The Perfect 7-Day Riviera Nayarit Itinerary — Sayulita, San Pancho, Punta Mita

The Perfect 7-Day Riviera Nayarit Itinerary — Sayulita, San Pancho, Punta Mita

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The Riviera Nayarit is the 100-mile stretch of Pacific coast north of Puerto Vallarta, anchored by Sayulita, San Pancho, and Punta Mita. We manage properties in all three towns, and the seven-day trip we map out for first-time guests follows roughly the same arc every time: base in one town, day-trip the others, hit the Marietas Islands once, and leave one day completely unscheduled. Here's the itinerary we'd write for you.

Before You Go: Two Things to Book Ahead

The single thing that derails this trip more often than anything else is the Marietas Islands tour. Access to Playa Escondida — the Hidden Beach — is capped at 116 people per day and closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so the tour spots sell out a week or more in advance during the dry season. Book your tour the moment you book your trip.

The second is the Sunday La Cruz Market — only on Sundays. If your week includes a Sunday, build day 6 around it.

Where to Base Yourself

We recommend basing in Sayulita for the centrality, the restaurant volume, and the easy walk to everything. Sayulita Sol Retreat is one of our most-booked picks for couples and small families who want walk-to-everything access without the surf-school crowds outside the door. For larger families and groups, Casa Paz has three pools across the property and works for 8–10 guests comfortably.

If you'd rather wake up somewhere quieter, base in San Pancho instead — Casa Mercurio is our pick for couples wanting jungle-and-pool privacy, and you're still 10 minutes from Sayulita by taxi when you want the action. (For the full comparison, see Sayulita vs San Pancho.)

Day 1 — Arrival and Settle In

Fly into PVR. Pick up your rental car or pre-book a private shuttle (the Compostela bus is cheap but slow with luggage); see our notes on getting from PVR airport for the four transit options ranked. Drive the 45 minutes north, settle into the property, walk into Sayulita town. Dinner at Chocobanana for a casual landing — or save your appetite and find a beachfront taco stand on the main plaza. Sunset on the main beach. Don't try to do anything else.

Day 2 — Slow Sayulita Day

Coffee from Chocobanana, breakfast on the rooftop. A morning surf lesson on the main beach is the classic Day 2 — every school on the sand offers them, and beginners almost always stand up by hour two. Lunch at Barracuda on the beachfront for shrimp tacos and ceviche, or one of the fish-taco stands on the plaza. Afternoon in the artisan market in the plaza for Huichol beadwork and silver. Late afternoon swim at Playa de los Muertos (20-minute walk north past the cemetery — quieter water than the main beach). Dinner somewhere with a wood-fire — Sayulita has several. Easy.

Day 3 — San Pancho Day Trip

Taxi to San Pancho (about 200 pesos, 10 minutes). Walk the beach end to end — wider, emptier, the swimming zone is at the south end near the river mouth. Lunch at La Ola Rica for chilaquiles and fruit smoothies. Stop in at EntreAmigos community center on Avenida Tercer Mundo to see what workshops or exhibitions are running. Late afternoon walk through the estuary preserve at the south end of town (look for crocodiles in the mangroves). Sunset cocktails on the beach, taco stands for dinner, taxi back to Sayulita.

Day 4 — Marietas Islands

Your pre-booked tour. Most leave from Punta Mita or La Cruz around 8am and return by 2pm. You'll snorkel off the islands, then swim through a low rock arch into Playa Escondida — the crater beach you've seen in every Riviera Nayarit photo. Wear a rash guard; sunscreen is prohibited to protect the reef. Life jackets are mandatory; no fins allowed. You get 30 minutes inside the Hidden Beach including the swim in and out. It's worth every minute of the logistics. Late lunch back on land, then a slow afternoon at the property.

Day 5 — Punta Mita

Punta Mita is the polished, golf-resort end of the Riviera Nayarit. The two Jack Nicklaus-designed courses (Pacifico and Bahia) draw destination golfers, but the beaches are the reason to come for a day. Drive 25 minutes south to El Anclote, the town's main beach — rent chairs and umbrellas, lunch at La Pescadora for fish tacos in the open-air spot in the village, or Hector's Kitchen for fine dining on the sand where the fishing boats land each morning. If you surf, drive 10 more minutes to Playa La Lancha — one of the gentler year-round breaks in the area.

Day 6 — La Cruz Sunday Market (or Hiking)

If it's Sunday: drive 35 minutes south to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle for the market at the marina — farm-to-table produce, handmade crafts, live music, food trucks, and the boats in the slips behind you. Walk the marina afterward (340+ slips, the largest on this coast). Lunch from a food truck, then the slow drive back.

If it's not Sunday: hike Monkey Mountain (Cerro del Mono), the most popular trail in the area — it sits just south of Sayulita near the village of Higuera Blanca, a 4.5-mile out-and-back with a 360-degree view from the summit over Banderas Bay, Punta Mita, and the coastline. Allow 2 to 3 hours round-trip. Bring a liter of water per person and wear shoes with grip; the trail has many false branches. Wildmex Surf & Adventures and Mexitreks both run guided versions out of Sayulita if you'd rather not navigate it solo.

