Sayulita is a small surf town on the Nayarit coast, about forty minutes north of Puerto Vallarta, and it has completed the full arc from fishing village to backpacker secret to designated Pueblo Magico with a wine bar. The streets are part sand and part cobble, strung with papel picado bunting, and the bay has a gentle beginner break on one side and a much less gentle one on the other.
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Two things distinguish it for packing purposes from the Caribbean side of Mexico that most visitors know. The first is that the Pacific here is genuinely warm, 26°C to 29°C in season, so you swim without thinking about it, and there is no sargassum problem of the kind that plagues Tulum and Cancun. The second is that this is a Wixarika, or Huichol, region, and the beadwork and yarn painting sold here is a living religious art rather than a souvenir style.
What Makes Sayulita Different to Pack For
Two completely different seasons
The dry season, November to May, is the reason people come: 25°C to 30°C, low humidity, sunshine, and the sea at 26°C. The wet season, June to October, is a different destination: 30°C to 35°C with humidity above 80 per cent, heavy afternoon and night rain, mud in the sand streets, and it is the Pacific hurricane season, with September the peak month for both rain and storms.
Nothing dries in the wet season. This is where a merino wool base layer for women earns space as a lightweight top rather than as insulation: it moves moisture and does not develop the smell a synthetic does after a humid day, which matters when laundry takes two days to dry.
The rip currents are the genuine hazard
Sayulita's main beach has a mellow beginner break at the north end, which is why the surf schools are there, and stronger water elsewhere in the bay. There is no permanent lifeguard service on the scale of a resort beach, the rips here are strong, and drownings happen most years, including to strong swimmers. This is the most important safety fact about the town and it shapes the list.
Sand and cobble streets, and no pavements to speak of
The centre is a grid of sand, cobble and broken concrete, with golf carts and ATVs rather than cars in places. It is charming and it is ankle work, particularly after rain.
It is a cash town with unreliable machines
Card acceptance has improved but many of the best food stalls, the collectivos and the smaller shops are cash, and Sayulita's ATMs have a reputation for running out, being out of service, or carrying card skimmers.
Strong sun at 20 degrees north, on water
High to extreme ultraviolet most of the year, amplified by reflection off water and pale sand, and there is very little natural shade on the beach.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
The Sayulita Packing List
Footwear
Flip flops and sandals are the town's default and what you will live in. A pair of trainers or walking shoes for the cobbles and for the hill out to Playa de los Muertos, which is steeper than it looks.
For the Monkey Mountain walk, the jungle trails behind town or the path to Playa Malpaso, waterproof hiking shoes: the trails are clay, root and rock, and in the wet season they are mud. Water shoes are worth having for the rocky entries at the smaller beaches and for a boat landing at the Marietas.
Clothing
Light, loose, quick drying clothing and more of it than you think for the wet season. Two or three swimsuits, because one will always be wet. A sarong or cover up for walking off the beach, and a rash vest or long sleeved sun hoodie, which is the single best piece of kit for a surf lesson: you are face down on a board with your back and shoulders in full sun for two hours and that is how people get seriously burned here.
One light layer for the evening, since a December night can drop to 18°C with a breeze off the water, and for the air conditioning. A packable rain jacket for the wet season, though in 32°C rain many people simply get wet.
Sayulita dresses very casually, beach clothes all day and beach clothes with better earrings at night, so nothing smart is needed. Cover up in the church on the plaza.
For sun
A wide brim hat with a chin strap for the boat, sunglasses, and reef safe high factor sunscreen in quantity. Reef safe matters practically as well as ethically here: the Islas Marietas are a protected national park and tour operators there enforce it. Reapply after every swim.
Practical
Cash in pesos, brought from Puerto Vallarta airport or a bank in town rather than relying on a Sayulita machine, and in small notes. A dry bag for boat trips and for the beach in the wet season. Insect repellent, which is a real requirement rather than a comfort item: dengue is endemic on this coast, the Aedes mosquito bites in daylight, and there are also sand flies known locally as jejenes at dusk on the beach.
Rehydration sachets, a refillable bottle and a filter or purified water, since tap water is not drinkable. Basic stomach medication. A power bank and a torch, since the streets are poorly lit and power cuts happen in storms. Ear plugs, which experienced visitors will tell you about: Sayulita is loud at night, with music from several directions until late, plus roosters and dogs.
