In the time I’ve been coming to Puerto Vallarta, I’ve often heard people rave about San Pancho. The town of Lo de Marcos has also come up when reading about nice beaches in that area. I wanted to explore more of the Nayarit coast on this trip, and decided to take a scouting trip to these places while I was in Sayulita, to check them out for potential future itineraries. Here’s a recap of my very enjoyable day trip:
A Quiet Start at Playa Los Venados
I heard about Playa Los Venados from the Uber driver who drove me from Bucerias to Sayulita. He said it was his favorite beach in the area. It’s an easy walk there and back from Lo de Marcos, but I figured why not just have the Uber take me there to save a little time.
I set out on a Monday morning at 9 am. I had scheduled an Uber the day before, which worked out nicely. The ride to Los Venados took about 30 minutes and cost about 350 pesos. The short road from Lo de Marcos to Playa Los Venados is pretty quiet, and there were quite a few people out walking. I actually felt a little guilty disturbing them with a car. There’s a fork in the road near the end. I would suggest that you take the fork to the right, which ends in what seems to be kind of a public parking area with some stairs going down to the beach. The left fork (which we took) ends up in the driveway of a vacation home. It wasn’t a huge deal though, I could still get down to the beach from there.
I had the beach pretty much to myself, other than a few people who came through briefly. The middle of the beach was sunny when I got there, and there was also some nice shade at either end. The water looked too inviting to miss, so I got in and floated for a little while, then dried off in the sun.
A Little Taste of Lo de Marcos
It was an easy 30-minute walk back to Lo de Marcos on the road, which was partly dirt but mostly paved. I had shade for most of the walk as well. When I got back to town, I headed straight out to the beach.
Playa Lo de Marcos is long and beautiful, with waves that were very gentle that morning. I made my way up it slowly from the south, stopping now and then in the shade for a bit. The beach has a couple of small beach clubs and restaurants at each end, but the town itself was pretty quiet—perfect if you want to escape the crowds. I would have loved to stay longer, but there were other places I wanted to explore.
There’s not a whole lot to the town of Lo de Marcos. It was pretty quiet the day I was there. I was surprised by how many expats I saw—I’m not sure why, but I guess I just had an image of it still being a little less discovered. I walked around for a bit and stopped at Jardin Serein for breakfast. It’s a large outdoor space, but I had it all to myself around 11:45 am. The enmoladas were excellent. After breakfast, I started thinking about heading to San Pancho.
Afternoon in San Pancho
There were no Ubers available in Lo de Marcos, and I’d forgotten to check for taxis at the main square, so I just kept walking out to the highway, where there was a sign indicating there was a taxi stop there. It looked pretty unofficial, but regardless, a taxi came up from the center within about a minute. He wanted 250 pesos for the ride to San Pancho, which sounded reasonable, so I hopped in.
San Francisco (aka San Pancho) is a charming little town with a relaxed atmosphere. The vibe felt somewhere between Sayulita and Lo de Marcos, and I felt like maybe it would be about right for me. I could definitely see myself staying here in the future. I walked up the main street towards the beach and got corralled (happily) to a table at Las Palmas for lunch. The reviews for Las Palmas weren’t the highest, but I enjoyed the location and had a very relaxing afternoon there. I ordered a Michelada and coconut shrimp, both of which hit the spot. The weather was perfect—just the right temperature to sit back and enjoy the day.
Back to Sayulita
Sun-and-sea soaked and happy, I walked a little more around San Pancho and then sat down at Mexicolate with a Agua de Cacao while I waited for my Uber. It was a 15-minute wait, and the ride cost me 150 pesos.
It was a really nice day. Getting around without a car was easy. I would recommend all the places I visited, and intend to go back to appreciate them longer. In particular, I think I’ll try and stay at least a week in San Pancho next year, and spend a full day on the beach in Lo de Marcos.