Day 7 — Last Beach Morning

Slow morning at the property. Coffee on the rooftop. One last walk on the beach. Lunch in Sayulita — Bar La Isla on the beachfront for a final ceviche on the way out is a tradition with our guests. Drive back to PVR in time for an afternoon flight. The route is the same one you came in on, but the trip feels longer than seven days in the best possible way.

What We'd Add If You Have More Time

If you can stretch the trip to 10 days, add: a sunset sailing trip from La Cruz marina (the marina has several charter operators), a day at Yelapa (boat from PV — a beach village reachable only by water), and a second Marietas-area day for snorkeling without the Hidden Beach permit pressure.

Browse our Riviera Nayarit vacation rentals for the full collection across Sayulita and San Pancho. If you want help matching a property to the itinerary above, send us a note — we'll put you in the right home for the trip you're planning.

From this guide

San Pancho

San Pancho — officially San Francisco, Nayarit — is Sayulita's quieter, more bohemian neighbor, just five miles up the Riviera Nayarit coast. Where Sayulita buzzes, San Pancho slows down: a wide, uncrowded golden beach, a walkable village of galleries, taco stands, and open-air restaurants, and a strong arts-and-community spirit. It's the kind of place where you settle in for a week and feel like a local by day two. Our San Pancho vacation rentals range from one-bedroom condos for couples to multi-bedroom villas for families and groups, most with pool access — rooftop, heated, or plunge — and many just a short walk or bike ride from the sand. We manage homes in two standout communities: La Esquina, a rooftop-pool building one block from the beach with sweeping rooftop views and partial ocean views from some units, and the beachfront Punta Paraiso, oceanfront condos with direct beach access and sweeping Pacific views. In town and in the surrounding jungle you'll also find private villas and pool homes for larger groups, including options that sleep eight to twelve. Winter (November through April) is high season across the Riviera Nayarit — warm, dry days, humpback whales offshore, and a calendar that runs from the holidays through Semana Santa — and San Pancho's smaller inventory books up quickly. Reserving early means the best choice of beachfront and ocean-view homes and the dates you want. Sayulita's surf, nightlife, and shopping are a 10-minute drive away, so many guests base themselves in San Pancho's calm and day-trip over. Every home is locally managed by a team that lives on this coast — someone down the street who knows San Pancho's beaches, restaurants, and quiet corners inside and out. Browse our full collection of San Pancho rentals below.

Sayulita

Sayulita is Mexico's Pacific-coast surf town turned bohemian getaway — a designated Pueblo Mágico on the Riviera Nayarit, about 40 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR). Cobblestone streets strung with papel picado lead past taco stands, galleries, and rooftop bars down to a golden main beach where beginner-friendly waves roll in all winter long. Our Sayulita vacation rentals put you in the middle of it: walkable to town, steps from the sand, and built for the way you actually want to travel. Most of our Sayulita condo and penthouse rentals sit within the Caivama resort community, a short walk from the plaza, with rooftop pools, ocean and jungle views, and heated plunge pools for cooler winter evenings. Traveling as a couple? Our downtown studios and one-bedroom bungalows keep you close to the action. Bringing family or friends? Two- and three-bedroom villas with private terraces give everyone room to spread out. Nearly every stay includes pool access — rooftop, heated, or plunge — so you can trade the beach for a swim without leaving home. Winter is Sayulita's high season, and for good reason: warm, dry days from November through April, humpback whales offshore from December, and a calendar that runs from the holidays through Semana Santa. It's also the season that books up first. Reserving your Sayulita rental early means a better choice of ocean-view units and the dates you actually want — not the ones that are left. Browse our full collection of Sayulita beachfront, ocean-view, and pool-side rentals below. Every property is locally managed by a team that lives here — so from your first message to your last morning coffee on the terrace, you've got someone down the street who knows Sayulita inside and out.

Mexico

Mexico's Riviera Nayarit is where the Pacific meets the jungle — a stretch of golden beaches, warm surf, and bohemian villages just north of Puerto Vallarta. We operate in two neighboring towns on this coast, five miles apart and each with its own character. Sayulita is the lively heart of the region — a designated Pueblo Mágico known for beginner-friendly surf, cobblestone streets, taco stands, galleries, and rooftop bars, with condos and penthouses steps from the sand. Many of our Sayulita homes are in the Caivama resort community, a short walk from the plaza. Five miles north, San Pancho (officially San Francisco) is the quieter, more bohemian neighbor: a laid-back village of wide, uncrowded beaches, an easygoing pace, and a strong arts-and-community spirit. Near the beach we manage homes in two standout communities — La Esquina, a rooftop-pool building a block from the sand, and the beachfront Punta Paraiso. Across both towns, most stays include pool access — rooftop, heated, or plunge — with homes ranging from one-bedroom studios for couples to five-bedroom villas for families and groups. Winter (November through April) is high season on the Riviera Nayarit: warm, dry days, humpback whales offshore, and a calendar that runs from the holidays through Semana Santa. It's also the season that books up first, so reserving early means the best choice of ocean-view stays and the dates you actually want. Every home is locally managed by a team that lives on this coast — so wherever you land, from Sayulita's plaza to a quiet San Pancho terrace, you have someone down the street who knows the region inside and out. Browse our full collection of Riviera Nayarit rentals below.