Last week I took a trip to Sayulita, Mexico with my girlfriend Brittany and put together this Sayulita Travel Guide. Sayulita is about 30-45 minutes outside Peurto Villarta and is a quaint surf town which is safe and walkable, at least in our experience. What I loved about Sayulita is that it’s very authentic, rather than being over Americanized like Cabo and Cancun can be. Since there are no chain stores like H&M in Sayulita   you’re encouraged to venture into small boutiques and street vendors’ stands, which I love. I picked up the brown tooled leather bag (in the second look, below) which I love because it was affordable (around $600 pesos, or $32 USD) a good size and adjustable so it can be worn as a crossbody or a shoulder bag. I also stopped at a shop called R2 Fashion just between Delfines and Marlin about half a block from the beach and purchased a hand made cotton gauze off the shoulder dress which I paired with my new bag and some espadrille slip on shoes.

One thing to be aware of, if you’ve never been to the Caribbean or anywhere tropical is the frizz factor. I suggest braiding your hair every night to keep it from frizzing and don’t even bother bringing a flatiron or curling iron.

We stayed at the Papelillo Lofts (30 Revolucion) which were SO CUTE. I can’t even stress enough how great our place was. Our loft was decorated adorably, was new construction, super clean, and overlooked a courtyard of a fantastic fine dining Italian restaurant called Leda. I was hoping for some Mexican food (guacamole) the first evening, however, we had several delays in our travel plans so we instead opted to eat downstairs at Leda. I loved the food at Leda, it was so fresh, I got the ahi tuna and Brit got the Caprese Salad. Brittany is a vegetarian though, so that was all she could order as Leda didn’t have another meatless option.

Another great restaurant we visited was Aloha which is right near the beach on Delfines. I ordered the Guacamole (of course) and ceviche which I expected to be a small appetizer but was much more of a meal size. We also got fresh coconuts on-ice and some pico de gallo.

We planned to take surf lessons on the beach. However, we didn’t see a lot of waves so we laid on the beach for a while then headed up the street for some gelato at Wakika and a massage at Nirvana. Our hour long massages were only 550 pesos or around $30 US dollars and were fantastic, my only regret being that we should have extended to 90 minutes instead of just an hour.

On our way home, our bartender Danillo from Leda asked us what we had done that day and we mentioned our failed surfing trip so he promised to take us the next day. I filmed a vlog of our trip and promise to include more of our surfing lesson on that, so stay tuned!

Be aware that they put cucumber in everything so just be sure to specify no cucumber if you’re like me and dislike them or are allergic. Also, the beach was covered in a very fine volcanic (dark) sand which stuck to everything ruining my new white swimsuit so stay away from wearing white. Another thing to avoid packing would be maxi dresses; it seems like it’ll be easy and comfy but there is a lack of garbage cans and an abundance of stray dogs peeing on the street, so you really don’t want your dress dragging on the ground then skimming your feet.

Make sure you pack enough sunscreen and bug spray or lavender oil if you prefer a natural alternative to OFF. Brittany and I used Lavender oil and still got a few bites but much fewer than if we had nothing at all, plus we weren’t covered in chemicals.

The very obvious currency exchange was closed the whole time we were there so we found another one thankfully on Las Gaviotas about 30 feet west (toward the ocean) of Avenue Revolucion. The ATM’s run out of money often so it’s worth it to bring cash and exchange it, be very careful of places that accept American dollars (most do but the will screw you on the conversion). Also, make sure you keep receipts and take a photo of them in front of the staff so they don’t try to rip you off if you pay with a credit card!

Sayulita Travel Guide Do bring:
Bug Spray or Lavender Oil
Sunscreen
Sneakers
Strap on sandals
Cross Body Bag
Cash
Swimsuit cover up
Athletic Swimsuit if you plan to surf
Collapsible bag for souvenirs
Bluetooth Speaker

Leave at home:
Expensive or designer bags
High heels
Maxi Dresses
Jackets
Anything you’re unsure about

Thank you so much for reading,

With love from Florida,
Kier

From Instagram:

Eating at Si Señor in Punta Minta after our surfing lesson.

One of many gorgeous sunsets.

Enjoying a chocolate gelato cone.

Before getting a massage at Nirvana.

The prettiest blue stairs I had to shoot on.

Our Apartment: