Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit: 45 Places to Visit, Map & Guide

Nayarit

45 places with their own page in the municipality of Bahía de Banderas, in the state of Nayarit.

Pueblos Mágicos in Bahía de Banderas

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

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Nayarit Sayulita

Map of Bahía de Banderas

Places to visit in Bahía de Banderas

Towns · 15 Villages · 9 Beaches · 15 Nature reserves · 2 Mountains · 1 Landmarks and museums · 3

Towns

Las Jarretaderas · Town
The first town in Nayarit after the Ameca River bridge, an old ejido beside Nuevo Vallarta known for seafood joints and its surf-fishing tournament.
Nuevo Vallarta · Town
Planned resort town just across the Ameca River from Puerto Vallarta: long beach, big hotels, canals, marinas and golf. Officially Nuevo Nayarit since 2022.
San José del Valle · Town
One of the biggest towns of Bahía de Banderas, a fast-growing valley town near the Ameca River whose fiesta of Saint Joseph fills the streets each March.
Valle de Banderas · Town
The farming town that gave Banderas Bay its name, now seat of Bahía de Banderas: a quiet plaza, an old church and fields below the Sierra de Vallejo.
El Porvenir · Town
A working town of about 6,000 people in the farming valley of Bahía de Banderas, between San Vicente and San José del Valle.
Bucerías · Town
A long, flat beach on Banderas Bay with gentle water, seafood restaurants, and a busy main square.
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle · Town
A fishing town with a marina on Banderas Bay, known for its Sunday market and its morning fish market.
Lo de Marcos · Town
A relaxed beach town up the coast, popular with Mexican families, with calm coves like Playa Los Venados nearby.
San Pancho · Town
Sayulita's quieter neighbor: a long surf beach, a lively community center, and sunsets without the crowds.
Punta de Mita · Town
The tip of Banderas Bay: luxury resorts, an easy surf beach in the village, and boats to the Marieta Islands.
Mezcales · Town
Busy working town on Highway 200 between Nuevo Vallarta and Bucerías, one of the largest in Bahía de Banderas; taquerías, cenadurías and local life.
San Juan de Abajo · Town
Farming town in the Banderas valley, below the Sierra de Vallejo: a twin-towered parish, evening taco stands and a big May fiesta for Saint John.
San Vicente · Town
The most populous town of Bahía de Banderas, a valley town named for Saint Vincent Ferrer, with a church, a kiosk plaza and lively food streets.
San Clemente de Lima · Town
Young valley town next to Mezcales that grew from a hamlet of under 200 people to nearly 10,000 in fifteen years; named for Saint Clement.
Higuera Blanca · Town
A small farming village on the road to Punta de Mita, close to quiet beaches on the peninsula's north shore.

Villages

El Coatante · Village
A rural village of about 320 people on the old road to Puerto Vallarta, in the quiet northeast corner of Bahía de Banderas far from the beaches.
El Colomo · Village
A farming village on the Ameca River, once the heart of the Maisterrena hacienda and in 1935 the first ejido of the Banderas Bay region.
Los Sauces · Village
A hamlet of about 270 people in the remote northeast of Bahía de Banderas, three kilometers beyond El Coatante, with schools and little else.
San Ignacio · Village
A fast-growing village on Highway 200 beside the Sayulita River, about 5 km by road from Sayulita, with fondas and taquerías.
San Quintín · Village
A small hamlet on Highway 200 a few kilometers inland from Sayulita, which more than tripled in size between 2005 and 2020.
Tondoroque · Village
A small roadside community on Highway 200 between Mezcales and Bucerías, next to the Flamingos golf course and a few minutes from the beach.
Mezcalitos · Village
A small community on Boulevard Nuevo Vallarta, between Valle Dorado and Mezcales, a couple of kilometers from the resorts of Nuevo Vallarta.
El Guamúchil · Village
A fast-growing roadside village in the hills on Highway 200 between Bucerías and Sayulita, about 280 m up, with schools and everyday life.
Santa Rosa Tapachula · Village
Small farming village of the Bahía de Banderas valley, just south-east of the municipal seat, Valle de Banderas, far from the resort coast.

Beaches

Playa del Amor · Beach
The Hidden Beach of the Marietas: a patch of sand inside an open hollow in the rock, reached by swimming through a short sea tunnel.
Litibú · Beach
A long sandy bay on the north side of the Punta de Mita peninsula, next to Higuera Blanca, with a Greg Norman golf course and beach resorts.
Playa Destiladeras · Beach
A long, wide sweep of fine pale sand on the road to Punta de Mita, with seafood palapas, shallow water and waves for surfing and boogie boarding.
Playa El Anclote · Beach
Punta de Mita's town beach: long, gentle waves for beginner surfers, a row of seafood palapas and the pangas that run to the Marietas.
Playa La Manzanilla · Beach
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle's family beach: a mile-long crescent of grey sand with calm, shallow water and palapa restaurants on the sand.
Playa Los Venados · Beach
A small, quiet bay just south of Lo de Marcos where big waves break into curtains of spray and the south end is calm, with a lookout on the hill.
Playa Malpaso · Beach
A wild, mile-long beach between Sayulita and San Pancho, reached on foot by a jungle trail; strong rip currents make swimming dangerous.
Playa Las Minitas · Beach
A small, secluded beach southwest of Lo de Marcos at the end of the Camino a Las Minitas, between the main beach and Playa Los Venados.
Playa Pátzcuaro · Beach
A quiet, unsigned local favorite on the open coast just southwest of Sayulita, reached by a dirt track and a creek off the Punta de Mita road.
Playa Careyeros · Beach
A quiet, almost undeveloped beach between Punta de Mita and Higuera Blanca, with clear turquoise water and a rough, poorly signed dirt road in.
Playa La Lancha · Beach
A wild sand beach and point break east of Punta de Mita, reached on foot: lefts and rights for longboarders, best on winter swells.
Playa Las Cuevas · Beach
A small cove of white sand and weathered boulders north of Sayulita, reached by a jungle path, with a rock arch to Playa Malpaso at low tide.
Playa Patzcuarito · Beach
A tiny wild beach of dark sand southwest of Sayulita, reached by scrambling over the rocks from Carricitos; few people and big sunsets.
Playa de Barro · Beach
A remote jungle-backed beach north of San Pancho with a small natural mud bath and rock pools, reached by a long hike or a rough 4x4 road.
Punta Monterrey · Beach
A secluded, jungle-backed point and beach between San Pancho and Lo de Marcos, reached by a dirt road; camping is not allowed.

Nature reserves

Sierra de Vallejo · Nature reserve
The jungle-covered coastal range behind Sayulita and the Bahía de Banderas valley, home to jaguars, 261 bird species and shade-grown coffee.
Islas Marietas · Nature reserve
A protected island park off Punta de Mita, home of the famous Hidden Beach inside a crater-like hollow.

Mountains

Cerro del Mono · Mountain
Monkey Mountain: a rocky 320 m summit above Higuera Blanca, between Punta de Mita and Sayulita, with a 360-degree view of the Pacific coast.

Landmarks and museums

Paradise Village Marina · Landmark
A 200-berth marina in a sheltered estuary inside the Paradise Village resort in Nuevo Vallarta, base of the Vallarta Yacht Club.
VidantaWorld · Landmark
Vast resort complex at the south end of Nuevo Vallarta: golf, the PGA Tour Mexico Open, Cirque du Soleil's LUDŌ and the new BON theme park.
Aquaventuras Park · Landmark
Water park on Highway 200 at the entrance to Nuevo Vallarta, ten minutes from the airport: slides, a lazy river, zip line and a dolphin and sea lion habitat.