I just got back from my travels to San Pancho and Sayulita in Mexico, and I had a wonderful time. These two beach towns are right next to each other, and they are definitely worth visiting. You will especially love them if you are a surfer. For me, the beaches were still a little too rough to swim in, and for that reason, I still prefer Zipolite on the Oaxacan coast, but if you’re looking for destinations that are close to Puerto Vallarta, San Pancho and Sayulita are great options. Let me know in the comments if you have further suggestions for my San Pancho and Sayulita travel guide.

San Pancho & Sayulita Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know

Should I Travel To San Pancho or Sayulita?

I preferred San Pancho over Sayulita. It was smaller and less noisy. It had a lot less traffic which I appreciated. You can walk everywhere in both places, but, for some reason, Sayulita has a ton of golf carts and motorcycles, and it was a lot more congested than San Pancho. In San Pancho, many of the shops and restaurants have plants between the sidewalk and the road, so it also gave the place more of a jungle atmosphere. While both places offer healthy restaurants, there seemed to be more of them in San Pancho, and San Pancho also had more of a hippie or bohemian vibe. Yoga is popular in both spots, as is ecstatic dance, sound healing, and kirtan.

Does San Pancho Or Sayulita Have The Best Beaches?

The beach was also a lot prettier in San Pancho. It’s longer and there are areas of the beach with no beach bars behind it. There is also a lagoon with beautiful birds that flock to it on one side of San Pancho’s beach. And, here you can also see the sunset. Sayulita’s beach had beach bars all along the beach with techno music playing at all hours. You also can’t see the sunset from this beach.

I will say, one hidden gem in Sayulita was Los Muertos beach. You walk through the cemetery to get here, and the walk itself was beautiful. This beach was calm enough for swimming, and had a nicer feel than the main beach of Sayulita, though because it’s surrounded by mountains, the sun disappeared around 4pm. I didn’t feel comfortable in swimming in the waves at either San Pancho’s main beach or Sayulita’s, and I’m a good swimmer. I also thought it was ridiculous that if you wanted a beach chair or umbrella, it was about $20 a day. I’m used to going to Zipolite where they are free as long as you’re ordering food or drinks from the restaurant.

How To Get To Sayulita Or San Pancho From The Airport

I highly recommend setting up a ride with the driver I used. His name is Geraldo, and he will meet you inside the airport and take you to his car. Getting to Sayulita from the Puerto Vallarta airport was 700 pesos and returning to the airport from San Pancho was 800 pesos. You can contact Geraldo on What’s App at 52 722 501 1383.  A regular taxi from the airport will cost you twice as much. You can also go outside the airport and walk across the pedestrian bridge to take an Uber which will be around $50 USD. You can also take a bus for around $5USD, but if you have a lot of luggage, there is no suitcase storage, and the bus won’t have air conditioning. If you’re going to San Pancho, you are just dropped off on the main highway, and it can be a 15 minute walk to your hotel, something you may not be up for if you’re tired and hungry, and just ready to arrive at your hotel.

What To Do In San Pancho

1. Go To The Beach-Surf Or Lie In The Sun

San Pancho is very much a surfing beach, and it’s waves are very rough. They were even too rough for me, and I’m a good swimmer. I chose to lie in the sun for a few days, but then was getting too much sun, so I rented a chair with an umbrella for one. Since I couldn’t get in the water to cool off, I didn’t enjoy the beach here as much as I did in Zipolite or Troncones, so most days I chose to be around the pool at my hotel. I recommend getting a hotel with a pool, so you can have options.

I stayed at the Marukame Hotel, which had a pool with lovely jungle plants surrounding it. However, only two chairs get any sun and only for a few hours a day, so if you want a pool with sun, I wouldn’t recommend it. They also had a hard time moderating the temperature of the water, and for many days during my stay, the water was bathtub water warm. I definitely enjoyed getting the fresh coconuts to drink from at the beach, and I had one almost every day. There are also a few beach bars on the beach. I never ate at them, but there’s lots of shade at them, if you want to see the water from the shade.

2. Watch Sunset

I planned my days around watching sunset, and they were all so different. One night, I got very lucky I was there when the turtles were being released. I found the best area to watch was on the right side of the beach. The waves here were amazing to watch. If you watch on the left side in front of the lagoon, you will get to see the evening birds come out, but the sand flies are also much worse on this side. So, make sure to wear insect repellent if you opt for that.

