We arrived to the Pacific coast of Mexico. After two months of nonstop moving around this country, we hit a stretch that was all about slowing down, eating like kings, and finding that classic “Old Mexico” charm before the rest of the world completely remodels it.
Here is the breakdown of our time across Sayulita, San Pancho, and Puerto Vallarta.
Sayulita:
An hour northwest of Puerto Vallarta, you hit Sayulita. They call it a pueblo mágico—a magic town—and honestly, this place really does have a special kind of magic to it. It’s a lively, hip beach town packed with dreadlocked surfers, hippies, yogis, and a bunch of misplaced Americans cruising around the cobblestone lanes in golf carts, all perfectly blending in with the friendly locals. You don’t need a car here at all; it’s a fantastic walking town. But, if you’re feeling lazy, you can rent a golf cart pretty much anywhere to get around.
When you first roll into town, the whole vibrant, tightly packed scene can be a total sensory overload. It actually took me a couple of days to start absorbing and processing it all. As Barbie and I keep clocking miles on this around-the-world journey, we’ve learned that you just can’t get a genuine feel for a place in a day or two. It takes us about 48 hours to become fully observant of the little things and find the rhythm of the local life. That’s why our general rule now is to stay a minimum of 7 days in each new spot. Seven is the magic number. Though in Sayulita, I could easily see us hunkering down and getting into a longer-term routine.
Now, the secret has been out on Sayulita for a while. Seasoned travelers discovered it years ago when it was just a sleepy fishing village. People love the laid-back atmosphere, the gorgeous natural setting, and the beautiful abundance of having absolutely nothing to do. The downside to that popularity? Construction noise is everywhere as the town races to expand.
I could immediately tell this place has changed significantly in the last 10 years, morphing from a quiet, artsy hippie enclave into a major tourist destination that has to accommodate the dreaded day-trippers. Back in the day, it was a major hotspot for location-independent digital nomads looking for a unique, cheap base. Today, the booming popularity and skyrocketing housing costs seem to be flushing those long-term travelers out.
Roaming Around and Sniffing Out Street Food
During our week in Sayulita, we shared the streets with the locals, the tourists, and a huge crew of amazingly happy, healthy, and peaceful stray street dogs who just roam around with the same total freedom as the humans. We had absolutely nothing on our agenda, which is rare for us, so we just joined the pack and roamed. We spent our days taking in the vibrant scene and constantly stopping to munch our way through the town.
A few things in town worthy to track down:
- The Friday Farmers Market: A blast to wander around.
- The “Cake Lady”: This is a mandatory stop. Every evening at 6 PM on the corner of the main town square, this local vendor sets up a table selling the most kickass, super-moist home-baked cakes. A massive slice only costs $1.50. I later found out she was actually featured in the New York Times travel section, so the secret is definitely out. Every single night, we’d fill up on a great Mexican dinner, crush a huge slice of her cake, fall into a heavy sugar coma, and pass out into the hammocks on our Airbnb deck.
The Ultimate $5 Chicken Find
You guys know that after 30 years of travel, I’ve developed a keen eye for locating the absolute best street vendors and hole-in-the-wall joints. Beyond the killer taco spots in town—like El Itacate, Bichos, Naty’s, El Ivan, and Tacos Gaby—I sniffed out the holy grail of street-side grilled chicken.
I was walking down a quiet, dead-end lane called Calle Gaviotas Sur when I saw a massive crowd of locals queuing up. That was my cue to get my ass in line immediately. For about five bucks, you get a whole grilled chicken, a side of seasoned rice, hot tortillas, and the most outstanding homemade coleslaw. It’s rare to see coleslaw served up like that in Mexico, but, this stuff was legendary—right up there with the famous Kingpin’s slaw back at Camp Echo Lake.
The Sayulita Beach Scene: Escaping the Crowds
The dress code in Sayulita is strictly shorts and flip-flops, which is exactly my kind of town. Weeknights are a bit more subdued, but on Saturday night, the town completely erupts with energy. Locals and tourists take over the cobblestone streets, dancing right outside the bars to live music. Great energy, pure fun.
The main beach, Playa Sayulita, sits on a sweeping cove with a beautiful backdrop, but unfortunately, it’s completely cluttered with rows of shitty plastic lounge chairs and old umbrellas. It completely ruins the open space and takes away from the natural beauty. Thailand used to have the exact same problem on their world-renowned beaches until the government stepped in and made it illegal for vendors to hog the sand with commercial chairs. It made a massive difference over there, and the Mexican government needs to take notes and do the same thing.
Fortunately, being savvy, globetrotting beach-goers, Barbie and I used our instincts to sniff out two alternative, much more serene beaches away from the main town crowds:
- Los Muertos Beach: A super easy, scenic 10-minute walk along the coastline from the main beach.
- Playa Carricitos: My absolute favorite. It’s a 20-minute walk through the jungle that opens up into a fantastic, totally isolated cove.
San Pancho: Doing Absolutely Nothing in “San Francisco”
San Pancho (officially named San Francisco) is only a 15-minute drive northwest from Sayulita. We easily could have just done a quick day trip, but we made an executive flashpacker decision to pack up and stay for several nights to fully absorb the local flavor. It might sound silly to move just 15 minutes away, but San Pancho offered a completely different, much more tranquil Mexican town experience.
Other travelers had told us that if we wanted pure tranquility and were okay skipping the busy bar scene of Sayulita, this was the spot. They were right. The town is perfectly designed to be laid-back, though it still keeps a great live music scene going at the local bars. It was the ultimate place to maintain a strict “no agenda” policy.
There are zero high-rise hotels here, and your cell signal will barely work, even right in the middle of town. There is only one important thing to do in San Pancho, and that is to completely relax. No schedules, no alarms.
Our daily routine was beautiful: we’d get properly lit on the super-strong morning coffee brew at Café Paraíso, pair it with an amazing homemade brownie, and then just wander aimlessly along the cobblestone streets. By day two, you start recognizing all the friendly faces and the mucho Chihuahua dogs roaming the dirt roads. Just like in Sayulita, the dogs are out doing their daily shit, and us humans are out doing ours.
We timed it perfectly to catch the Tuesday Farmer’s Market in the central square, which had a fantastic atmosphere and a local band playing right in the mix. Pro tip: If you get down to Sayulita or San Pancho around November or December, you can catch the baby turtles being released into the sea, which is supposedly an incredible sight.
Puerto Vallarta:
It’s been about 25 years since the first time I visited Puerto Vallarta—back when it was the main port of call for Captain Stubing’s Love Boat. The city has transformed massively since then, with brand-new construction projects popping up everywhere. Usually, when a great place gets discovered like this, it gets totally spoiled over time. But remarkably, PV has managed to retain its old-school charm, even with an inordinate number of retired American gringos outnumbering the Mexicans these days.
A lot of the locals have been displaced over the years, mostly because they probably couldn’t resist the massive monetary buyouts offered to them by the expats. Because of that, a lot of the old ramshackle homes in the Old Town are long gone. Instead, the entire Romantic Zone has been revitalized with some really cool, mid-rise, Mexican-style casitas sprouting up within a few blocks of the beach.
When you visit PV, choosing the right area to stay makes a massive difference in your experience. The Marina area and the Hotel Zone up north are home to the massive, sprawling resorts. They have all the creature comforts and amenities, sure, but they completely lack atmosphere, in my opinion.
For us, the only real choice was The Old Town (aka the Romantic Zone). It wasn’t designed for mega-resorts, which means it’s right in the thick of the real local action. It’s easily the best place to base yourself, with a vibrant nightlife and a killer food scene. If you go, you have to hit up Joe Jack’s Fish Shack—their house special fish was spectacular. I’m a big fish guy, and I’ve never tasted fish seasoned and prepared quite like that.
To round out Year 5 of our travels in style, we splurged a bit and booked an Airbnb high up in a really cool, hilly section of town that feels a lot like San Francisco. The balcony was perfectly positioned for some of the most amazing sunsets we’ve ever seen, overlooking the action down on Los Muertos Beach.
Big Doug & Barbie Drop Out of Society 