Our favorite place for a vacation is Punta De Mita, Mexico. It’s the perfect spot for a family vacation, couples getaway and a girls trip! Since we are headed there tomorrow, I am excited to share all the details of this special spot in an updated Punta Mita Travel Guide.
We have seen it grow so much since began coming here in 2010. We were first invited by sweet friends who have a home at the Four Seasons and are thrilled to be heading back with them this weekend! On our first visit, we were smitten and keep returning. Might have been the sunsets….
HOW TO GET TO PUNTA MITA
Punta Mita is an easy trip. You can fly to Puerto Vallarta direct from most International Airports including DFW and then a short 40 minute drive. This beautiful spot is surrounded on three sides by turquoise waters and nine and a half miles of varied coastline and highlighted by tropical forest and the majestic Sierra Madre Mountains, where exotic wildlife roams and pre-Colombian Huichol Indians still live.
One of my favorite things about Punta Mita is that it is very casual. You know I’m big on packing in a carry on so that makes it very easy! Lots of swimsuits, breezy cover ups, sundresses, tshirts and shorts. You can see my packing lists here. Most of what I’ll bring this trip is from our trip to Spain since we spent a good amount of time in Mallorca on the water.
WHERE TO STAY IN PUNTA MITA
We have stayed at the Four Seasons, St. Regis and several neighborhoods within “the gates” of Punta Mita with beautiful condos and homes. Our preference when traveling with our family or a group of friends is a home or condo. I recommend using our favorite local real estate agent, Jose “Mita” Pelayo. Mita (that’s what everyone calls him!) owns a real estate/property rental company, Pelayo Real Estate and Mita Surf Club. We have known him for about 11 years now and he is such a wonderful man and his wife, Alejandra, is darling. We rent condos and homes from Mita and he and his staff always do an amazing job! They arrange all our details from airport transportation to activities and dinner reservations. I’ve given his name to so many friends and readers who have all been just as happy!
(Note: There other resorts in the area but they are not “in the Gates” of the Punta Mita development. You will not have access to this area if you aren’t in the Punta Mita development.)
My favorite option for a family vacation or a girls trip is to rent a condo or home. This gives you the ability to have more space to gather in the evenings and typically comes with a cook for breakfast and lunch. We usually have a big breakfast, lots of guacamole at the beach and then either have the cook keep the “lunch” warm for dinner, hire a chef for dinner or make a reservation at one of the many beach clubs or restaurants in town.
Mita booked my girls trip last fall and our family vacation at Christmas. You can see those and other trips to Punta Mita on my Instagram stories highlights all called Punta Mita.
We’ve stayed in the Porta Fortuna, Las Palmas and La Punta ares in private homes and Hacienda de Mita condos. We’ve looked at a lot of the other new developments as well: Las Marietas, TAU, . There are so many very nice places to stay. You really can’t go wrong! We love it so much here, we are considering buying a condo. Mita would manage it and it will be for rent if we do! Let me know if this is something you’d be interested in renting from us below!
Photos via St. Regis Punta Mita
My favorite for a couples trip is the St. Regis but it is great for families, too. It’s quiet and smaller than the Four Seasons. The service is amazing, (sweet guys remember our names from the year before!), location, beautiful, rooms luxurious and great dining options. There is a great casual restaurant for breakfast and lunch, a fun palapa bar for lunch and dinner and always poolside service. Carolina at the St. Regis on of the only AAA Five Diamond Restaurants in Mexico. It is exquisite fine dining. Must try for a date night where ever you stay. You can see one of our stays here on my Instagram Stories Highlight St. Regis PM.
WHAT TO DO IN PUNTA MITA
There is a lot to do in Punta Mita! From whale watching and snorkeling around the Marietas to golf and surfing or just relaxing on the beach, you can do something different and go to a different beach club every day! I love the beach and could spend every minute parked on a chair, reading, spicy margarita in hand, waiting on a sunset like the one above and be perfectly happy. My husband likes a bit more adventure so there is something for everyone!
Beach Clubs
Pacifico
The original beach club now called Pacifico is my very favorite of all the beach clubs. Pacifico Beach Club is located on beautiful beach next to the “Tail of the Whale”, has two swimming pools (One beachfront and the other on a grassy lawn in the shade near a playscape), beach chairs with service, a restaurant, a bar, and men’s and women’s locker rooms. It is the best place to watch sunsets which is my must-do almost every night in Punta Mita. It is where the top sunset photos were taken. The top one if from our first trip as a family to Punta Mita in 2010. The restaurant here serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. We eat here several times during each trip.
