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Staying near Sayulita, near Puerto Vallarta

Posted by (Portland, Oregon) on

We’re taking a short trip to Sayulita area, north of Puerto Vallarta, in early April (only 4 nights, sadly). Married couple, him 41, me 37.

I know it’s the tail end (no pun intended) of whale watching season, but I’d love to check out some quiet beaches and see some wildlife in the area.

Any chance you’ve been recently and can recommend a company to ride to Marietas Islands with? Any luck with whale watching tours the first week of April? Something else to check out that time of year?

We will visit Sayulita at least one day and one evening. Anything in particular that’s fun there (i know there’s a lot). Are we missing anything by not spending time in Puerto Vallarta?

Any other little quiet, cute towns around to check out a beach? We’re staying in San Pancho, and will have a car.

So far the only thing on our itinerary besides beaches and tacos is markets. I know there’s a community center in San Pancho, too, that does outreach work supporting locals with education and selling art.

Posted by
2976 posts

Can't help you with tour boat or whale watching excursions, but we've done extended stays in the village of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle several times. The Mercado del Mar there is open daily - where you can buy some of the freshest seafood on the planet. Best to go in the early morning as the fishing boats are coming in.
There's also a weekly market down at the Marina that's quite nice. Believe it goes every Saturday & Sunday but you'll want to verify that locally since we were last there pre-Covid.
Any of the beaches north of San Francisco (San Pancho) are nice and will be a lot quieter than Sayulita which is something of a surfing mecca and can be quite crowded around midday with day trippers streaming in. A particular favorite of ours was Playa Chacala about an hour north. It's one of the prettiest, quietest and most relaxing places along the coast - you can easily while away a full day there.
Puerto Vallarta is worth a day trip if only to walk along the Malecon in the morning as the shops and restaurants are opening up for the day. As with any tourist area getting there early will allow you to beat the worst of the crowds and will make for a much more pleasant experience. That's probably where you'll have to go for one of the boat trips too.

Edited to add: I did research a trip out to the Marietas on our last trip and This Company seemed to be the best of the lot. Never booked with them so can't comment, but they do have universally good reviews. Their boats leave from the marina at Nuevo Vallarta (just north of the airport and the cruise ship terminal) FYI.

Posted by
972 posts

My daughter went horseback riding and to a spa when she was there last spring. The host at her AirBnB made all the arrangements. I belive the Tourism Office has a Facebook page.

Posted by
1 posts

Hoping to get some suggestions for where to stay in Sayulita in mid April (or last week of March). One comment I’ve read a lot is “mosquitoes”! If you’ve traveled there before, are they a problem in March/April?
We’re an older couple so nightlife isn’t our thing. We love markets, walking and good food.
A little afraid of the water purification issues also.
Trying to decide between historical PV or more beachy in Sayulita.
All suggestions appreciated, including any place (hotel names, AbnB’s, condos etc.
Traveling with a daughter who has balance issues so trying to keep stairs/ steps to a minimum. We realize all of these costal towns will have some stairs/steps.

Posted by
7847 posts

I recall that all of the beaches we saw in Puerto Vallarta were rated dangerous water for swimming. Our hotel had pools. While relatively safe, it would be wrong to say there is zero crime in Puerto Vallarta. We walked to the hotel's beach club from the slightly inland P.V. property several times, instead of waiting for the shuttle bus.

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