of Pueblo
Mágico (Magical Village), a program led by Mexico's Secretariat of Tourism.
The purpose is to promote a series of towns around the country that offer
visitors a "magical" experience and to recognize places that have “certain
characteristics that make them unique”. Each person would describe those
“certain characteristics that makes Sayulita unique” in a different way,
depending on how and where they choose to spend their time there. Sayulita has
so much to do, to see, to hear, and to taste, it must be experienced for a week
or two to begin to get a feel for its energy. It takes living there for at
least six months to get to know the real Sayulita. I think of Sayulita as a town of many colors.
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| One Colorful Street in Sayulita |
Sayulita started as a fisherman’s village in the early
1900’s and became an ejido (community owned and managed
land) in 1941.It was discovered as an off-the-beaten path surfers’ paradise in
the 1960’s and wanderers from north of the border began gathering there. In the
late 1900’s, Sayulita became a popular place for many North Americans and
Europeans to build their second homes. Quite a few Americans and Canadians have
chosen to become expats and move there permanently. The population is about
6000, but the number of people in Sayulita at any one time fluctuates greatly
depending on the month, the Mexican holiday season, and how many tourists have
arrived, with Semana Santa being the busiest
two weeks of the year.
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| Esto Es Mexico: This is Mexico, This is Sayulita! |
We have spent time in Sayulita during all months of the year
except September and October and find that with each season comes a different
atmosphere, but always vivid colors, the musical sounds of Mexico, and
interesting, sometimes bizarre sights in this charming village. For years, we traveled
to Sayulita in our motorhome and often stayed for months at a time at the
Sayulita Trailer Park, located right on the beach. We fell in love with this
quirky pueblo, returning again and
again. There are so many reasons that we enjoy Sayulita, and they all revolve
around the basic premise of healthy living. We began to envision purchasing a brick-and-mortar
home in Sayulita and living there full-time. It was time to start our “Pros and
Cons” list for living in Sayulita.
Here
are some of the things we like about Sayulita:
1. Sayulita is a small town that has almost
everything we need within walking distance. We find we walk so much more
when we are in Sayulita. We walk a half mile each way to local shops for
produce, meat, fish, and supplies. We walk to Zumba and Yoga class. We walk to
go out to dinner and home again. Walking daily is the basis for a healthy way
of life and Sayulita is a perfect place to do that!
2. Sayulita is a beach town on the Pacific Ocean. The sandy, clean beach is ideal
for long or short walks, the bay on the Pacific Ocean wonderful for swimming, the waves great for surfing and boogie
boarding, and the bay calm enough for Stand Up Paddleboarding. The water is comfortably warm year around. There are even lifeguards posted at several
places along the beach and sometimes patrolling on surfboards! That is an
uncommon luxury for a small beach town.
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| Sayulita is a Great Place for Stand Up Paddleboard |
3. There are over 100
restaurants to choose from in Sayulita, from taco stands to classy restaurants
overlooking the ocean. There is not a single fast-food restaurant in this
town—meals are prepared to order from fresh ingredients, great for healthy
eating. Naturally, there is an abundance of good taco, burrito, and sandwich
shops. In addition, the variety of restaurants serving more upscale meals is
diverse. There are numerous nice places specializing in fresh Seafood, fine
cuts of steak and Arrachera, tasty, fresh salads, sushi, Italian food and, of
course, very good pizza. Because Sayulita is a popular tourist locale, it
supports an unusually large number of very good restaurants for such a small
village, and the prices are reasonable. The wine and beer selection is also good,
which is not always the case in small Mexican towns. Yes, we could be happy with the restaurant selection and cost of dining
out in Sayulita if we chose to retire there! Some of our favorite
restaurants are listed in my blog post which can be viewed by clicking HERE . In the year since I wrote that post,
we have discovered many more wonderful places to dine. I’ll soon write about
ten more of our favorite restaurants in my blog "Healthy Living and Traveling in Mexico"!
