Sayulita sits in the middle of a coast full of good places to spend a day. San Pancho and Lo de Marcos are a short hop north, Punta de Mita and the Marietas Islands are half an hour south, and Chacala and the mountains take a full day but repay it.
Here's how long each one takes, how to get there without a car, and what to know before you go, including the rules for the Marietas, which are stricter than most people expect.
Getting around without a car
The green-and-white Compostela buses are the cheapest way up and down the coast. Northbound buses run roughly hourly from early morning to evening, through San Pancho to Lo de Marcos; southbound ones go toward Puerto Vallarta, and the local buses marked Punta de Mita run along the peninsula. Tell the driver where you want to get off.
Taxis wait by the plaza and are the easy option for San Pancho, Punta de Mita and the beach trailheads; a ride to San Pancho was around 200 pesos in 2025. Agree the fare before you get in. For Chacala or the mountains, a private driver or a tour is simpler than juggling buses.
Bus stop to Puerto Vallarta
The stop for buses heading south toward Punta de Mita and Puerto Vallarta.
Sayulita Luxury Transportation
Private drivers with child seats on request, useful for the longer trips north or inland.
Sayu Customs
Motorcycles rented by the full day with a full tank, if you'd rather ride to the beaches yourself.
Sayulita Tours
Locally owned tour desk on Revolución that books boat trips, fishing and rides out of town.
San Pancho and Lo de Marcos, just up the coast
San Pancho (San Francisco on the map) is 10 to 15 minutes north and feels like Sayulita with the volume turned down. The long beach is good for walking and sunset but the waves break hard, so it's for experienced surfers rather than swimmers. Entreamigos, the town's community center, runs a library, workshops, a recycling center and a gift shop of local crafts, and a small market sets up in the plaza on Tuesday mornings. The town also has its own children's circus school and a polo club with weekend matches in season.
Lo de Marcos, about 25 minutes north, is a quiet fishing town with cobbled streets and a mostly Mexican crowd on weekends. Its water is usually gentler than Sayulita's, somewhere between a pool and the open sea, and there are smaller coves such as Los Venados and Las Minitas nearby. Go for a long lunch of grilled fish and a swim.
Playa Malpaso
A secluded beach on the jungle trail between Sayulita and San Pancho; go with someone who knows the way.
Playa Las Cuevas
A cliff-framed cove north of town, reached by trail, for a quieter swim on the way toward San Pancho.
Sayulita Surf School
Local instructors who can tell you whether San Pancho is working before you make the trip.
Punta de Mita and La Lancha
Punta de Mita is at the tip of the peninsula, 25 to 45 minutes south depending on traffic. Most visitors head for El Anclote, the beach by the fishermen's cooperative, where long, gentle waves suit beginners and the beachfront restaurants serve fish straight off the boats. The cooperative's pangas leave from the jetty here for the Marietas, whale watching and fishing.
On the way, La Lancha is the surf beach locals keep for small days. Park by the Pemex and the Wildmex shop on the highway, cross carefully, and follow the jungle path for 10 to 15 minutes. There's nothing on the sand, no shade, toilets or food, so bring water and carry your trash out. Rocks show at low tide.
WildMex Surf School & Adventure Center
Runs lessons and a surf shuttle from Sayulita, with a shop by the La Lancha trailhead.
Marea Surf School
Small-group lessons that can move to La Lancha when the main beach is too big or too busy.
Mexican Surf Mafia
Family surf outfit running guided trips to the breaks around Punta de Mita.
Sea Sayulita
A small local outfit that plans surf days at quieter spots away from the main beach.
The Marietas Islands: permits and rules
The Marietas are a national park and a UNESCO biosphere reserve about 15 to 20 minutes by boat from Punta de Mita. You can only visit with a tour operator certified by CONANP, the national parks commission, and you don't walk on the islands themselves; you snorkel, kayak or paddle around them and look for blue-footed boobies on the rocks. On top of the tour price there's a park wristband, about 100 pesos in 2025, so ask whether it's included.
