Surf report · Sayulita
Sayulita main beach
- beginner
- beach and rivermouth break, lefts and rights
- 4 min walk
The town beach: a mellow sandbar where the surf schools teach, a longer right off the river mouth and a shorter left. Fun for learners on small days; busy all year.
Live · updated in the last 10 min
Sayulita, right now
2–3 ft
Knee to waist Fair
Knee to waist and light onshore, with a long-period swell. Best look today around 6 pm.
- Swell
- 2.4 ft at 12 s from the SW, plus 1.0 ft WNW
- Wind
- 12 km/h light onshore from the NNW
- Tide
- 1.1 m, rising high 2:46 pm, 1.1 m
- Water
- 31°C · 88°F boardshorts and a rash vest
- Light
- 7:03 am – 6:26 pm
The week at Sayulita
Now1–2 ftFairlight cross-shore wind, 9 km/h from the NNEtide 0.2 m, rising · high at 4:43 am
- Wave faces at the spot; the band is the range
- Rating, flat to great
- offshore cross onshore wind
- night
The three waves
Each takes the swell a little differently.
- Sayulita sandbarbeginner2–3 ft GoodThe soft sand-bottom waves in front of the fishing pangas where nearly every Sayulita surf lesson happens. Slow, small and friendly, but packed with learners by mid-morning.
- Sayulita rightbeginner to intermediate2–3 ft FairSayulita's main wave: a long, forgiving right off the river mouth that suits longboards. It is the most consistent wave in town and the most crowded.
- Sayulita leftintermediate2–3 ft PoorA quicker, steeper left that peels north from the river-mouth area toward North Beach. It needs more swell than the right and is a good option for goofy-footers.
Every year on the main beach
The Sayulita Longboard Contest
Once a year the town's longboard contest takes over the main beach for three days: stylish longboarding in the Open and Junior heats, the Kahuna division, an aerial show and heats after dark under lights, with half the town watching from the sand.
The 2026 contest ran October 16–18
The 2026 divisions
- Open1,499 pesos · cash prizes
- Junior499 pesos · cash prizes
- Kahuna499 pesos · prizes in kind
- Aerial show499 pesos · cash prizes
- Night heats999 pesos · cash prizes
Every division is open to women and men, and every entry comes with a competitor's kit.
The contest's siteIn the calendar
It moves around the calendar (the 2025 edition ran December 11–13); next year's dates go up on the contest's site first.
Photos and film from the 2024 contest by Sabino, from the contest's own site and YouTube. Three days of the 2024 contest in a few minutes: long rides on the main beach, the crowd on the sand and the heats after dark.
Sports & adventure around the bay: the year's contests and races, and everything else to do outdoors.
Next in surf
- Day of the Dead international surf tournamentOctober 29 – November 1 · Main beach, SayulitaThe third edition of this contest has shortboard, longboard, SUP, bodyboard and adaptive divisions, plus a dog-surfing exhibition, with 478,000 pesos in prizes. Athletes meet at Hotel Sayulinda on October 28 at 6pm; finals and awards are on November 1.
- Sayulita named Mexico's first official Surf CityNovember 2 · SayulitaTourism officials will formally give Sayulita the Surf City title during the Day of the Dead celebrations. Venue and times haven't been announced.
About Sayulita main beach
When it works
- Swell
- NW to N, and W to NW
- Wind
- SE–E, light (early morning)
- Tide
- low–mid
- Size
- 1.5–6 ft faces
- Season
- Nov–Apr (N–NW swells, most consistent); smaller in summer
Before you go
- Getting there
- 4 min walk
- Bottom
- sand/rock
- Watch for
- crowds and loose boards, urchins, rocks and cobbles, rips on bigger days, brown river water after rain
- Crowd
- very busy
- On the beach
- board rental, surf schools, restaurants, toilets
Tips
- Learners stay on the sandbar in front of the schools; the right is for those who can turn and paddle back out.
- Mornings are cleaner and less crowded; the wind usually turns onshore after lunch.
- Booties help at the river-mouth right, where there are rocks and urchins.
- Flat too small to ride
- Poor small, or messy wind
- Fair surfable, with a catch
- Good clean, the right size for the spot
- Great clean and solid: the spot at its best