Nayarit Surf Spots

The best way to sum up the surfing in Nayarit is this. On my last visit to Punta Mita, I was sitting in the Jacuzzi with a guy and his wife from Texas. He had been in the surf industry and was building a spec house in Chacala. He had seen a picture in the Puerto Vallarta Magazine of an aerial shot of the village of Chacala and the coast line north of it. While La Caleta is a well known left point, there was another point just further up the coast that the picture caught. No one has ever surfed it simply because why would anyone go any further than La Caleta? Here are some of the better known spots.

Dinky Sayulita

Sayulita: When our family started coming to Nayarit, we usually stayed in Sayulita. It was once a very quaint fishing village with excellent surf right at the main beach in town. Back then, in order to get to Punta Mita one had to head out onto the main highway, head south for a number of miles and then drive the entire length of Punta Mita. This took well over an hour. Today, there is a highway from Punta Mita to Sayulita and the drive only takes 15 minutes or so. This is the area designated by Fonatur to be Mexico's luxury hotel area and it is easy to see why. While the surf at Sayulita is excellent with a long right peak off a reef and a river mouth left, the crowds have taken over here.

Small Sayulita River Mouth Left

Sayulita was named as one of the best 10 beaches in the world by some travel magazine and the explosion started. Now there are surf shops everywhere, surf lessons, surf camps, surfboard rentals on the beach and so on. Sayulita has become the Huntington Beach of Nayarit and unless you like crowds, you probably won't want to surf here.

The Main Break at Sayulita is Right Downtown

However, a visit to Sayulita is well worth the time, as there are many shops, boutiques, restaurants and so on and it is entertaining to watch the hoards of people in the line-up. However, if you are just learning to surf and want to take lessons, rent a surfboard and be around others like you, Sayulita can't be beat. If you are looking for high quality and uncrowded surf, you won't like Sayulita very much.

San Francisco / San Pancho: The next village north of Sayulita is named San Froncisco (also known as San Pancho) and there is an excellent left beach break here. The issue with this break is that it is the home break for the Costa Azul Adventure Resort, which is located up the beach. Costa Azul runs "surf trips" from the resort and they are like traveling with your own crowd. Most of the surfers at Costa Azul are novice surfers and as such, tend to plug up a break. Unfortunately, the left at San Francisco can get plugged up with these folks.

My Son Andy Riding the Left at La Caleta
(About Half Way Through the Lineup)

La Caleta: A short panga ride from the village of Chacala puts you onto the perfect left point known as La Caleta. This is a deep water peak that unwinds down a perfect left point. Long rides on steep and perfect walls follow a stimulating drop and bottom turn on the peak. This is another break that is frequented by Costa Azul Adventure Resort and when they show up, it is an instant crowd.

Santa Cruz: further north is the village of Santa Cruz and the break with the same name. Santa Cruz is actually two separate left points in one. It is a beautiful point with the jungle as a backdrop and an excellent wave. You can park right on the beach and paddle out. Be careful here though, as the reef is razor sharp and there have been known shark attacks in the line-up.

Aticama: A perfect left point just north of Santa Cruz and you can see it right from the road as you head towards San Blas. Exercise caution here though, as the point used to be a cannery and the area is frequented by sharks. Pay attention!

Matenchen Bay: Reputed to be the longest rideable wave in the world, Matenchen Bay offers an excellent long right point over a cobblestone and sand bottom. It takes a focused swell to get it to break, but when it does, it is legendary. Rides of over a mile are possible on the right swell and don't mistake a long ride to mean a crappy wave. This wave pitches and peels all the way. Beware the mosquito population, which is a major problem if you are in the water after sunset.

Stoners: The outer point of Matenchen Bay breaks more frequently and offers a wonderful right point with hollow sections. This is a high quality wave worth the wait.

Lolas: An excellent left point north of San Blas. One can negotiate for a panga to take you to the point and you will find a long and sometimes hollow left that you will always remember as epic. No crowds, remote jungle, regional class surf and barrels. What more could anyone ever want?

And so it goes. These are just some of the more recognized breaks and with a good swell and a little luck, who knows what else there is to find in Nayarit?

When is the Best Time to Score Surf?

One of the really cool things about Nayarit is its location in terms of intercepting incoming swells from the Pacific Ocean. If you look at a map of Mexico, you will see that below Jalisco the coast turns southeast. From here south, the areas depend primarily upon southern swells for surf. Nayarit captures swells from just about every direction with the exception of the deep south and south eastern swells generated around the equator. For this reason, Nayarit's surf spots break year around. While some are better on the southern swells and others on the west and north west swells, one can always find rideable surf no matter what the time of year.

That said, I prefer to be in Nayarit during the summer and early fall and here is why. Summer and early fall are off-season for the area as it is plagued with local tropical storms and rain almost every afternoon and evening. Why is this good? Because there are few people in the area and the surf becomes vacant. Punta Mita becomes a virtual ghost town almost, as many of the restaurants and businesses close down for vacation. The other reason this is good is because of the ample amount of swells generated from tropical activity in the Pacific. Southern Hemi swells, tropical depressions and hurricanes moving up the Pacific almost guarantee consistent and quality surf. Southern Hemi swells arrive as long period and super clean lines of perfection. This is Nayarit at its best! Tropical depressions (storms) in the Pacific also generate quality surf and hurricanes moving up the Pacific every summer create shorter period, but many times very clean swells to boot. Because of the water temperatures off of Puerto Vallarta, the storms tend to move quite a ways off shore and follow a route off shore past the tip of Baja. This gives the swells enough time to straighten out before pounding the coast. These swells are fascinating to surf. Once the storm hits the window for Punta Mita, The surf has an immediate increase in size and stays that way until the storm moves out of the window. The swells stack up like corduroy to the horizon. One can ride wave after wave with no one else in the water and surf until exhaustion sets in. On many occasions I have watched wave after wave of perfect point surf go un-ridden with not a soul in the water.

From Mid-November until the end of May, Nayarit is blessed with absolutely perfect weather. Every day promises sunshine and there is virtually no rainfall at all. The normal breeze along the Punta Mita coast is off shore and the surf is consistently good. This is considered the high season for the area and all of the hotels, houses and condos are fully rented. You can still find solitude on many surf spots during this period, but those spots with easy access are going to be more crowded. No matter when you visit Nayarit, you will find surf and sun.

What Kind of Equipment is Best to Bring?

Whatever you ride in California will work great here too. There are no really super steep takeoffs or thick barrels to worry about. Longboards are great, as are fun boards, but you can have tons of fun on thrusters too. I would also bring a pair of hard sole booties (for the reefs) a leash and at least a rash guard (or spring suit) for the winter months. While the water isn't cold, you can last a lot longer with a little protection. Also, bring lots of waterproof sun screen and keep it on. You can easily get fried here, even if you have a solid base that works in California. I would suggest also bringing some duct tape and an extra set of fins. While there are some surf shops in El Anclote, getting replacement fins is almost impossible. Bring tons of tropical wax too.

How Do I Find the Surf?

The best way to score surf is to hire a panga either on the beach or in the panga marina at El Anclote. These guys know the breaks and will put you on the best option for the swell and conditions. Most of the breaks are not easily accessible from land, so you will either have to walk a considerable distance or arrive in a panga. The pangas in El Anclote rent for about $40 per hour and can accommodate several surfers and surfboards. You can arrange to have them drop you at the break and then return later to pick you up, or they can stay with you the entire time while you are surfing. Many of the breaks have channels so that the panga can run to the beach and drop off anyone that wants to sit in the sun on the beach rather than surf. This would include coolers and such as well. It is really an excellent way to surf.