My husband, Trevor, and I sit down together at the beginning of January and dream of where we want to go that year. This year on our board we put down Breckenridge, a Mystery trip, New Zealand and Italy…..then Covid happened. Fortunately, we were still able to make the first three happen (he surprised me with a trip to the North Cascades National Park in Washington for our mystery trip and it was fabulous!). But, obviously Italy was going to have to wait and so we changed it to Kauai…and then when that wasn’t going to work we settled on the beautiful Sayulita after watching old episodes of Bachelor in Paradise (I’m a huge fan). Luckily for us it just so happened to be the only place in the world open for travelers, so we packed our swimsuits and masks and headed to Puerto Vallarta.
Neither of us had travelled to Mexico before, and we were surprised at how easy it was. (Little tip: as you try to leave the airport just keep walking until you’re outside. If you stop or look lost they will try to entice you with free Margaritas and sell you all sorts of excursions) We stayed at the Playa Escondida Hotel and they provided a shuttle from the airport to the hotel, which was fantastic because we didn’t want to try and figure out a taxi or the local bus.
About an hour later we arrived at our beautiful hotel, and couldn’t wait to explore. We saw all the filming spots from the show and then headed to their restaurant for our first (of many) delicious meals! The service there along with their food and drinks were all top notch, and the staff went out of their way to help make sure we truly felt like we were in paradise.
We stayed in Sol 2 and it was perfect. Our balcony had two lounge chairs and a perfect little hot tub just roomy enough for two that overlooked the ocean. We also had our own private staircase right down to the beach, and our bathroom was all outside so we could watch the waves while getting ready. But, the best part was that our room was one of few that had A/C, and trust me if you plan on making a trip (especially in the summer) A/C is a MUST! (Fun fact I learned: they make the contestants sleep in the non A/C rooms so they spend more time outside, and the “BoomBoom Room (Sol 1 & 2) have A/C to entice people to sleep there)
This was mine and Trevor’s first vacation dedicated to just relaxing. Meaning: no strenuous hikes, no dangerous adventures like skydiving or bungee jumping, no all day excursions, and no hotel hopping. Just 5 days at one resort with nothing planned. I honestly thought we would get bored by the morning of day 2, but I was pleasantly surprised. We alternated between swimming in the ocean and the infinity pool. Spent afternoons laying on the beach reading and watching out for crabs and iguanas, and spent our evenings walking along the beach as the sun set. One day Trevor spoiled me, since we were celebrating our 1yr anniversary, and I got to enjoy a massage and facial in their treetop spa that overlooked the ocean…needless to say I’ll be going all the way back to Mexico just to experience that again. They also have horseback riding, which you see them do on the show but it was honestly just too hot for us.
During our stay we rented a golf cart from the resort and took the 15min drive to Sayulita on what they call their “jungle road”. We passed Playa los Muertos or Beach of the Dead where they have a beautiful cemetery right next to this public beach. It was such a touching experience seeing how they honor their loved ones with their ornate graves and headstones full of flowers, pictures and candles.
Sayulita is a true hidden gem. Once you get past a touch of culture shock you will see nothing but incredible artistry, friendly people, and delicious authentic food at every turn. Their cobblestone roads and street vendors added so much charm and color it was hard not to fill my phone with pictures. Sayulita is known for being a surf town and it did not disappoint. Along the beach were surfers of all ages and abilities trying to catch the perfect wave. They even have surf lessons for beginners, but we decided trying to boogie board at the hotel was more our speed.
We ended up traveling to town at different times every day, and it was so neat to see both the sleepy town waking up in the morning along with it coming fully alive at night. We definitely recommend exploring all of the nooks and crannies and side shops while you’re there because there are some really great finds if you look hard enough. There’s basically two parts of town: the downtown area with the square and beach and then over the bridge there’s another area with more shops, street vendors, and even a baseball/soccer field. I found some fun pom-pom strands that I brought back home and was also strongly convinced by a vendor I needed a very colorful stuffed burro that now sits on our dresser.
All in all we couldn’t recommend visiting Playa Escondida in Sayulita more. Even though it was our Plan C for what was supposed to be our Italy trip, it turned out to be one of our new favorite places that we can’t wait to go back to. We found it to be safe, easy, beautiful, enjoyable and very affordable..what else could you ask for?
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