Hidden Beaches Near Sayulita — Patzcuarito, Los Muertos & More
Hidden Beaches Near Sayulita — Patzcuarito, Los Muertos & More
Arrival Getaways
Sayulita
The main beach in Sayulita is the right place to start — the surf school crowd, the palapas selling cold cocos, the kids playing soccer at the south end. But after a day or two most of our guests are ready for emptier sand. The good news: within a 10-minute to 90-minute walk of town, there are four beaches with a fraction of the people, and our team scouts these year-round. Bring water, bring sunscreen, leave the credit card at the rental. None of them have a bathroom or a palapa bar, and that's the point.
Playa de los Muertos — 10 to 15 Minutes North
The nearest and easiest hidden beach. Walk to the north end of the main beach (where the pangas are pulled up), then up a small set of stairs to the road. Head past the boutique Villa Amor and continue along Calle Pescadores. The road cuts under a painted archway and then through a small hillside cemetery — that's what los muertos refers to — and drops you onto a calm, boulder-bracketed cove. The water here is gentler than the main beach. A single palapa sometimes operates at the north end selling cold drinks and grilled fish.
Bring shade if you're staying past noon — the cove faces west and the afternoon sun is direct on the sand. The path is mostly cobblestone with one rocky 30-meter stretch. We tell guests to skip the flip-flops here.
Playa Carricitos — 30 Minutes West (the Sunset Beach)
For our money, the best sunset beach near town. Head west out of Sayulita on Calle Niños Heroes, follow the road past the edge of town, and look for a footpath that drops through a cement-block wall down to the beach. About 30 minutes from the plaza door-to-sand, mostly walkable but the last section is dirt and a little steep. Carricitos is a crescent of golden sand, no amenities, no vendors. The waves crash hard — this is not a swimming beach for most people — but the unobstructed western horizon and the height of the dune mean the sunsets are the cleanest in the area.
Time your arrival for an hour before sundown. Bring a flashlight; the walk back in the dark is slow.
Playa Patzcuarito — 40 Minutes South (Black + Gold Sand)
The most distinctive beach in the area. Patzcuarito sits just south of Playa Carricitos and has the highest concentration of black volcanic sand in the region, swirled with the more familiar gold — striped patterns where the tide retreats. To get there, walk south out of town along the cobblestone road marked by the large "Punta Sayulita" sign. Continue for about a quarter mile until the road bends sharply right and a dirt track continues straight. From there, look for trails off to the right into the jungle (there are two parallel options) — both drop down to the sand within 10-15 minutes.
You're now far enough from town that you'll often have it to yourself. There's a small rocky point at the north end that's good for tide-pooling at low tide. No facilities — bring everything, take everything back.
Playa Malpaso — 60-90 Minutes (Toward San Pancho)
Malpaso sits directly between Sayulita and San Pancho, on the well-known coastal hike that connects the two towns. Of all the beaches on this list, it's the longest one — soft, white, often empty. Even on a crowded weekend, you can stake out a section away from the other half-dozen people on the sand.
The hike is roughly 90 minutes one-way at a casual pace. Most of our guests do it as a day project: leave Sayulita after breakfast, swim and read on Malpaso for a couple of hours, walk into San Pancho for a late lunch (the seafood at La Tarraya is the usual move) and an Uber or taxi back. If you don't want the walk, you can also catch a 5-minute drive up Highway 200 to San Pancho and approach Malpaso from that side, though the foot access is less obvious. (If a Malpaso day gets you considering San Pancho as a base, our Sayulita vs San Pancho comparison has the honest tradeoff.)
Timing the Walk
A few things our guests learn after their first attempt:
Morning is better than afternoon at all four beaches. The walks are shaded for the first 10 minutes, exposed for the rest. By 11 a.m. in March or April, the trail to Patzcuarito or Carricitos is hot enough that we'd ask you to wait.
Low tide opens Patzcuarito's rocky point for tide-pool exploration. High tide makes the cove smaller but the water more swimmable.
The river at the south end of the main beach sometimes runs high enough in rainy season that the walk to Los Muertos has to go the long way around — ask our front desk before you set out from October through November (our month-by-month guide walks through what each season actually looks like).
Carricitos in the late afternoon is the right call. Anywhere else for sunset and you're walking back in the dark on a path that doesn't have lights.
What to Bring (Every Time)
We hand guests the same checklist on day one:
Twice as much water as you think you need.
Real sunscreen, plus a hat.
A small dry bag for phone + keys.
Snacks — there is nothing to buy at any of these four.
Closed-toe sandals or trail runners. Flip-flops will not survive Carricitos or Patzcuarito.
A 200-peso note in cash, for the rare palapa that's open.
A quick weather check the morning of helps too. Rainy-season afternoons can flash-flood the trail down to Patzcuarito; the path is usually fine but you don't want to be on it during a storm.
Where to Base Yourself
For beach scouting we keep recommending the same handful of our properties. Sayulita Serenity with Sweeping Views is exactly what its name says — a hillside vantage where you can scan the coast for an empty stretch before you walk out. Penthouse Getaway Ocean View and Casa Tranquila offer similar high-up views from their rooftop pools, which is genuinely useful for picking your day's beach. Casa Del Morro suites in the center of town keep you closest to the Calle Pescadores trailhead for Los Muertos.
Whichever you pick, take it easy on the post-beach plans. The hidden beaches reward unhurried days. Browse our Sayulita rentals and ask our team which beach matches your day — we hike all of these, regularly, and we'll point you at the right one for the wind and the swell.