Kapuri
This was the second beach club and is a great place for families with it’s resort-style pool and game room. The restaurant here was just remodeled and serves lunch and dinner. There is also a cute beachwear shop here. Be sure to take a walk down the beach to the left to see the amazing beachfront homes in the Kapuri neighborhood. They are amazing!
El Surf
This is my second favorite beach club. I only wish it had a pool and it would be perfect! It has a cool surf shack vibe and is super chill. It is on a sandy beach break, La Lancha, and one of the best places to surf in Punta Mita. It opened in December 2020 and we were one of the first to visit it. Fun story: Until this beach club opened, La Lancha was only accessible by boat or hiking in from the highway from a police checkpoint! Yes, we did that many times with Jose “Mita” as our surf guide. It is so much easier now! The restaurant here serves fresh, healthy dishes like ceviche and fish tacos. The menu is great and so are the margaritas! We love it for both lunch and dinner.
Porto Fortuna Sufi Beach Club
We’ve not spent the day at this beach club but have seen it when we visit one of our favorite restaurants Sufi that sits just above it. It has a beautiful pool but not beach access. It is in the beautiful Porto Fortuna neighborhood. I rented a beachfront home here in November of 2021. It was amazing! You can see that in Instagram Stories Highlights, too.
St. Regis Beach Club
This beach club is open to guests that have rented homes with the Premier Membership as well. However, depending on their occupancy, it might not be an option. Sometimes they also have a per person minimum spend. They have two restaurants here that are very good so worth a visit.
SURFING
Surfing in December!
The girls getting a lesson from Mita on one of our first visits!
Surfing is a big check box on the “can we go to this beach” list. Thankfully, Punta de Mita has several very accessible surf breaks. It’s also located very close to Sayulita, a surfing mecca and a much larger town than the Village of Punta de Mita. You can see more posts on our visits to Punta Mita here.
We only use Mita Surf owned by our friend Jose “Mita” Pelayo, that I mentioned above. Mita Surf provides surf and paddle board lessons and rentals, whale watching, snorkeling and other activities. They can also take you by boat to a few other great surf breaks. The best place to surf for most levels is El Surf Club on the La Lancha break.
Golf
Highly praised by golfers and golfing magazines, this unique championship course, the #1 course in Latin America is here at Punta Mita. The Pacifico Course boasts the famous “Tail of the Whale” hole where an amphibious vehicle takes you to play this special and beautiful hole.
Photo via Punta Mita
Marietas Islands and Whale Watching
Punta Mita is near the Marietas Islands, the only place other than the Galapagos where elusive blue-footed Booby birds. Combine this with whale watching, snorkeling the coral reef and you have a great adventure day!
Deep Sea Fishing
Catch “the big one” while deep sea fishing!
Entrance of Restaurant de Mita
WHERE TO EAT IN PUNTA MITA
Located just outside the gates of the Punta Mita development, the Village is small and quaint. Many residents are fishermen who provide their daily fresh catch for the beachfront restaurants.
Our first reservation every time is Restaurant de Mita. It was formerly called Si Senor but there was some confusion with a not so great restaurant in Puerto Vallarta so they changed the name but it’s the same wonderful place! We love this open air restaurant that sits right on the beach. The waiters are so nice and the service is great.
Sufi at Porta Fortuna is the next reservation we make. We loved it on our girls trip as well and celebrated a birthday there! The girls trip photo above was taken in the lounge area of Sufi.
El Surf Club at Dinner
Other restaurants we like: La Pescadora and Rustica in town, St. Regis – Carolina, fine dining, Marietas – casual lawn/beach dining, Mita Mary Ceviche Boat; Pacifico Beach Club, El Surf Beach Club, and there are several restaurants at the Four Seasons.
WHERE TO SHOP IN PUNTA MITA
Until just a few years ago, there were only a few shops for basics like floats, sunscreen and tequila and a few restaurants we visit. Now there are several cute shops in the town that are worth visiting…Calaverita de Mita, Mita Mita and xxx are our favorites.
If you are thinking about a trip to a tropical getaway that will offer something to please everyone, I highly recommend Punta de Mita!
I’m dreaming of my return….
xo
Alicia
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I have to go there!
Yes, do you!
xo
Alicia
🙋♀️ Sign me up! Looks fabulous, and I’ve added this to my on-going “Trip List” I keep in my Notes. We always love to rent a house or condo especially when traveling with a group and having a chef is icing on the cake.
PS- I’ve shared your packing posts with several family members and friends who have now gone from pacing a large checked bag to only using a carry-on. After years of me saying it is “life changing for travel” several made the switch this spring. 😉
Sounds perfect. We are interested in this vacation.
I follow all your fashion and home posts too.😉