Space for Wixarika beadwork and yarn art, which is the thing to buy, ideally from a cooperative or the artists themselves on the plaza.
What to Wear at Key Sites
Playa Sayulita, the main beach
The town beach, with the surf school end to the north, palapa restaurants along it, and the river mouth at one end.
Practically: swimwear, cover up, hat, reef safe sunscreen and only what you can afford to lose, because bag theft from the sand while you swim is the commonest local crime. Swim at the north end near the surf schools where the water is mellowest, ask a surf instructor about the day's conditions rather than guessing, and stay out of the water near the river mouth, where the current runs and the water quality drops after rain.
A surf lesson
The reason many people come, with a dozen schools on the beach and a genuinely forgiving beginner wave.
Practically: a rash vest or sun hoodie, board shorts or a one piece that will not move, reef safe sunscreen on your face and the backs of your legs, and a hair tie. Leave jewellery and glasses behind. Schools provide the board and usually a vest, but bring your own if you can, because the shared ones are often the wrong size. Expect a bruised ribcage from the board rather than an injury.
Playa de los Muertos
A small cove south of town reached over a hill past the cemetery it is named for, calmer and better for swimming than the main beach.
Practically: closed shoes or sturdy sandals for the walk over, which is short, steep and rocky. It has a few vendors and limited shade, so take water and an umbrella or hat. Entry is through the cemetery, which is a working one, so behave accordingly.
Islas Marietas
A protected archipelago offshore with the famous hidden beach inside a collapsed crater, reached by boat from Punta de Mita.
Practically: access to the hidden beach is strictly limited by permit, capped at a small number of visitors a day, closed periodically for reef recovery, and requires you to swim or kayak in through a low tunnel wearing a life jacket and a helmet, which means booking with a licensed operator well ahead and accepting that it is cancelled in swell. Reef safe sunscreen only, and operators check. Water shoes, a dry bag, a hat with a strap, and motion sickness tablets taken before boarding.
Monkey Mountain and the jungle trails
A hill inland, Cerro del Mono, with a hot walk up through dry forest and a view over the coast.
Practically: closed shoes with grip, long trousers against thorns and ticks, plenty of water, and an early start because there is no shade and it gets brutally hot by ten. Repellent. Go with someone rather than alone, since the trail is not well marked and there is no phone signal in places.
San Pancho, next door
San Francisco, called San Pancho, seven kilometres north, quieter and less developed with a longer beach and stronger surf.
Practically: an easy collectivo or taxi. The beach there has a notably heavy shore break and strong rips and is considerably less safe for swimming than Sayulita, so treat it as a walking beach.
What Not to Bring
Leave a suitcase with small wheels, which the sand streets will destroy, and bring a backpack or a duffel.
Leave non reef safe sunscreen, which the Marietas operators will turn away. Leave heavy cotton for the wet season. Leave good jewellery and an expensive watch for the beach. Leave the assumption that a warm gentle looking Pacific bay is a safe swimming beach, because the rips here are the one thing that genuinely hurts visitors. Leave a reliance on ATMs. Leave September if you have a choice, for the rain and the hurricane risk. And leave any expectation of quiet, because Sayulita is not a quiet town and pretending otherwise is how people end up disappointed at two in the morning.
Essential Resources for Women in Sayulita
Emergency numbers in Mexico: 911 is the national emergency number for police, ambulance and fire. 078 is the Angeles Verdes tourist assistance line, free and English speaking. Sayulita has a small municipal police presence and a volunteer fire and rescue service, Bomberos de Sayulita, which is community funded and handles most water rescues and medical first response in town; the surf schools on the beach are in practice the fastest responders to trouble in the water.
Tourist support: there is no dedicated tourist police in Sayulita. The nearest substantial police and Ministerio Publico presence is in Bahia de Banderas municipality and Puerto Vallarta, forty minutes away, which is also where a theft report for insurance purposes is made. Nayarit runs a state tourism office. Practically, your accommodation or a surf school is the best first point of contact for anything local.
US Consulate: there is a United States Consular Agency in Puerto Vallarta, about forty five minutes away, under the Consulate General in Guadalajara and the Embassy in Mexico City, all at mx.usembassy.gov. This is closer consular support than most of Mexico offers. Enrol in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov before you travel.