3. Visit The Tuesday Market-Mercado del Sol

Visiting the San Pancho Tuesday market was one of the highlights of my trip. It is an artisan market with crafts, food, art and jewelry made by the vendors who are there. I met a woman there, who made the most beautiful pottery, and I bought a few cups from her. She collects the clay she uses from the jungle and filters it and uses here feet to get it to the right texture. I was impressed with all the work that went into making her pottery. You can see her work at on her Instagram page. I also bought mezcal, some of the best homemade Greek yogurt that had pureed passion fruit and mango at the bottom, honey with ginger, and locally made tinctures.

4. Sip Cacao

Mexicolate has a lovely cafe in San Pancho, and I enjoyed all of their cacao drinks. My favorite was the cacao agua fresca and the love shot. Also, don’t miss their raw brownie. It was so good and made for a lovely treat.

5. Eat Incredible Healthy Food

San Pancho had incredible seafood and some of the healthiest food I’ve had in Mexico. Almost every cafe had green juices and smoothies to choose from. I ate healthier than I have on any trip. My favorite seafood restaurant in San Pancho was Ikan. It was mind blowing and the service was excellent. My favorite breakfast spots were Cafe Floresta, Bistro Organico, and Nieri Cafe. For lunch, don’t miss Chido Greens. They had excellent juices and salads.

6. Watch Turtles Being Released

I was so glad to learn about Grupo Ecológico which is doing so much to protect the turtles of San Pancho. I was lucky and got to see them do a turtle release by accident, but you can also contact them to visit their turtle nursery and to get the times when the releases will happen. You can also volunteer to do beach cleanups with them.

7. Drink Coconuts

I drank fresh coconut water every day, and it was so delicious. My favorite spot was the place near the lagoon. They put pineapple on top, and took great care in crafting their coconuts for you to drink from. They also offered to cut them up when I was finished, so I could eat the coconut meat.

8. Walk Around To See Street Art, Flowers, And Butterflies

One of my favorite things to do in San Pancho was to walk down the side streets to enjoy all of the flowers, birds, street art, and plants. There were so many photo opportunities, and the sidewalks were very walkable which is rare for a Mexican town. This is also how I discovered some of the best cafes and restaurants in San Pancho.

9. Go To Yoga, Sound Healing, Or Get A Spa Treatment

I never got a chance to try their yoga or sound healing, but I did enjoy going to El Estar Yoga for a holistic massage. The tranquil space in nature was beautiful, and if I had more time, I would have gone for one of the yoga or sound healing sessions.

What To Do In Sayulita

1. Get An Incredible Massage From Emily Glos

Emily is a truly skilled massage therapist, and I highly recommend getting a massage from her. She is very intuitive, intentional, and very good at what she does. Getting a massage from her was one of the highlights of my trip to Sayulita. Emily loves what she does, and it shows. You can book at massage with Emily by visiting www.sayulitasportsmassage.com.

2. Visit Playa Los Muertos

The best part of going to Playa Los Muertos is the walk there. You walk through the cemetery, and it’s a very beautiful walk. I went just after Dia de los Muertos, and it was an incredible time to be there. Also, the water here is gentle enough to swim in which was also lovely. However, it’s surrounded by cliffs, so the sun will disappear around 4pm. For those who enjoy shade, this won’t be a problem. There’s also a lot of shade provided by the cliffs.

3. Eat Tacos

Sayulita has a great street scene for tacos. If you want a more gourmet style taco, head to the restaurant El Itacate which specializes in steak tacos served in a cheese shell. It’s a protein lover’s dream! They also serve tacos in homemade tortillas as well and have other choices besides steak. The best street tacos were Tacos Al Pastor Tal Ivan for their pastor tacos and Gaby’s tacos for the fish tacos. I never made it to Mary’s restaurant, but they are also supposed to have great fish and shrimp tacos.

 

4. Figure Out Why Chickens Cross The Road

I’ve never seen more roosters and chickens than I’ve seen in Sayulita. (San Pancho was a close second!) I’ve also never seen more unique ones. I enjoyed walking around and just watching them, something I’ve never done anywhere else.

5. Find The Street Art

One thing I love about Mexico is no matter where you go, there seems to be beautiful street art. Sayulita is no exception, so take a few minutes to walk around and appreciate it.