Picture a bay fringed by forested hills, a place where gentle waves lap against the beach and casitas nestle in haphazard symmetry between the trees. There are no high-rise hotels jostling for space on the beachfront and no sea-dos zooming noisily in the surf. By day there are surfboards, kayaks and sunshine while at night visitors dine beneath palapas at local restaurants, the sweet sound of salsa music filling the air. This is Sayulita, a small town of 3,000 just 45 minutes from Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta. It’s not widely recognized on the honeymoon map, but it’s a little alcove of paradise for those who want a getaway that personifies peace and quiet, simple beauty and the authenticity of Mexico—without travelling too far from a major airport.

We checked into Villa Amor, a boutique hotel perched on the north side of the beach, just metres from the ocean. The 42 villas are rustic, airy and distinctly Mexican in their architecture. Mexican earthenware and art adorn the walls, a private splash pool is a great spot to cool off on a hot day and from the large terrace, the ocean view is simply
mesmerizing.

The beach curves before us in an elegant arc of white sand licked by foamy waves. Pelicans dive for fish, surfers sit patiently on their boards waiting for the perfect wave and giant frigate birds glide on the thermals. From the moment we arrived the whoosh of waves filled our ears with a soothing melody. Inside, the villas feature large bedrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and mosquito nets elegantly draping the beds in a soft canopy. Devoid of telephones, televisions and in-room wi-fi, we’re free from the digital world and decadently disconnected.

Tempting as it was to curl up on the patio furniture with a good book, the surf was calling. Our first morning we booked surfing lessons with a local instructor, Israel Preciado, heading out into the water after a quick lesson on the beach. The waves were small and gentle that day, and within ten minutes we were standing cautiously on our surfboards, riding a wave toward the beach. It was invigorating being immersed in the waves, even with frequent tumbles off the board. By the time we sank onto towels in the blissful sunshine, we’d truly earned our repose.

Later, we sauntered around this eclectic, bohemian town, peeking into the shops and galleries. We walked by the Iguana Tree, a favourite hangout of the protected species, and looking up we saw four iguanas munching lazily on leaves, their legs clasped tightly around the branches. It was the first of a diverse array of wildlife we witnessed in the Riviera Nayarit, the coastal strip on which Sayulita is one of several small towns.

A few days later, on a boat ride to the Marietas Islands, a nature reserve a halfhour from Sayulita, we passed humpback whales, spyhopping and bellowing soft breaths of spray into the air. We snorkelled around the island caves beneath the watchful gaze of blue-footed boobies, an unfortunately named bird that’s found in only two other remote places in the world. And on a long walk on Sayulita’s soft sand, we observed several newly hatched turtles making their first journeys toward the ocean.

There’s a laid-back, friendly atmosphere in Sayulita that you just don’t find in Mexico’s major tourist destinations. We felt that camaraderie acutely when we dined at Antonia’s, a local restaurant on the patio of Antonia Venejas’ house. The menu was composed of Mexico’s traditional dishes, all of them whipped together with pride in the kitchen, just steps from our table.

We practiced the salsa at Don Pedro’s, a palapa-covered restaurant on the beachfront, and we mingled in the town plaza at night, watching street vendors fry pretzels into a delicious crisp. The street lights cast a romantic glow around the little town, and as we walked along the ocean back to our villa, the world felt
a wonderfully peaceful place.

For general information on Sayulita, visit www.sayulita.com and www.sayulitalife.com

Rates at Villa Amor start at $55 and up per night. For reservations visit www.villaamor.com or call 619 819-5407