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| River Cafe in Sayulita, a New Favorite of Ours |
4. The
climate in Sayulita is great for us--345 days of sunshine per year! The warm, mostly dry winter weather with lots
of sunshine brings the North Americans south to this sub-tropical
climate, with average high temperatures from 80°F to 86°F. Summer is called the "rainy season", but still has lots of sunshine during the daytime. The heat and humidity of July keeps most North American tourists home, but brings Mexican
families from inland to cool off in the ocean. We have grown accustomed to the
hot, somewhat humid summer weather, as long as we have an air conditioner to
cool the bedroom at night for sleep. High
temperatures in July and August average 88°F, occasionally reaching 97°F, good
days to cool off in the ocean. Those are also good months to take a trip to the
mountains of Mexico to cool off, or in our case, go visit family in Oregon. Rainfall averages about 52 inches per
year, with the rainy season generally beginning in June and the heaviest
rainfall occurring from July through September. Often the rainstorms seem to
come during the evening or night, washing the plants, the streets, and the air, leaving
the sky a fresh, clear blue by morning.
5. Sayulita is a very exercise-focused town. In addition to classes on surfing and
Stand Up Paddleboarding, there are
plenty of exercise class options in town to keep us healthy. Zumba is my favorite exercise and
there are several class options in Sayulita. We regularly attend Micki’s Zumba
and Zumba Toning classes when we are in town. See my blog posts: “SAYULITA:
ZUMBA WITH MICKI CUNNINGHAM” by clicking HERE and “ZUMBA WITH GENOVEVA IN SAYULITA, MX” HERE.
Yoga classes are abundant in
Sayulita. We have enjoyed Yoga classes taught by Micki Cunningham and by Jim
Gallas. Posts about both can be found on my blog: www.HealthyLivingandTravelinginMexico.blogspot.com. Other fitness classes in town include
Pilates, TRX, Power Ropes, and Salsa dancing, and information about these classes can be
found at: http://www.sayulitalife.com/sayulita-yoga-fitness
.
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| Zumba Class with Micki in Sayulita |
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| Yoga with Jim Gallas at Mexifit in Sayulita |
6. Sayulita is an environmentally
conscious town.
·
It has a recycling depot for glass and plastic
run by the organization, Sayulimpia.
·
Water and sewer quality is monitored and reported
by ProSayulita, a donation funded organization that works to improve the
aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in and around Sayulita.
·
Free trash pickup is provided twice weekly by
Sayulimpia, funded by ProSayulita, helping keep the town clean and attractive. Read
more about ProSayulita and their work at http://www.prosayulita.org/environment .
·
A current movement in Sayulita is to discontinue
the use of straws and Styrofoam containers by restaurants, bars, and other food
venders. ChocoBanana, a favorite
restaurant downtown, is the leader in serving all to-go food and drinks in
biodegradable containers. A very good article written by 12 year old Sara Moore
titled “The Turtle and the Straw” and
posted at http://www.sayulitalife.com/news/detail/516 explains the importance of eliminating the use of straws, called popotes
in Spanish. Several restaurants serve all drinks without straws. We now
practice ordering our drinks “sin popotes, porfavor” (without a
straw, please).
·
Reusable shopping bags are sold as souvenirs at
many shops in town and are gradually becoming used more instead of plastic bags. To the
cashier at the tiendas, I say “tengo una bolsa” (I have a bag) as I
give her my reusable shopping bag, and I no longer get a puzzled look in return
that says “Why?”
·
There is even a solar-power panel company in
Sayulita, and several hotels have "Gone Green" by installing them!
·
Sayulita is the first town we’ve been to in
Mexico where there are almost as many electric golf carts driven by residents
and tourists as there are cars and motorcycles, helping improve the air quality
in the area. Bicycle riding and walking are even more common than driving in town, reducing air pollution significantly.
Change is slow, but Sayulita seems more progressive than most small towns in the “Going Green in Mexico” movement.
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| Electric Golf Carts are Popular for Hauling Surf Boards to the Beach |
7. The
residents and visitors are a remarkable mixture of Mexicans, Indigenous
people, North Americans, Europeans, and Asians. People in Sayulita are friendly, helpful, and
mellow, giving us a welcome feeling.An International population of people of all age groups makes Sayulita very interesting, with
enough gringos to make us feel comfortable as we stumble to learn the Spanish language,
and enough Mexican Nationals to make us know we are in real Mexico. The Costa Verde International School (CVIS) is a
wonderful place for children and adults from all over the world to come
together to learn from each other, creating a bilingual community.
8. Shopping
for groceries and supplies in Sayulita is fun and convenient, small town Mexican-style.
