LA VIDA LOCAL

 

 

Punta Mita is a scenic 40 min drive from Puerto Vallarta and is known for its massive resorts, gated communities and golf courses developed by many of the world’s top hospitality brands. While I enjoy the perks and amenities of a well-run resort, a short ride outside the gates lies a different experience of food and culture from a variety of small towns that have taken advantage of increased development and tourist traffic, while proudly maintaining their local identity.  

 

I combined both experiences into one trip, exploring the two different sides of Punta Mita and its surrounding area, Riviera Nayarit.  The plan was to carve out a 7-10 day trip, start at an all-inclusive resort for the first few days, and figure out the rest on the fly after talking to staff, other guests, friends, etc. about recommendations. This proved to be a rewarding strategy which left me with a new level of appreciation for all-inclusive resorts, while discovering some wonderful small towns with fantastic food, friendly locals, and a vibrant nightlife. 

 

The selection of luxury resorts in Punta Mita are diverse and of high quality, as if curated to provide a different type of property for every kind of traveler. Four Seasons, St. Regis, Conrad, W, and Auberge all have properties in the area, along with other resort town usual suspects. 

 

It was the Iberostar Selection Playa Mita that caught my attention as the property that best sits in between the trendy and the super high end, with the best combination of location, reputation, and quality of service and food to price point ratio of any resort in the area. Iberostar Selection properties are known for having the finest locations, facilities, and personalized service options of all the resorts in their wider portfolio. In Playa Mita, the Iberostar is farther north, so it doesn’t feel like other properties are right on top of you, which is often the case farther south. In addition, the large private beach is covered with sand as opposed to many resort beaches down south that are rocky. 

 

The beach area offers water toys, activities, and server-attended lounge chairs, plus a beachside bar with covered outdoor seating and a truly fantastic taco stand. Life is just better with a truly fantastic taco stand in situ. The resort’s design is spacious, contemporary, and comfortable, with a distinct sense of place without going overboard or kitschy. Works of local artists from the indigenous Huichol and Cora tribes are thoughtfully placed throughout the hotel, and the food also had a strong sense of local character. I was impressed at the variety of spice levels and bold flavor profiles in the sauces and dishes served across the entire property. 

 

 

 

 

The Iberostar has the luxury of being located next to the Higuera Golf Club and its 18-hole, par 72, Libitu course, which creatively winds through the area’s natural landscape, leading you uphill out of forested valleys to cliffsides over the beach with waves crashing below you, and a legit peninsula green with water on three sides. Don’t let older reviews of the facilities and golf course fool you, it has been going through a complete overhaul the last few years, (you will be playing through/over some construction) but I can attest to new greens being immaculate and you can see that in short time this will be a top class facility. It’s already great.

 

The Iberostar Selection delivered everything I expect from a high-end resort, as my king room was spacious and quiet with a comfy bed and a sliver of an ocean view. The food went way above my expectations, starting with top-notch breakfast and dinner buffets serving up multiple local options. For lunch or dinner, I highly recommend the local stews, especially the posole, a meat, usually pork, and hominy  — corn with the germ removed — stew. Everything is served out of beautifully adorned local earthenware pots and bowls and the range of flavors and spice levels was truly impressive. 

 

Other dinner options include a El Cuate Pancho, a solid traditional Mexican restaurant, Tsuba, their ubiquitous, all-inclusive resort Teppanyaki grill, and Pacific Express, a nod to the Orient Express serving traditional French fine dining with décor evocative of old timey luxury train dining cars. 

 

I’m happy to report Pacific Express is legit fine dining. I ordered a hamburger along with the foie gras terrine and the burger was solid. The foie terrine was spot on traditional French style, and the grilled Mahi was perfectly seasoned and tasted like it was caught that morning. Which it probably was.

 

 

 

 

The first step in planning the rest of my trip happened on the golf course, where my caddy and new friend Topo invited me to his hometown of Bucerias for ceviche at his family’s restaurant. Bucerias is a coastal town with a combination of local and expat owned bars, shops and restaurants packed into a bustling downtown area with residences spreading out up the hill and down to the beach, where more shops and beachfront restaurants and surf clubs await. 

 

Topo wanted pizza and I wanted to watch Champions League soccer and NBA Playoffs, so our first stop was at Yoyo Mo’s Pizza and Sports. The owner was proud of his pizza and for good reason. The burger here was also very good. After a quick stop at the splendidly named Voodoo Monkey Tiki Bar and Grill for some wings and boozy cocktails, it was finally onto his family’s seafood restaurant, Mariscos Choforo, which is as much a seafood waypoint as it is a restaurant.

 

The amount of food going out the door, whether for takeout or another merchant buying whole fish or octopus was astonishing, and always a good sign that quality ingredients are coming out of the kitchen. The octopus tostada is a must, as is the raw scallop tostada, in fact, you would do just fine showing up here with 4-5 people and just ordering down the entire tostada list. Alas, it was just me at this point because Topo had to leave for another 18 with a client at the Four Seasons, so I ordered one entrée, shrimp two ways — ajillo (garlic), and diavolo (spicy). The shrimps were huge, the sauces were bursting with flavor, and I will certainly be going back with a larger group so we can order the entire menu.

 

 

 

 

Another staple of the food scene is zarandeado, which is the local, 500 years old marinade method of the Playa Nayarit region. It’s a bit like a darker, bolder red adobo that has a bit of heat, but I wouldn’t call it spicy, and runs the gamut from earthy to smoky to sweet citrus. They will “zarandeado” just about anything, but my favorite is grilled Pescado Zarandeado (fish of the day), which I ate often during this 10-day trip, including Snapper, Mahi, Swordfish, and Dorado. 

 

My favorites were the Mahi Mahi at the taco stands on the Libitu golf course and on the beach at Iberostar, and the $70 swordfish I had at Bahia by Richard Sandoval at The Four Seasons. 

 

 

 

 

If the vibe in Bucerias is all about simply prepared fresh seafood and well executed bar fare, Sayulita is all about fish tacos, al pastor and contemporary casual, elevated cuisine. From Italian, Mexican, Mediterranean, and more the range of restaurants recommended to me by locals was more focused on handmade pastas, homemade charcuterie, and creative use of local ingredients then it was the best tacos, carne asada, adobo or mole. 

 

Sayulita is a semi-secluded surf town that has boomed in popularity over the last decade or so. I’d say you have about 5 years before it reaches another tipping point of tourist infiltration. Right now, it’s doing a good job of balancing the advantages of the new residents and development with maintaining authenticity and integrity. The town has plenty of rustic and contemporary cuisine options, a raging nightlife with live music playing somewhere almost every night, as well as juice bars, coffee shops, and IV spots for recovery, and options for where to stay, from beach huts to boutique hotels and of course higher end resorts. 

 

You can have the best of both worlds in the Playa Nayarit region — the advantages of an all-inclusive resort and culturally immersive, small-town experiences. I suggest the first step is to pick the Iberostar as your all-inclusive because its northern location makes it easier to leave and come back to the resort than many properties down south. The pools, beach and golf course are wonderful, and you are less than 20 minutes from a couple of lovely local towns with vibrant cultures, delicious food and friendly locals, expats, and tourists.