Hello again, old friend

Quite possibly our favorite destination (at least beach oriented) on the south bound trip, Sayulita was yet another must do for this return trip. A small, nothing but fishing town, that has turned into a tourist magnet over the past 20 years, Sayulita is located just a 30 minute drive north of Puerto Vallarta, one of Mexico's top vacation destinations. Frontier Airlines in Denver always has unbelievable deals into PV, so it's an easy getaway. The unfortunate part of having been discovered is that the locals (at least that work in the tourism industry) seem to have a bit of a chip on their shoulders and don't really care about being over friendly to the nice tourists that have made the place what it is, but as long as we kept it in mind, it didn't seem to bother us much. These are 2 main reasons we love Sayulita so much:

#1 - It's got something for everyone. There's a great beach scene with nice medium sized waves - big enough for surf lessons, but not so big you can't swim. Plus, the town is filled with restaurants & cute shops (not the crap souvineer kind) and it's completely walkable.


#2 Sayultia Trailer Park & Bungalows is the bomb diggity. If you are looking for a great camping experience whether it be in an fully contained RV or tent, this is the place. It's located right on the beach, but provides tons of shelter from the sun, lots of privacy (like you aren't looking in your neighbor's windows) and the facility is just about the nicest one we have stayed at. The Austrian owner is super welcoming too. And even if you aren't looking to camp per say, they offer nice bungalows within the same grounds, so there's a nice mix of people - all very down to earth and friendly.


This time around we pushed on through from Guadalajara to arrive at STP (Sayultia Trailer Park) around dusk. Upon our arrival we were kind of surprised to see a bit of different scene as compared to our last visit. Last time the park was literally full of Gringo RVer's. All very nice, but very American. This time around there were hardly any RV's (just tents) and we were the only Gringos…..even better, in our opinion!

It didn't take long for our four-legged travel companion to say hello to the neighbors and then make herself at home in the surf. Our girl hearts water…..just like her mami! We relaxed and enjoyed our favorite Mexican beach town for 3 days and even though there were some serious downpours in the evenings, our days were hot and sunny for the most part. Unfortunately Mia got a bit sick from slurping up too much saltwater, but after visiting the local vet and getting some meds and advice, it didn't even seem to phase her. She was back braving the waves after a nice long nap.




On the culinary front there are some delicious, not-so-high end places that you must try if you ever do find yourself in Sayulita.

#1 The torta lady in the park. Don't be afraid to eat this street food - you will most certainly miss out on something great. Try the pollo (chicken) with the works. So good and so cheap.

#2 Burrito Revolucion: Chipotle style burritos dished up in a cool outdoor atmosphere.

#3 The all natural ice cream & juice shop right next to Burrito Revolucion. You name it, they have it, in both ice cream and popsicle style…..and everything can be dipped in chocolate.

#4 This time around we discovered the Orignal Fish Taco. At first glance you may think twice about eating here. Honestly there are "prettier" looking restaurants but trust us, we made the mistake of going to the "nicer" Fish Taco joint and this one is way better and has much more of an authentic Mexican atmosphere, plus the staff are not the typical stuck-up Sayultians that we described above.

It was kind of sad to say goodbye knowing that if/when we ever do make it back there, it may not involve camping……..but then again - it may!

Love it or Leave it

The Sayulita Shore

Around noon on Sunday we pulled into Sayulita and found our way to the Sayulita Trailer Park despite the main bridge into town being closed down. The owner didn’t recall us making a reservation only a few days before, but not to worry, he had a great beach-front spot still available where we met our neighbors, Lyman and Susan, sunbirds from Oregon handing out in Mexico in their 1977 custom painted Dodge Camper Van. Well, this got Ben all worked up, being that he himself used to drive a 1977 Chevy van, Sam, and soon we were old friends with our new neighbors.

The church in the center of town

In days to pass we felt popular around the trailer park, making friends with several other campers there. We certainly can’t take the credit as all of these people first approached us to ask about our vehicle (John at Ecamper was right when he told us we’d spend hours explaining our camper!). Another nice couple we met (also from Oregon), Pat & Ray, offered up lots of travel advice, yummy granola, and the use of their boogie boards (Thank you!). We really do hope we have the privilege of meeting up with so many of these folks again sometime throughout our year of travel.

Bungalows at Sayulita Trailer Park

Boogie boarding addict

During our 4 days in Sayulita we fell in love with a lot of things - the almost white-sand beaches, the just right waters, the cute artsy town, everything about Sayulita Trailer Park – we know we’ll be coming back someday. But just so it doesn’t sound too perfect, there were a few turn-offs that weighed heavily on us. First off - the crowd. Granted it is Spring Break /Semana Santa, so lots of tourists were there, both Mexican and American. The other turn off was the attitude of the people from Sayulita. Many of the shop owners and waiters had an arrogance about them. We understand they have this prime piece of real estate that can’t be found in many other parts of Mexico (we’ve looked), and that they have to deal with annoying tourists all the time, but seriously be grateful that we’re here, making your town thrive!


All in all, Sayulita is a great small town and much more our style than it’s not-so-distant counterpart Puerto Vallarta. While it has tons of charm, if you hope to vacation to a place that truly feels like Mexico, Sayulita may not be for you. But if you’re simply looking for a relaxing vacation on the beach where you can try your hand at surfing and not have to stress out about traffic and crowds, you should book a flight right away…...just remember not to schedule it during the 2 weeks around Easter!