Surfing Near Puerto Vallarta

The waves aren't in town: they're at Punta de Mita and Sayulita, 40 minutes to an hour up the coast. Where to go, when, and what to watch out for.

By Sam Med · Last updated October 2026

A surfer with a board walking along the shore at Sayulita at sunset — Surfing at Sayulita. Photo: Gustavoarroyofotos, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Inside Banderas Bay the water is mostly too sheltered for regular surf. The reliable waves are on the exposed coast at the bay's northern tip, around Punta de Mita, and further north at Sayulita and San Pancho in Riviera Nayarit. Between them there are long, gentle rights for learners and hollow reef breaks for experienced surfers, with water warm enough to surf in boardshorts most of the year.

Where to surf

Spot	The wave	Level	Best
El Anclote, Punta de Mita	A long, slow right over reef and rocks	Beginners and longboards	Winter swells, low tide
Stinky's, Punta de Mita	A slow, long right that gets quicker on south swells	Beginners and longboards	Big north or south swells
El Faro, Punta de Mita	A hollow right	Experienced only	Low tide, north-east wind
La Lancha	Lefts and rights: a gentle inside wave and a wedge further out	Beginner to intermediate	West-north-west winter swells; reached by a 10–15 minute jungle path from the highway
Punta Burros	A reef break with a longer, softer right	Intermediate	Winter swells, high tide; crowded when it works
Sayulita	A beach break plus reef lefts and rights	All levels; the beach break for learners	December to April, on north swells
San Pancho	A left over reef, with rips	Intermediate	South-west swells in summer and autumn

The south shore of the bay, around Quimixto and Yelapa, picks up some swell too, but it's boat-only and far less reliable.

When to go

Winter, roughly December to April: north and north-west swells light up Sayulita and the Punta de Mita breaks, La Lancha and Punta Burros. It's also the dry season.
Summer and autumn: south swells favour San Pancho and the point at Sayulita, and make the gentler Punta de Mita waves faster.
Hurricane season, 15 May to 30 November, brings the biggest swells and the most red flags. In June 2026, Nayarit's Civil Protection raised a red flag for waves of 1.5 to 2.5 metres.
Water temperature: about 23°C in March and 30°C in September, so boardshorts and a rash vest do most of the year. Some surfers like a thin top in February and March.

Learning to surf

The beginner waves are Sayulita's beach break and, at Punta de Mita, El Anclote and Stinky's: long and slow, the kind of wave that suits a longboard and a first lesson. Sayulita is where most surf schools and board rentals are. Book a lesson for your first sessions rather than paddling out alone: the reef breaks have rocks and sea urchins close under the surface.

Water quality and safety

Sayulita's water: the beach failed a federal water-quality test in April 2025 and was cleared nine days later, after a drainage repair. A local non-profit's monthly testing still finds spikes near the river mouth after heavy rain, especially from September to November, so surf the other end of the beach after a storm.
Reefs and rocks: El Anclote, El Faro, La Lancha and Punta Burros all break over reef or rocks with sea urchins. Reef booties help.
Rips and crowds: San Pancho has strong rips. Sayulita and Punta Burros get crowded, and surf guides warn of localism, so wait your turn and respect the line-up.
Beach flags: green is safe, yellow means caution, red means no swimming, black means the beach is closed, and purple warns of dangerous marine life.

Getting there

Sayulita is about 38 km from the airport, under an hour by car, and the Punta de Mita breaks are about 40 to 50 minutes from the airport. Green-and-white buses marked "Sayulita", and buses to Punta de Mita via Bucerías, leave from the stop by Walmart on the coast road, opposite the cruise port. See Punta de Mita, Sayulita and buses.

This autumn

Sayulita hosts a Día de Muertos surf tournament from 29 October to 1 November 2026, with shortboard, longboard, paddleboard and bodyboard categories. On 2 November it officially becomes Mexico's first "Surf City" in the World Surf Cities Network. See the events calendar.