Sayulita, MX

Sayulita's oldest upscale restaurant, a beachfront palapa doing wood-fired Mediterranean and Mexican plates with your feet practically in the sand. The place for a proper dinner, and its salsa nights are a town institution.

A relaxed spot built around super-fresh fish — ceviches, tostadas and grilled catch of the day — that locals rate among the best seafood in town. Casual, breezy and consistently good.

A beachfront restaurant right by the main surf break where you can eat beautifully plated seafood under a palapa or with your table on the sand, waves in view. The polished version of toes-in-the-sand dining.

A no-frills local institution that's been frying some of the best, cheapest fish tacos in town for years. The antidote to Sayulita's creeping prices and a daily fix for locals.

A taco spot locals point to for the best arrachera (skirt steak) tacos in town, charred and piled with the works. Unpretentious and reliably satisfying after a day in the water.

Sayulita's only craft brewery, pouring its own beers alongside burgers and pub plates in a laid-back garden setting. The go-to when you want a cold house pint instead of another margarita.

A popular wood-fired pizza and pasta spot just off the plaza, with a buzzy patio and reliably good Italian cooking. The default crowd-pleaser when the group can't agree on tacos again.

The longtime corner breakfast café on the plaza, named for its frozen chocolate-dipped bananas, and the town's default morning gathering spot for coffee, smoothies and eggs. Pure Sayulita ritual.

A small kitchen doing regional Mexican home cooking — handmade blue-corn gorditas, pozole and moles — with plenty for vegetarians. The most genuinely Mexican meal in a town drifting toward international menus.

A health-focused café doing big breakfast bowls, fresh juices and vegetarian plates from organic produce — the surf-town wellness staple. Bright, calm and a welcome reset.

A creative contemporary-Mexican kitchen in San Pancho turning out inventive plates like lentil ceviche, well worth the short trip north. Some of the most interesting cooking in the area.

A San Pancho seafood spot loved for its octopus tacos and Mexican coastal cooking, casual and consistently fresh. A reason on its own to wander up to the quieter town.

A jungle climb of a few miles round trip up Cerro del Mono, ending in a panorama over the coast, the towns and the green hills. The area's signature hike and a proper workout.

A jungle-and-coast trail linking Sayulita to San Pancho over the headlands, passing hidden beaches and dense forest. A scenic moderate walk between the two towns instead of taking the road.

A short coastal walk south from town past the cemetery and Playa de los Muertos toward the wild sands of Carricitos, mixing jungle path and beach. An easy leg-stretch with swimming stops.

A jungle trail from San Pancho over a headland to a long, wild, empty beach — bigger and more dramatic than the in-town options. A rewarding moderate hike to sand you'll often have to yourself.

The town's mellow beach-break right-hander is one of the friendliest places in Mexico to learn to surf, with instructors and board rentals lined up on the main beach. The reason many people come at all.

A boat trip to the protected Marietas Islands offshore, with snorkeling among rays and tropical fish and, with luck and a permit, the famous hidden beach inside a collapsed crater. The big day-trip from the coast.

Guided rides through the jungle and along the beaches around Sayulita, offered by day or at sunset, often paired with a tequila tasting. A classic way to see the back-country greenery.

A beloved community center in San Pancho built around recycling, education and the arts, with a library, workshops and a shop of local crafts. A genuinely local, kid-friendly stop with a conscience.

The Friday farmers-and-artisans market where local growers, bakers and makers set up — organic produce, prepared food and crafts in one weekly gathering. The town's social and culinary highlight of the week.

From roughly December to March, humpback whales pass close offshore on their breeding migration, and small boats run trips to see them breach. A seasonal highlight of the Riviera Nayarit coast.

The papel-picado-draped town square a block from the beach, ringed by taco stands, surf shops and the little church — the social hub where everyone in town crosses paths. Less a sight than the beating heart you'll pass through daily.

A small clifftop cemetery on the path to Playa de los Muertos, its graves brightly painted and decorated in Huichol color, with the sea just beyond. A poignant, photogenic stop most people walk past on the way to the beach.

A small, sheltered cove just south of town, reached by the footpath past the cemetery, with calmer water than the main surf beach and a backdrop of jungle. The locals' swimming and snorkeling spot.

The forested headland at the north end of the main beach, with a lookout over the surf break and tide pools below. A short scramble to the point where you can watch surfers work the right-hand wave.

The quieter sister town a few minutes north — locals call it what Sayulita used to be — with one elegant palm-lined main street, a wide uncrowded beach and a strong arts community. The antidote when Sayulita feels too busy.

A wild, undeveloped beach south of town reached by a short jungle trail, with big open surf and almost no one on it. The escape for when the in-town beaches feel crowded.