Downtown cobblestone streets are lined with tiendas
(little stores) each specializing in a different food or product.
·
Fresh produce
with low prices can be found at produce stands, several tiendas, mini-supermarkets,
and, our favorite, produce trucks that stop at the front door of homes.
·
Fresh fish
and other seafood can be purchased from the pescadería
(fish market) or directly from the fisherman as they beach their boats after a
fishing trip.
·
There are two
excellent meat markets with a good supply of beef, pork, and chicken for
reasonable prices.
·
At least
three mini-super markets, Mi Super-Tiendita, Don Rudolfos, and Alas Blanca,
and several dry goods stores in town provide most of what we need.
·
The
Friday Market is open weekly during high season with many merchants selling
a wonderful variety of produce, food, jewelry, clothing, and more. We look
forward to buying fresh, organic, sanitized salad greens, all kinds of nuts and
dried fruit, organic cheese, eggs, Greek yogurt, home-made Salad dressings, pasta
sauces, and other exotic creations at the Sayulita Friday Market. We always
finish with lunch, something different every week from one of the many vendors
including the quesadilla man and his mama, the La Esperanza salad stand, the
quiche table, the sushi booth, among others. Enjoying lunch while sitting in
the shade, listening to a band play Mexican rock ‘n’ roll, and chatting with
friends we haven’t seen all week is a perfect way to spend a Friday afternoon
in Sayulita.
·
Many
specialty foods, deli items, and items we start to crave after ten months away
from the United States can be found in Sayulita. Though it may seem trivial
to some, we were thrilled to find Tillamook Cheddar Cheese imported from
Oregon, Campbell’s cream soups for cooking, Triscuits and Breton crackers that
we buy in the U.S., and Prego spaghetti
sauce for those days when I’m too lazy to make my sauce from scratch.
·
Panino’s panadería (bread store) is our favorite place to buy fresh baked whole-grain
bread and drool over the yeasty aroma of sweet, frosted cinnamon rolls.
·
A French
bakery specializes in quiche available by the slice and various pastries,
while the one next door bakes empanadas with fillings such as tasty chicken
mole, beef and mushrooms, and various vegetables with cheese, both great for
to-go lunches.
·
The Soup
Lady, a North American, makes and sells a variety of savory soups in her
home.
·
The popular
Cake Lady sells her carrot cake with lots of cream cheese frosting,
chocolate cake, banana cake, and more every afternoon and evening from a table
set up across from the plaza. Each generous slice is only 20 pesos (just over
$1 U.S.).
·
The Tamale Lady sells her warm, yummy creations for only 25 pesos each (about
$1.30 each) as she walks down the beach.
·
We also like to pick up an order of lean, scrumptious
taco meat and fixings from Carnitas Prieto’s or flavorsome roasted
chicken from La Pechuga Pollo Rosticería to go for lunch or dinner at home—I
love having a delicious meal on our deck that I didn’t have to cook!
The opportunities are endless for purchasing or preparing healthy meals
while living in Sayulita, and all within walking distance of the homes in town.
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| That's a Grocery Store You Won't Forget! Alas Blancas Tienda |
9.
Supermarkets
such as Mega, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Home Depot are a 25 to 40 minute bus ride away in Bucerias
and Puerto Vallarta, if we need supplies we can’t find in Sayulita. Costco, Staples, Office Depot and Liverpool
(a department store similar to a large Macy’s) are also in Puerto Vallarta.
10. San Pancho, a tranquil beachfront village, one
of our favorites, is just 5 miles north with amenities including Entreamigos, La
Patrona (a world class polo club), and Los
Huertas Golf Course. Cultural events abound there including music festivals, art shows, Circo
de los Niños, comedy shows, and more. See my blog post about retiring in San Pancho by clicking HERE
11.
The turtle
release program at the Campamento
Tortuguero Sayulita is a blast to participate in! Watching the baby
turtles being released around sunset, adopting a turtle nest, or just walking
by the turtle camp to see how many nests are incubating, it is all fun and for a
good cause, helping preserve the Olive Ridley sea turtle population. To read
more about the Sayulita Turtle Program go to http://www.sayulitalife.com/sayulita-turtle-camp.
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| Baby Turtle Release around Sunset |
12.
Field
of Dreams (Campo de Ensuenos) Golf
Course is about 14 miles north of Sayulita on Hwy 200, near Lo de Marcos.
