5 BEAUTIFUL Beaches in Sayulita for Surfers – and for Non-Surfers

Playa Sayulita

No guide to Sayulita beaches could possibly miss this one out. Playa Sayulita is the MAIN beach in this town. It’s a long, bending arc of a bay that has two very disctinct ends to it: The lively town beach area, which doubles as Sayulita’s surf hub, and the quieter bits to the north. Let’s take a look at both.

First: The area around town…

This part of the playa faces a touch due north, and forces all those huge winter SW swells to hook in around a headland to make waves. There’s a bit of a cobblestone reef thingy right by where the Sayulita River enters the ocean, and that creates the space needed for the trademark longboard waves that this town is known for.

This part of the beach is busy. Like BUSY. Boats cram pretty much all the bits by the restuarants, and sunbeds fill in the gaps. I’ve never seen it quiet, and it ain’t a place to go for chilling. It’s great for surf, though – so long as you don’t mind crowds.

The beach gets quieter and quieter as you head north, though. By the time you’re, say, 500m from the town, you can be totally alone, with perhaps just a few folks chilling in those lovely ocean villas that line the bay. I often go north along the whole beach all the way to the headland if I want to chillax to the max, because there’s some nice seclusion to be had up there – though the rips and shorebreaks can get strong, so watch out if you choose to get in the water.

Basically: South end for surf and urban vibes, north end for relaxing.

The surf? Playa Sayulita’s south end has three super nice breaks – most of them beginner friendly. There’s a peely right that’s basically a classic log wave, and has the crowds to prove it, a beginner sandbar where the learners all go, and the slightly more challenging La Izquierda left, which is a touch hollower but still nothing massive. The north orientation means Sayulita works all winter usually, and has mellower waves than Punta Mita because it’s tucked deeper into the bay. A learner’s mecca.

>>Read our guide to the top surf camps in Sayulita right now

Playa De Los Muertos

If all you want to do is kick back with a good book, a margarita, and the sun, Playa De Los Muertos is the one for you. It sits just around the rocks from the main playa, and can be reached in only a few minutes from the downtown, taking a steep path to the north and then down straight to the bay. Ask anyone for directions – everyone in Sayulita knows where Playa De Los Muertos is.

The spot is basically an opening between two rock headlands backed by thick jungle (and an ever-increasing array of hotels if the last few years are anything to go by). It’s so nice though; not uber-busy like some spots around Puerto Vallarta, and kinda chill compared to the main section of beach.

That goes for the water, too. Sometimes there can be some rips and breaking waves here, but it’s never surfable and there are days when Playa De Los Muertos is as flat as a lake. When that happens, it’s popular with swimmers and SUP boards – yep, that flat!

Because it’s so close to town but also helps to get you out of the big buzz of Sayulita central, shall we say, there’s something to be said for making your way over the headland to Playa De Los Muertos and staying here. You can still walk to town to surf, but you get to hang out under the palms with fewer people.

The surf? There’s no surf here. Sometimes a bodyboard wave. Usually its flat.

Carricitos Beach

Another notch on the seclusion counter above Playa De Los Muertos is Carricitos. I won’t parrot what some other bloggers have said about this one – it’s not “undiscovered” by any stretch. People do know about it, and it’s rare that you’re totally alone here. But we’re talking like 1-2 other folks, sometimes 10 others if the sunset’s a goodie.

The bottom line is that it’s a really chilled spot.

You’ll need to walk for about 20 mins through the town, going west and then zigzagging over a jungle-covered hill. It can seem daunting but, honestly, Google paves the way so it’s a cinch. You’ll eventually enter Carricitos Beach down a narrow alleyway beside a graffiti-covered building then bingo, you’re in.

This one faces straight west, so picks up some rippy shorebreaks. There are some areas sheltered by boulders where it’s a bit safer to take a dip, but be careful! Those boulders poke out from the sea like something from Maritiuis, looking splendid.

Behind, there are sea grass meadows and some nice shady areas thanks to the cluster of palms.

Long days, great sunsets, and an easy walk back and forth to town – what more do you want?

The surf? Although it has the exposure, Carricitos has only dumpy shore breaks. Don’t bother.

Playa Patzcuarito

Another step south from Carricitos away from Sayulita will bring you to Playa Patzcuarito. It’s not the easiest spot to reach, though – it’s much further, and, while I have been told there’s a coastal route, it’s apparently way easier to just follow the main road towards Punta Mita and divert off that.

If you do make the effort then Playa Patzcuarito does promise something alltogeher different. The hills here, jungle covered as always, are not – repeat, NOT – peppered with big homes and hotels like they are around town.

Here, it’s literally just the canopy of greenery you expect to find around the Mexican coast, and a big dash of pure, rust-tinged sand broken up by reefs.

A warning: Big, pounding waves mean swimming is hard. That said, the pay off will be a long stretch of beach that you can, actually, get all to yourself.

The surf? Again, not a great surf beach.

San Pancho

These days, a lot of people who want to visit Sayulita actually stay in the little town of San Pancho that’s to the north. The reason? It’s much quieter, much more authentic, but also still really set up for vacationers – yea, it’s a tourist town, but it’s way, way quieter than Sayulita proper.

And…it has its own beach. It’s own wonderful, wonderful beach.

It’s like a mile long, fully colored that perfect shade of Nayarit gold, has rocky hills topped by villas and jungle palms on both sides, and a nice collection of beach bars to grab your sunset margarita from.

I tend to like walking south along San Pancho Playa because the cliffs behind get a bit steeper and the water is a little calmer.

If I’m surfing, the best spots I reckon are just to the left of the entry point to the beach from the main town – but be sure to read the surf write-up below, for this ain’t an easy-peasy beach break by any stretch.

The surf? San Pancho has some waves but they are generally not good until the big SW swells curl into the bay, and then it’s HEAVVVY AF. Most of the time, they are dumpy little wedges that often chuck beginners right onto a heap of reef, which is never visible. Go south from the entrance and you can get nice corners, left and right, off the A-frames. I’d say it’s more advanced people only, and sit and watch for a while to get your bearings.