I Run Like A Girl

For the second half of our Mexico vacation, we headed to Sayulita – a colorful, hippie beach town 1 hour north of Puerto Vallarta (where we spent the first part of our trip). This was our third time visiting Sayulita. The first time was a few months after we started dating; we fell in love with the city and knew we wanted to spend more time here. Flash forward to the pandemic – we got the opportunity to work remotely in Sayulita, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. We’ve made so many wonderful memories in this town, and it’s easily one of my favorite places in the world. 

This time around, we had 4 days in Sayulita. It was filled with some familiar things as well as new experiences. 

Sayulita is a quaint town known for its picturesque beaches and surrounding jungle scenery. It’s popular for surfing, yoga, and its hippie culture, especially among Western expats. It’s also a popular tourist destination for travelers looking for an escape from the bigger city of Puerto Vallarta. 

Not going to lie, coming from the convenient PV, Sayulita felt like we were roughing it. Facilities in Sayulita were more basic, but nothing we weren’t prepared for. Also, while I raved about experiencing PV during rainy season in my last post, we felt the effects of the rain in Sayulita more (since the town is in the jungle). The air was thick and mosquitos were prominent – a contrast to our last two visits during the dry season. 

From our past experiences, we knew that renting a golf cart was one of the best ways to explore Sayulita. We had a cart waiting for us when we arrived, and we hit the ground running! We spent so much time joy-riding through town and having major nostalgia. At almost every turn, we pointed out a restaurant we ate at, a person we met, or another memory. It felt great to know the town well and to take a break from Google Maps. 😉  

We ventured outside of town in the jungle. I loved the jungle scenery, but the roads during rainy season were questionable.  

Needless to say, the beach was a highlight of our 4 days here. Sayulita Beach was nicer than the one in Puerto Vallarta. It was a beautiful place to relax, swim, and watch the surfers. 

One morning, Joe and I went paddle boarding. I loved paddling further in the ocean where no one surrounded us (except for pelicans). We paddled all the way to Playa de los Muertos, a smaller beach outside of town with fewer crowds. It was quite the trek, but it was worth it. We liked visiting this beach because there were fewer vendors – it felt like a local’s spot.   

Wanting to try something new this time, I booked a jungle hike through Airbnb Experience. This was my second time using Airbnb Experience, and I really like it because it’s usually locals giving tours for an affordable price. We were in the mood to do something active, and a local hike sounded perfect. 

We met up with our tour guide, Alejo from Argentina. It was just the 3 of us which was nice to have a smaller group. We departed right from town, and within a few blocks, we were in the federally-protected jungle. Once we were in the jungle, it really felt like we were away from civilization – a reminder of just how remote Sayulita is. The jungle was filled with humid air and lushness from the rain – and the mosquitos were a’waiting! 

We hiked at a slow pace as we were watching for wildlife. Alejo had laser vision and spotted so many things: lizards, birds, crabs, spiders…he was an expert at the native wildlife, and I loved hearing his interesting facts about the plants and animals. He also shared the cultural significance to the indigenous people.  

My personal favorite was all the different mushrooms. I recently started mushroom foraging (although I’m terrible at it), and there were so many beautiful varieties in Mexico. 

We foraged some baby coconuts – they tasted totally different from adult coconuts, but I enjoyed it. 

Our hike brought us to a secret beach (Playa Malpaso). It was completely empty as we were the only ones there! We went in for a quick dip which felt amazing after a sweaty hike. I’m so glad we found this beach as we never knew about it from our past visits…another local secret. 

After the beach, we hiked back up the mountain and back to town. Beautiful views of the coast along the way. 

I’m so glad we had this experience, as it brought us to new places that we wouldn’t have found on our own. 🙂 Such a unique experience and memorable part of our Sayulita trip. 

Another new experience in Sayulita – I did a yoga class! Sayulita is popular for yogis as there are several retreat spots, yoga teacher training, etc. I went to the Rose Room, where they had a rooftop yoga studio overlooking the ocean. The class was a slow, restorative flow, which was perfect for me since I was dripping in sweat even in a resting pose (the climate made this feel like a hot yoga class). I left feeling like a new person. Practicing yoga while listening to the ocean waves is something I’ll never forget. 

Our Airbnb had a pool, where we spent a good amount of time relaxing. It was a nice break from the beach with the endless vendors. 

Some shopping at the flea market. I immediately got into haggling mode – my six months in Southeast Asia last year turned haggling into muscle memory for me.

Joe and I were very much looking forward to getting massages in Mexico. We took advantage of the cheaper massages here as we got 4 massages over 9 days. 😛 

It was rare to see us walking in Sayulita since we had a golf cart, but I did get out for some walks around town. They were usually first thing in the morning before the heat settled in. 

The sunrise over the beach was epic. 

Joe stopped to ID every plant he saw. 😉 

And befriended the cats too. 

Flashback to the days we worked remotely here – we visited this fruit stand almost every day. We had to come back here for old time’s sake. 

Lastly, I want to call out our favorite food spots in Sayulita! Sayulita is pretty small, and we’ve eaten at most of the restaurants here over all our visits. It was nice to know exactly where to go this time, and each meal ended up being a hit.

We went to a new taco spot called Bichos, which Alejo recommended to us. They had authentic street tacos with western-sized portions, so 2-3 tacos were enough. I loved the authentic food paired with the minimalist, comfortable ambiance.

Our go-to breakfast spot was Cafe El Espresso, right in the town square. They had a wonderful Mexican breakfast menu, and we ordered the eggs and chorizo on tostada a few times. Their smoothies were also on point. 

A new find this time was Trattoria Toscana, an Italian spot right in the center of town. It had a fancier vibe, but if you’re looking for a pizza spot, I think this is one of the best in town.

Right next door was Buonissimo Gelato – they had amazing flavors including my favorite, Fererror Rocher. We came here a few times for a cold treat and people-watching. 🙂

A long-time favorite of ours was Ruben’s, a no-frills American spot. Sometimes we just needed a break from Mexican food, and this was our go-to. It’s on one of the iconic streets of Sayulita filled with colorful flags, and it was a lively street in the evenings. There was a rotation of performers vying for this prime spot, so our dinners here were accompanied by live bands, fire dancers, and more.     

Last but not least…Chocobanana! My favorite brunch spot in the center of town. Before the trip, I told Joe how much I was looking forward to eating here, so we were sad to see it was closed due to maintence. On our last day, a few hours before our flight, I saw they reopened, and we got to eat here one more time. Score. 🙂 

After 9 beautiful days, I’m leaving Mexico feeling super grateful and refreshed. Having just ended my gap year in April, I’ve been a homebody, but this vacation exceeded my expectations and I’m so glad Joe and I made this happen. At the same time, I really love the life I’m going back to in San Francisco, and I feel excited to go home and get back to my routine — see our cats, work out, maybe eat vegetables again. 😉