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    A free Puebloteca guide Nayarit's Pueblos Mágicos

    Free Nayarit travel guide

    All 9 of Nayarit's Pueblos Mágicos on one printable page. Free when you sign up for our weekly email.

    • All 9 Pueblos Mágicos, with a photo and what makes each special
    • A map of Nayarit with each one on it
    • Road trips that join the pueblos close together
    • The best months to go
    • How far each is from the nearest city
    • The sights not to miss
    • The fiestas worth planning around
    • The fiestas month by month
    • Where to stay in each
    • Made to print or save as a PDF

    The 9 Pueblos Mágicos in this guide

    Most visited first. The full guide adds the sights not to miss, the fiestas, how far each is by car, and a layout made to print.

    Puerto Balleto9Ixtlán del Río8Ahuacatlán7Jala6Amatlán de Cañas5Compostela4Mexcaltitán3Sayulita2San Blas1
    1. 1 Aerial view of San Blas and its long beach on the Pacific, Nayarit

      San Blas

      An old Pacific port in Nayarit surrounded by mangroves and estuaries. San Blas is known for birdwatching, boat trips to the La Tovara spring, long surf beaches, and the ruins of a Spanish fort above town.

      When to go: Mar, Apr, May, Dec

    2. 2 Palm-shaded street of shops and stalls in the center of Sayulita, Nayarit

      Sayulita

      A small, colorful surf town on the Riviera Nayarit north of Puerto Vallarta. Sayulita has a gentle beach break popular with beginners, a busy plaza, and streets strung with papel picado.

      When to go: Mar, Apr, May, Nov

    3. 3 White church tower and palms on the plaza of Mexcaltitán, Nayarit

      Mexcaltitán

      A tiny, round island village in a lagoon in Nayarit. In the rainy season its streets can flood, and people get around by boat.

      When to go: Jan, Mar, Apr, Dec

    4. 4 Stone bell tower of the church of Compostela lit up at night, Nayarit

      Compostela

      Compostela is an old colonial town in the hills of southern Nayarit, inland from the beaches of the Riviera Nayarit. Its centerpiece is the parish of Santiago Apóstol, also known as the church of the Señor de la Misericordia, whose feast fills the town from late November into December. Visitors walk the plaza, swim at the El Molino spring pool, see the old train station and the ruined hacienda of the Countess of Miravalle, and drink locally grown coffee. A craft and food fair takes over on the first Sunday of each month.

      When to go: Mar, Apr, May, Dec

    5. 5 Main plaza of Amatlán de Cañas with palms and mountains behind, Nayarit

      Amatlán de Cañas

      Amatlán de Cañas is a small town in the south of Nayarit and the seat of the municipality of the same name. It is a quiet, rural corner of the state, and people in the region know it above all for its hot springs. It joined the Pueblos Mágicos program in 2023.

      When to go: Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec

    6. 6 Jala spread across the valley at the foot of the mountains, Nayarit

      Jala

      Jala is a small town in southern Nayarit at the foot of Ceboruco, one of Mexico's active volcanoes. Its center is dominated by the Basílica Lateranense de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, built in pink, green and yellow quarry stone. Visitors walk the old streets to look at the architecture and then head up the road and trails of the volcano, where lava fields and forest make for an unusual landscape.

      When to go: Jan, Mar, Nov, Dec

    7. 7 Ahuacatlán spread across its green valley, seen from a hillside, Nayarit

      Ahuacatlán

      Ahuacatlán, whose name means place of avocados, is a farming town in southern Nayarit on the old road between Guadalajara and the coast. It is a calm, working place surrounded by fields of lime, sugarcane, and agave; the area falls within the tequila denomination of origin and also produces honey. The surroundings hold traces of a very old past, from shaft tombs to the petroglyphs at La Campana and El Terrero.

      When to go: Jan, Mar, Nov, Dec

    8. 8 Cream and pink Parroquia de Santo Santiago Apóstol under a stormy sky, Ixtlán del Río, Nayarit

      Ixtlán del Río

      Ixtlán del Río is a town in southern Nayarit and the seat of the municipality of the same name, on the road between Guadalajara and Tepic. Its main draw is the archaeological site of Los Toriles, just outside town, known for a circular temple. The center is an easy place to pause, walk the plaza and eat before continuing through the region.

      When to go: Jan, Mar, Nov, Dec

    9. 9 Isla María Madre and San Juanito seen from the International Space Station, Puerto Balleto, Nayarit

      Puerto Balleto

      Puerto Balleto is one of Mexico's few island towns, set on a bay on the east side of Isla María Madre, the largest of the Islas Marías, about 128 km off the coast of San Blas. For more than a century it was the main settlement of a federal penal colony. Today visitors arrive by ferry to find whitewashed walls, tiled roofs and cobbled streets running from the dock to the parish church, surrounded by a protected biosphere reserve of dry tropical forest.

      When to go: Mar, Apr, May, Dec

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