Playa del Amor, the hidden beach open to the sky in the middle of one island, has its own limits. It's open Wednesday to Sunday only, for just over a hundred people a day, in groups of up to 15 who get about 30 minutes inside. You swim in through a rocky tunnel at low tide, wearing the helmet and life jacket the rangers hand out, so you have to be a confident swimmer. Fins, drones and ordinary sunscreen aren't allowed. Operators turn away young children and anyone with heart, back or neck problems, so check the age limits when you book, and book weeks ahead in high season.
Oceano Adventure
Small-group snorkel and dive trips to the Marietas, six guests at most.
Sayulita Entourage
Longtime dive operation running small panga trips and PADI courses around the islands.
Rancho Manuel
Multi-generation Sayulita family that runs snorkeling and fishing trips as well as horseback rides.
Whale watching in winter
Humpback whales come to Banderas Bay to calve and breed, and the official watching season runs from early December to late March; by February there can be hundreds in the bay. Boats leave from Sayulita's beach and from Punta de Mita, and you'll often see whales breaching on the way out.
Mexican rules keep small boats at least 60 meters from a whale, limit each encounter to about 30 minutes and allow no more than four boats around one group. Boats can't watch whales within 1.5 km of the Marietas, where mothers rest with calves. A good captain cuts the engine and lets the whales come to you.
La Orca de Sayulita
Biologist-led three-hour trips from the beach, eight guests at most, with a hydrophone to hear the songs.
Rancho Manuel
A Sayulita family that adds seasonal whale trips to its fishing and snorkeling.
Chacala and the Altavista petroglyphs
Chacala, a fishing village on a sheltered bay, is about an hour north by car, longer by bus. The water inside the bay is calm enough for children and easy snorkeling, and palapa restaurants along the sand grill whole fish. Surfers take a panga around the point to La Caleta, a pebble beach with a serious wave.
Pair it with the Altavista petroglyphs, inland off the highway near Las Varas. A dirt road and a walk of under an hour along a creek lead to ancient rock carvings of spirals and figures, looked after by INAH, Mexico's archaeology institute, and to a spring-fed pool ringed by basalt columns. Stay on the path and don't touch or climb on the carvings.
San Sebastián del Oeste, in the mountains
If you want a break from the coast, San Sebastián del Oeste is an old silver-mining town, founded in 1605, now one of Jalisco's Pueblos Mágicos. It's about an hour and 40 minutes beyond Puerto Vallarta on a winding mountain road, so from Sayulita plan on more than two hours each way and an early start.
Walk the cobbled plaza and the 17th-century church, stop at a small coffee farm to taste beans grown in the cloud forest, and try raicilla, the local agave spirit. On a clear day the drive up to La Bufa looks out over the mountains toward Banderas Bay. Most people go with a tour from Vallarta, which saves the drive.
Questions people ask
How far is San Pancho from Sayulita?
About 10 to 15 minutes north by car or taxi. The Compostela bus also stops there on its way to Lo de Marcos, roughly every hour during the day.
Can you visit the Marietas Islands from Sayulita?
Yes. Tours pick up in Sayulita or leave from Punta de Mita, half an hour south, and the boat ride is about 15 to 20 minutes. You must go with a CONANP-certified operator.
Is Playa del Amor (the hidden beach) open?
Yes, Wednesday to Sunday, for just over a hundred visitors a day in small groups with about 30 minutes inside. You need to book a tour that includes it and be able to swim through the tunnel.
When is whale season near Sayulita?
The official season in Banderas Bay runs from early December to late March. Humpbacks are around for the whole of it, with the most activity usually in February.
Is Chacala worth a day trip from Sayulita?
If you want a calm, swimmable bay and a slower pace, yes. It's about an hour north by car, and you can add the Altavista petroglyphs on the way.
Written by sayulita.co from our own research, checked against 23 sources. Nothing here is paid for. Photos: Ferfive (CC BY 4.0); Drew Hunt (CC BY-SA 4.0). See something out of date? Tell us.
.jpg){kind=link}