San Pancho (San Francisco)

Riviera Nayarit is the roughly 300 km long coastline of the state of Nayarit, stretching between the mouth of the Río Ameca near Nuevo Vallarta and the old port of San Blas. In the south, on Bahía de Banderas, are towns such as Bucerías and Punta de Mita; further north lie Sayulita, San Pancho, and Lo de Marcos, with surf beaches and small fishing villages. From December to March, humpback whales come into the bay.

Sayulita is a small surf town on Riviera Nayarit's Pacific coast, about 40 km north of Puerto Vallarta airport. Come for the consistent main beach waves, perfect for surf lessons, and the relaxed town center with beachside bars and galleries. Since 2015, Sayulita bears the title Pueblo Mágico; surfers have been coming here since the 1960s.

Lo de Marcos is a traditional fishing village on the Riviera Nayarit, north of San Pancho. Unlike Sayulita, the village is hardly geared towards tourism: You'll find a long sandy beach, simple fish restaurants and a quiet village life.

Punta de Mita is a peninsula on the northern edge of Bahía de Banderas, on the Riviera Nayarit north of Puerto Vallarta. Within these private grounds are luxury resorts like the Four Seasons and St. Regis, as well as two golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus. In the town itself, fish and beach restaurants line Avenida El Anclote, and from here boats also depart for the Islas Marietas.

Puerto Vallarta is a port and resort city of around 220,000 residents on Jalisco's Pacific coast, on Bahía de Banderas at the foot of the Sierra Madre Occidental. You come for the beaches, the Malecón boardwalk with its sculptures, and the Old Town, its whitewashed houses ascending the hillside around the Church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. South of the Río Cuale is the Zona Romántica, home to Playa Los Muertos, the city's largest public beach.