Spending five days on a trip that combined an all-inclusive resort with a quaint Mexican pueblo and funky seaside beach towns was, well, pretty much idyllic.
This was all possible with a direct charter flight to Puerto Vallarta and a short drive — easily doable by local bus, taxi or rental car to Riviera Nayarit, a region north of Puerto Vallarta that includes about 300 kilometres of coastline. It’s here you can navigate coastline steeped in what I imagine Puerto Vallarta was like 50 years ago, including authentic Mexican villages, fishing towns, cobblestoned streets, colourful outdoor markets and beaches that ranged from secluded to popular surf hangouts. You’ll also find everything from the classic Mexican taqueria to upscale Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita, golf courses, organic restaurants, art galleries and yoga studios — all against a backdrop of the Sierra Madre mountains and lush jungle forest.
Our first stop was San Francisco, more commonly known as San Pancho, and Spanish for St. Francis, the patron saint of animals and ecology. A charming town bordered by undeveloped jungle, its main plaza is a hub of activity with yoga offered in the morning and kids playing basketball later in the day.
A narrow one-lane road lead to a stunning though minimally sheltered beach with some thatched palapas and two restaurants, Las Palmas and La Perla. There you can rent bungalows by the ocean, browse through an array of beaded jewellery and silver at the outdoor market or visit one of the many great restaurants in town. Bistro Organico, at the charming Hotel Cielo Rojo, serves delicious healthy vegetarian food for breakfast and dinner in its garden patio out back and offers free tequila tastings on Friday evenings. Try their capomo, a calming coffee substitute rich in calcium and iron, purported to help you sleep.
From there, we stopped at the neighbouring Sayulita. When I visited 15 years ago, it was a sleepy fishing village attracting a surf crowd. Today, the surfers remain, but with them is a burgeoning array of tourists wandering cobblestone streets off the main plaza and visiting the many cafés, restaurants and boutiques. We stopped for lunch at Don Pedro’s, Sayulita’s renowned restaurant and bar on the beach offering class dining. Nearby, we visited “Monkey Mountain” with Rancho Mi Chaparrita to go ziplining. For two hours, we were transported above the trees on a network of 13 cables, at times travelling as fast as 40 to 45 kilometres per hour with a clear view of the ocean, and ascending as high as 125 metres above sea level.
Dinner that night at the River Café was about candlelight, style and romance (especially in its gazebo). The café serves international cuisine and the rainbow shrimp breaded in coconut and pecans, and mahi mahi with mussels, shrimp, octopus and calamari, are especially recommended. We stayed at the Occidental Grand Nuevo Vallarta, a 25-minute drive from the Puerto Vallarta airport, and 35 minutes from downtown. Following a $15 million renovation, they’ve also added a kids’ club, theatre stage and adults-only pool with an ocean view.
On the last day of our trip we took the Marietas Eco Discovery tour with Vallarta Advent to a group of volcanic islands in Banderas Bay, which have been immortalized by Jacques Cousteau. Unfortunately, on the day we went jellyfish were abundant and other marine life far less so. But our guide did hold up a lobster shell and squid for us to touch and we did see humpback whales and dolphins on our boat ride home.
So is Riviera Nayarit, as a USA Today headline bills it, “the next great place?” I would go back in a minute. With or without the soporific-inducing campomo. Beach towns like San Pancho and other less explored destinations offer authentic Mexican living, while still catering to gringo demands for items like gluten-free brownies and quinoa.
