Roam Chronicles
Punta Mita surfing offers many options for different breaks, different abilities, and catching swell from different angles. Punta Mita, a point of land that separates Bahia de Bandaras and Puerto Vallarta to the south from Sayulita and Riviera Nayarit to the north sticks out into the Pacific and has a 270 degree swell and wind window.
The location and prominence of Punta Mita means that there is bound to be a break somewhere in the near vicinity that is having a good day.
The actual town at Playa Punta de Mita grew from a fishing village with its accessible shores and plenty of restaurants along the water.
We sat in one and watched a guy scoop a bag full of octopus from the rocks right out in front while to the right longboarders caught long mellow waves at Andote.
There are plenty of little local hotels in Punta Mita. It seemed like the kind of place you could spend a little time.
Outside of the town, you’ll find that Punta Mita has been groomed over by large all-inclusive resorts and golf courses. There is a Four Seasons Punta Mita and a St. Regis after all.
Like surfing Sayulita, the convenience and accessibility of Punta Mita means that this isn’t going to be some off-the-trail surf adventure. But it works to accept it for what it is – easy to get to, lots of options for surf, plenty of places to stay.
You can pull it off for a long weekend from many places.
So if you are like me and find these large resorts a bit hard to handle, staying in Sayulita and driving to surf different breaks in Punta Mita can be a good option.
When it comes to a surf trip to Sayulita, it turns out you may end up spending more time surfing in Punta Mita anyway.
Of course, people who know this already, I was not one of them, may just find a place to stay right on a break in Punta Mita somewhere. There are plenty.
Punta Mita Surfing – Surf Spots
When you look at a map of the surf spots in Punta Mita, you’ll find that most maps list about a dozen. Out of all of them, we had a chance to hit two – La Lancha and Burros.
One thing to keep in mind when surfing Punta Mita is that you’ll need to be able to drive around and find the breaks. Often, they are a 10 minute walk down some trail on the side of the road from the main highway to the break.
Conveniently, I found that wherever that trailhead is, no matter how unmarked, there was a group of businesses across the street looking to capitalize on the traffic – surf shop, surfboard rentals, cafe.
So if you find entrance to a break on the map but are a little unsure, just look out for the WildMex surfboard rental place and you’re probably there.
Surfing La Lancha
La Lancha is a beautiful and accessible beach just outside of Punta Mita. While you park on the side of the road and hike through the jungle, a sense of adventure takes you away.
When you get there, the beach chairs and umbrellas let you know you aren’t really that far out.
It was nice to get away from the stinky Sayulita water and into some really blue, clear waves. The break is a bit more of a longboard type wave, peeling off a rocky point and mostly going left.
But really a bit crumbly where you could zig-zag through the white water for a hundred yards to the beach.
After my previous trip to Nicaragua, full of pounding shore breaks and critical takeoffs, this session was pretty friendly and relaxing, just soaking up sun and getting long mellow waves.
You could definitely take the kids here and have a nice long day at the beach.
Surfing Burros
My favorite day of surfing during my trip to Sayulita and Punta Mita by far was the session at Burros.
I had been given the heads up by a friend that this was a fun place to surf, and he was right.
We had a little bit of a harder time finding Burros than La Lancha, but I’ll leave it to you to figure out. It is still a surf adventure after all!
Burros breaks off a rocky point that can go both left or right. The right is probably the main wave and can go for a bit longer and takes you back to the beach. As a goofy-footer, I worked the left for a few hours, swapping rides with this girl on a longboard who really was one of those amazing, effortless surfers.
I was glad to be on a longer board than I usually ride for both La Lancha and Burros. I had swapped in my rental from Quiverito in Sayulita after one session there. It was clear that, in a lineup of longboarders, it was going to be helpful to have more board under me.
The switch from a 6’0 fish to a 7’6 long twin was a good call, and I a few really memorable rides at Burros.
It was pretty easy going until the tide changed just that little bit, giving it an edge, a bit of a steeper and faster drop.
Burros was the kind of place that made me look around and wonder if I would just stay at one of the resorts or houses right on the break next time I’m in the area.
I could probably just lock down there for a few days instead of having to drive from Sayulita, but you would miss out on the cool funky vibe of the town.
It’s your call.
Surf Trip to Mexico in your future? Here are some of our other Mexico guides and resources:
Cabo Surf Hotel – The Perfect Cabo Surf Trip Hotel?
Surf Travel Insurance – Get it here.
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