When I first heard of the Riviera Nayarit I didn’t even know where it was. I guessed it was on the coast of somewhere called Nayarit, but I wasn’t sure where that was either. Turns out it was partly well-kept secret and partly new name. Seems they’ve been struggling for years to build up a separate identity for this part of the coast – an identity that is independent from that of Puerto Vallarta – hence the new name. But then again it really is very different from Vallarta and also it has been kept under wraps. Maybe it’s because Puerto Vallarta has been so popular for so long that people couldn’t see any point in getting there and moving on up the coast, but I think that’s changing. Thing is, lots of things that attracted people to Vallarta in the first place, like its laid-back small town atmosphere, tranquility, and a kind of humble beauty, are now easier to find further up the coast on the Riviera Nayarit – just means you’ve got to move a little bit once you get to the airport. That might sound like a bit of a pain, but how horrible can making a little trip along a beautiful coastline full of terrific beaches be? I would have thought it would just be a cool part of the whole experience. Just look at the map; the whole coastline from Nuevo Vallarta to San Blas is choc-a-bloc with beautiful little towns on the ocean. And then you’ve got all that great tropical vegetation and the mountains running along parallel to the ocean. That’s a hell of a road trip.
Some of my favorite towns are Bucerias, Sayulita, San Francisco, and San Blas. They must be like Vallarta was years ago, before Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton turned up there to inadvertently start a real estate boom. Bucerias isn’t even that far from Puerto Vallarta; great beach, great street food, and we had some tasty tapas in this place called Tapas del Mundo. It took us a while to find somewhere to stay, in the end we found a pretty nice hotel called Palmeras. The next day we stopped in this fishing village called La Cruz de Huanacaxtle – has a beautiful beach with a lagoon sat right alongside it – and we checked out this luxurious villa called Villa Bella; what a place! Bit out of our price range though. Sayulita has got that cool surfer beach vibe. More international surf dudes than I’m personally comfortable with, but great prices, plenty of restaurants and bars (we ate at a nice one called Choco Banana), and just a really laid-back beach atmosphere. Apparently there’s a spectacular villa up there called Villa Amor, it would have been nice to see it, but we knew we were on a tighter budget. San Franciso was more along the lines of what I was looking for personally – smaller, more out of the way, and lots and lots of space – when you walk along the beach and hardly see a soul. That’s what I call getting away from it all. Obviously not as much nightlife, but Casita de Gallo is a great place for a few beers and La Ola Rica was fine for dinner. Hotel Cielo Rojo was a nice place to stay and within our budget. Finally we got to San Blas. It’s got a lot of nature-related activities; we saw some whales out there, they’ve got great boat rides through the mangroves, and lots of people go there for bird-watching. We blew the last of our money eating at El Delphin and staying at Hacienda Flamingos, but it was definitely worth it. It was such a great trip.
For questions and further information, please feel free to contact me at any time;
Sincerely,
Oliver Weickardt
oliver@villaexperiencemexico.com
