Men's Journal

by Elaine Glusac

Just as Cancun escapees colonized its neighboing Riviera Maya 20 years ago, Riviera Nayarit is quickly becoming a refuge for those who find nearby Puerto Vallarta too commercial. One of Mexico’s least populated states, Nayarit still doesn’t appear on many maps, but the country’s newest resort destination is adding hotels and golf courses at warp speed, from Punta de Mita to San Blas. This fall Punta de Mita, already home to a Jack Nicklaus–designed golf course, will see the debut of a new 120-room St. Regis hotel.

Among the converts: Oregon expats Paul and Patricia Southworth, who intended to briefly expose their kids to Spanish in Sayulita, only to find themselves still there 13 years later, operating a surf school, restaurant, and charter boat company serving surfers of any level drawn to the reef breaks. “The town is more prosperous, but the ocean hasn’t changed,” says Patricia. Travelers can still get a room at the Petit Hotel d’Hafa for $55, hire one of the Southworths’ boats for $45 per hour, and tour the town’s historic cemetery on their way to the area’s best beach.

From Sayulita it’s a 10-minute drive (or a one-hour jungle hike) to tiny San Francisco, the home of Café del Mar, which serves delicious Asian-inflected fare. A half hour’s drive north through mango and tobacco plantations lies Playa Chacala, the swimmer’s exception on a surfer’s coast. In San Blas, head to La Tovara National Park’s protected beach, home to hundreds of different species of birds. “It’s paradise for seeing wildlife and for being alone in nature,” says birding guide Armando Santiago Navarrete, a San Blas native. “Not many know about it.” At least until the new maps are printed, anyway.

This article originally appeared in the October 2008 issue of Men’s Journal.