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If you are considering a trip to Mexico and are tired of staying in large resorts and fighting over pool chairs, then Punta Mita is your next travel destination! You have 2 options when staying in this area. You can stay behind the gates in the ultra exclusive and luxurious resorts of The 4 Seasons, The St. Regis or find a private villa on the golf course OR you can stay in the super safe surfing town just outside the gates.
When traveling to Punta Mita you need to book your flight in Puerto Vallarta and then arrange for transportation to take you the short 19miles southeast to the luxury paradise town of Punta Mita.
PLACES TO STAY IN PUNTA MITA
When traveling to Punta Mita, you have many options. If you enjoy pure luxury and have the budget then stay in the gated community that hosts the St. Regis, 4 Seasons and Private Villas on the golf course that come with chefs and pools. If you are on more of a budget (like our family) then try AirBNB or VRBO. I found the most amazing apartment right in town on VRBO. And it is perfectly safe outside of the gates and the apartment buildings have their own security.
This was hands down the nicest place we have ever stayed in and it was like pinch me is this even real for us? It was a 3,000 sq ft apartment with 4 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms and panoramic views of the endless ocean. We had access to the washer/dryer and full kitchen. It was like a dream come true for the price!
We rented a golf cart through our VRBO host. It was a basic golf cart and very bumpy on the cobblestone, dirt streets. Next time, my husband has is eye on a better golf cart rental at Mita Carts. We took off in town to find lunch and a grocery store for essentials. The best part of Mexico is being able to buy anything we need at the pharmacy without a prescription. I forgot my little one’s inhaler and she was wheezing on the airplane, so our first stop was to the pharmacy. Afterwards, we were starving so we headed down to the super causal beach spot called La Cabana for the best ceviche and guacamole we have ever had. The shrimp quesadillas and the fajitas were so fresh. We ate everything and the cucumber margarita was also delicious. We went on to eat here 2 more times for lunch during the trip. Nothing beat it!
PUNTA MITA LUNCH SPOT FAVORITES (AND THE NOT SO GOOD ONES)
La Rustica for both lunch or dinner. They have award winning cocktails here so I would recommend trying a few different ones so you can all experience the uniqueness of the mixology. We ordered the tiradito guacamole, calamari, cheese pizza for the kids and catch of the day. All so incredible and fresh!
Mad Max Pizza. The pizza here is all thin crust but there is something about the tomato sauce that is so delicious and the cheese is so creamy. It has a wood fire grill taste that you just can’t go wrong with ordering pizza in Punta Mita.
4 Seasons Dos Catrinas was not a favorite for us. For the kids, we ordered the traditional milk and rice drink horchata for the kids and it was so tasty. But we also had the fresh guacamole, and it was bland and had no flavor compared to La Cabana. We ordered a variety of tacos and the hamburger. It was all so meh and the resort is so beyond windy and cold. It is on the point of the peninsula and not protected from the wind. If I had to spend that much money to stay here and be cold the entire time, I would for sure be upset.
DEFINITELY SCHEDULE SOME EXCURSIONS DURING YOUR STAY IN PUNTA MITA
The beach by our VRBO was very rocky. I would recommend checking low tide and plan any beach sports like paddle boarding, boogie boarding, etc around that. At high tide the rocks crash into your feet when walking near the water. I wore shoes on our beach walk. If you are staying behind the gates on the northern peninsula the sand is soft, but the waves are choppy. We decided to take the kids for a surf lesson down to the beach called El Ancolote.
We used a surf school Wild Mex and the guys were super nice and chill. The water was super cold so the girls wore wetsuits. It was busy for spring break but the girls managed to catch a few waves and had a good time. We ate next door after the surf lesson at a place called Makai. It was terrible. Everything we got was so bad. I would recommend heading back into Punta Mita for lunch.
There are plenty of excursions to do here if your family likes to stay busy. There is zip-lining, ATV, fishing, a zoo, horseback riding, snorkeling, boat rides, etc. Anything you want to do is available in Punta Mita or up towards Puerto Vallarta. Our family took a trip to Belize a few months ago and we were just excursion out, so we spent this vacation just relaxing in our incredible apartment, eating, drinking and swimming.
FAVORITE DINNER SPOTS I HIGHLY RECOMMEND
The St. Regis Seabreeze Club. You must have reservation to enter the gates, and the security is very serious. You need to show ID and you will be stopped a few times to check everything. The reservations can be made same day so once you land in Punta Mita just call the different hotels to schedule lunch/dinner reservations. We chose the Seabreeze Beach Club because it was best for a family with small kids. If we didn’t have the kids my husband and I would have dined at Hectors Kitchen. We ordered the Lobster Ravioli, Crudo and Surf & Turf. Everything was excellent! I didn’t love my wine and my husbands cocktail was ok but the kids ordered every desert on the kids menu and it was so so good.
Si Sushi has lychee martinis which are my absolute favorite drink of all time. The sushi is very traditional Japanese with not a ton of roll options. Think sashimi and nigiri. The quality of the food was excellent and the service was great.
Lobster Paradise has the most beautiful ocean view and outdoor sand seating. The whole place has a great vibe and my little one ate an entire lobster herself. The blue jump shrimp were excellent and the fresh veggies and cocktails were also right on point.
Zicatela also has a beautiful outdoor seating area and the mole sauce is a specialty. I enjoyed the tuna tostada and my husband had the fresh catch of the day. They had a lychee blossom drink here that was so incredibly good! I saw people at the bar that came from other restaurant reservations just to have this drink. This dinner is a MUST when visiting Punta Mita.
WHAT TO WEAR DURING YOUR STAY
Punta Mita has great shopping and food so that means this is a dressier vacation. I rarely saw people dressed down in the evenings. Women wore very upscale beach dresses and the men collared shirts. The daytime was more relaxed but everyone wore a nice coverup around town. It was just bathing suits and towels walking around. I would pack a mix of clothes for nicer dinners and outfits for lunch or a nicer swimsuit coverups. The streets are cobblestone, sand and dirt so I wouldn’t bring nice shoes or shoes with heels. More wedges and nice flat sandals.
Punta Mita was an incredible vacation and one that my family wants to take again very soon! I feel like this area isn’t over populated with tourist. It is still not as well known and was hardly crowded even though we went during spring break. If you want to skip the crowds of Cabo or the heat of Puerto Vallarta then Punta Mita is the spot. They are building a ton of infrastructure so it won’t be this cute charming beach town for long…
