Sayulita

Sayulita turned from fishing village to surf outpost in the 1990s and then, in the 2010s, into one of Mexico's fastest-growing beach destinations - a pueblo magico of sandy streets strung with papel picado, murals on every wall, boutiques and Huichol art galleries, taco stands beside cocktail bars, and a beach whose forgiving break made it the country's beginner-surf capital. The main bay handles the crowds; the walk north to Playa de los Muertos and the tracks south toward Playa Carricitos and Punta Mita's coves find the quieter sand. Boats run to the Marietas Islands, jungle trails climb behind town, and the Wixarika (Huichol) presence in the shops is genuine, with beadwork and yarn art sold by families from the sierra. The growth has costs the town openly debates - water and drainage strain, prices in dollars, weekend traffic that jams the single entrance road - and visitors who arrive expecting a sleepy village will not find one. What they will find is a beach town with genuine charm running at full volume.

What you actually see

• The beginner break - surf schools and longboards in the bay.
• The papel picado streets - flags, murals and boutiques.
• Huichol art - beadwork and yarn paintings from the sierra.
• The side beaches - Muertos and the tracks toward Carricitos.

When to go

November to May for dry, warm days; summer brings bigger surf, heat, rain and lower prices. Weekdays are calmer than the Guadalajara-and-Vallarta weekends.

Honest expectations

It is busy, priced high for Mexico and increasingly built up. The entrance road jams on holiday weekends. Rip currents run at the bay's edges - swim between the flags and ask the surf schools.

Nearby

San Pancho's quieter beach is ten minutes north; Punta Mita, the Marietas boats and Puerto Vallarta lie south.