We are beginner golfers and this course is just our speed. The price is right,
too, at less than $30 per day including pull cart and club rental. More upscale
golf courses are located a just few miles south of Sayulita in Nuevo Vallarta
and Puerto Vallarta.
13.
There
are so many fun outings and tours available in Sayulita. These are especially fun activities when family comes to town to visit. For more
information, see http://www.sayulitalife.com/. Here
are just a few of the exciting adventures:
·
Bird watching with Vidal Prado in Sayulita or with Luis Morales in San Pancho
·
Whale
watching and cruising on the Chica Locca
·
Hiking with
MexiTreks
·
Horseback
riding, Zip-line through the Sayulita Canopy, Quad Riding Tours, Sport Fishing and more with MiChiparrita
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| Whale Watching on the Chica Locca with Our Daughter & Family |
14. Sayulita
is a large enough town that it has most of the services we need for day to day
life. One of my favorites is the lavandería
where we drop our dirty laundry off one day and pick it up clean and neatly
folded the next day, for about 60 pesos ($3 U.S.) per load. Jon’s favorite places to shop in
town are the ferreterías, the
hardware stores, of which there are three or four in town. There are also two veterinarians, multiple golf cart
rentals and sales companies, good plumbers and electricians, an air
conditioning company, two paint stores, a welding shop, and just about anything else we need in town. The trick is learning to how to find a
service you need, either by asking the locals who to call or where to find it,
because chances are someone in town does it or has it.
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| Jon Loves to Shop at Hardware Stores in Sayulita |
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| I Love Picking Up Our Clean Laundry Here Twice a Week! |
15.
Spanish
Classes are available in at least two locations in town. I promised myself
that when we retired and moved to Mexico, I was going to take Spanish lessons.
It was time to get serious about learning more than how to order dinner and drinks in Spanish at restaurants!
16. We feel safe in
Sayulita, whether walking around town during the daytime or after dark. Sayulita has a fire department,
ambulance service, and a 24/7 police department with patrols downtown
and in other popular tourist areas. As in any place we visit in the world, after
dark, we avoid walking in isolated areas of town or the beach. A good practice
in any Mexican town, we are careful not to wear
expensive jewelry, flash large amounts of money, or otherwise give the appearance
of wealth, so as not to become a target for theft.
17.
Sayulita
is on the bus route that runs from Puerto Vallarta to Lo de Marco. It is
convenient and inexpensive to travel by bus to these cities plus those between including La
Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Bucerias, or Mezcales, where we would find services not
available in the smaller town of Sayulita. Puerto Vallarta’s
Romantic Zone is only about a 50 to 60 minute bus ride away, if we are
in the mood for an evening or a weekend in the big city. We can hop the bus in
Sayulita and ride to Puerto Vallarta for a one-way fare of 50 pesos each (about
$3 US). Bella, our miniature dachshund, loves going on a bus ride with us and eagerly climbs into her pet carrier when it is time to board the bus. Sayulita even has a bus depot with
cushioned seats and a roof for shade or a rainy day!
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| Catching the Sayulita Bus to Puerto Vallarta is Convenient |
18. The Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz
International Airport in Puerto Vallarta is only 24 miles away, about a 40
to 50 minute taxi ride from central Sayulita, depending on traffic. That is
about as far away from the airport as we want to live. In addition, when we
want to fly home to see family, the flights to Oregon are only 6 ½ hours long, plus
one layover.
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| Bella, Our Dachshund, can Handle This Flight! |
19. Health care is available in the
area. Sayulita has an Urgent Care Clinic with an ambulance. Five miles north is the San
Pancho Hospital General. There are
three dentists’ offices and from our experience, we recommend “Dental Office
Sayulita”. In addition, there are at least seven pharmacies in downtown
Sayulita, some with a doctor’s clinic next door. Many larger medical
centers are located in nearby Puerto Vallarta.
20. Gardening, one of my favorite hobbies, would be a real treat in this sub-tropical
climate, with the colorful flowering hibiscus, birds of
paradise, orchids, and many other flowers that grow here. Gardens in town are lush and green with ferns,
banana and papaya trees, palm trees, and cacti. There is a plant nursery in town
with everything I would need within a bicycle-ride away.