Main hospital or clinic: Sayulita has a small public health centre and a private clinic for minor problems. Anything serious means Puerto Vallarta, where San Javier Marina and Hospital CMQ are the private hospitals used by visitors and the standard is good. Budget forty five minutes to an hour, longer in high season traffic, and carry travel insurance with evacuation cover, because a surf injury or a water incident here is treated in Vallarta rather than locally. Decompression facilities for diving are in Vallarta.
Official health authority: the Secretaria de Salud at gob.mx/salud. Dengue is endemic on the Nayarit coast with chikungunya and Zika also present, the mosquito bites in daylight, and daytime repellent is therefore a standard item rather than an evening one. Do not drink the tap water, including ice outside established restaurants. Water quality at the main beach drops measurably after heavy rain because of runoff from the river, and swimming immediately after a storm is worth avoiding. There is no malaria risk in Sayulita and no yellow fever requirement for Mexico. Rabies is present and there are street dogs, most of them friendly and looked after by local charities, but do not approach an unknown one. Crocodiles live in the estuary and lagoon behind the beach, which is why you do not swim there.
US State Department travel advisory for Mexico: current advisory level and detail. The Mexico advisory is issued state by state, and Nayarit sits at a lower level than many Mexican states, with the Riviera Nayarit resort corridor being among the more settled parts of the country. Read the Nayarit section directly rather than relying on this page.
UK FCDO travel advice for Mexico: entry requirements, safety and health guidance, including the beach and water safety notes and the hurricane season guidance, both of which are directly relevant here.
Official tourism authority: the national visitor site at visitmexico.com, with Riviera Nayarit and the Nayarit state tourism office for the Marietas permit rules, which change, and the current status of the hidden beach.
Solo women safety assessment: Sayulita is comfortable for a woman travelling alone and has one of the easiest social scenes in Mexico for meeting people, because the surf schools, yoga studios and hostels are full of solo travellers doing the same thing. The town is small enough to walk end to end in fifteen minutes, busy until late, and violent crime against visitors is rare. Walking alone in the centre in the evening is normal, and eating alone or taking a class alone is completely unremarkable. The crime that exists is opportunistic property crime and it has a very consistent pattern: theft from the beach while you are in the water is by far the most common incident, followed by theft from unlocked accommodation and from parked cars and golf carts. Take nothing to the sand you cannot lose, and use the lockers the surf schools offer. ATM skimming and machines that swallow cards are a genuine and frequently reported problem here, so use a bank machine inside a branch in Vallarta or Bucerias rather than a standalone one in town, and check your statements. Street harassment is present at a low to moderate level and mostly verbal, and the bar scene is friendly rather than predatory, though drink spiking is worth the usual care and this is a town where a great deal of drinking happens. Walking alone on the unlit outer streets or on the beach after dark is not advisable, and the hill to Playa de los Muertos is best not done alone at night. Use a registered taxi or collectivo rather than accepting a lift. The far larger risk here, and it needs stating plainly, is the water. Rip currents in this bay are strong, there is no comprehensive lifeguard service, and people drown at Sayulita and at San Pancho most years, including competent swimmers who were caught out by a channel they could not see. Swim at the north end of the main beach where the surf schools operate, ask them about conditions, never swim alone, never swim at night, never swim after drinking, stay out of the water at the river mouth and immediately after heavy rain, and if you are caught in a rip do not fight it: swim parallel to the shore until it releases you. Beyond that, the sun causes serious burns within an afternoon and a surf lesson is the classic way it happens; dengue is a real probability rather than a theory; the streets cause sprained ankles; and June to October is hurricane season, when you should know your accommodation's plan and take any warning seriously.
Reading On
Sayulita is forty minutes north of Puerto Vallarta airport and is the easiest surf town in Mexico to reach. The Mexico travel guide for women is the parent for the country and the Mexico packing list for women covers a trip across it. Immediately south, the Puerto Vallarta packing list for women covers the city you fly into. Elsewhere on the Pacific, the Puerto Escondido packing list for women covers the Oaxacan surf coast, the Huatulco packing list for women its quieter bays, the Mazatlan packing list for women the Sinaloa coast and the Cabo San Lucas packing list for women the Baja tip. Inland, the Guadalajara packing list for women covers the nearest big city. The travel packing guide for women is the parent for all destinations. For why wool works in humidity, the best merino wool base layers for women explains the fibre, the merino wool in warm weather guide covers the hot end of the range, and the Roman Trail collection is where the tops themselves live.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