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| Bicycling to the Sayulita Nursery--My Favorite Kind of Shopping |
21. Sayulita
has pretty little plaza, with a typical Mexican gazebo surrounded by palm trees
and landscaping. The entrance to the plaza, with its archway painted in Riviera Nayarit colors, is a bit more colorful and
modern-looking than many, but seems fitting for this young village. The centro (downtown) area has recently been
given a cleaner look by having the power lines put underground and the power
poles removed, a benefit of the Pueblo
Magico program.
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| Sayulita Plaza |
22.
It is
easy to find a taxi in Sayulita if we decided we wanted to take a day trip
to Punta Mita, San Pancho, Rincón de Guayabitos, or somewhere else in the
Riviera Nayarit. This is important to us since we sold our cars when we decided to retire in Mexico. Taxis are easiest to find near the plaza or across from the
River Café.
23. Sayulita
is a casual town, where dressing up means men might upgrade from their sleeveless
t-shirt to a button-up, short-sleeved surf-town shirt and women might don the
one floral, flowing dress they own and add some simple beads and earrings. But
that would probably only be for the once yearly Pro-Sayulita Fiesta. Every day
wear tends towards bathing suits, shorts, summer tops, and flip-flops. Our kind
of town!
Here are some of the
things that made us hesitate about moving to Sayulita:
1.
The
cost of real estate in Sayulita is relatively high for Mexico. Land and
homes are in high demand in this area. If we decided to purchase a home here,
we would have to shop for a small home (casita) and a low price in order to
live in this desirable town on our limited budget. Renting a furnished home is
an option, but monthly rent is generally high also.
2. There
are no banks in Sayulita. There are ATMs, but we have read that the
security of these is often compromised, so we would have to go to the nearest
bank in Bucerias, 13 miles south and a 30 minute bus ride each way.
3. Sayulita
is a tourist town that gets very busy at certain times of the year. During
high season and holidays, the music, festivals, and fireworks may be loud
downtown and last into the early morning hours. If we lived here, we would want
a house in a barrio, a Mexican neighborhood a few blocks from centro, where it would be more quiet and we could experience real Mexico (including the dogs barking
at night and the roosters crowing at all times).
4. At
times, Sayulita is a dusty village. Many side streets are simply bare dirt,
dust that makes its way down to the cobblestone streets of the village and the
few paved streets leading into town. Each morning homeowners are outside
sweeping the street in front of their houses and business owners sweep the
sidewalk and street in front of their stores or restaurants to minimize dust. When
the rainy season starts, the bare dirt streets become rivers of sludge and
leave potholes and ruts full of muddy water. If we lived here, we would want to
choose a house on a cobblestone road.
5. The water
supply is sometimes sporadic during the dry season. At times, the city
water supply lines are turned off, either to conserve water or due to a lack of
water supply in the town. Therefore, it would be important to live in a house
with a large underground holding tank for a reserve of fresh city water in
addition to the tinacos (water tanks)
on the roof for the gravity-fed water into the home.
By now, after
thoroughly reviewing our “Pros and Cons” list for Sayulita, we realized that we
love this lively village! We could definitely envision living there. Sayulita
and Mazatlán were our top two choices at this point. What about Puerto Vallarta
and La Manzanilla? Did we even need to write a “Pros and Cons” list for these
two places?
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco is a
beautiful old city, with its Romantic Zone and revitalized Malecón (seaside
boardwalk). We enjoy a walk along the gorgeous Malecón
(seaside boardwalk), viewing the imaginative bronze sculptures situated along the
ocean, and finishing the evening dining at a fine restaurant. But, Puerto Vallarta is a big city, too big for
us to choose as our home. We would rather keep it as a special place for a
perfect sophisticated get-away.
 |
| Romantic Bronze Sculpture on Puerto Vallarta Malecon |
La Manzanilla, Jalisco is a sweet, quiet village of about 2000 people. It is located on
the Bay of Tenacatita on the Pacific Ocean, with a long, flat stretch of clean beach.
While we envisioned living there at one time, we now felt it is too small for us, lacking enough of the
amenities we were looking for. In addition, the nearest big city is Manzanillo
and we would prefer to be close to Puerto Vallarta, wherever we decided to
settle.
How would we decide between our top two choices, Mazatlán
and Sayulita? It was time to view real estate listings in both cities and see
which way we were swayed.
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| Beautiful Sayulita Sunset |
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