Rincón de Guayabitos: Mexico's Favorite Family Beach Town

Rincón de Guayabitos is where Mexican families go to the beach. A long crescent of calm, swimmable water on Jaltemba Bay, about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta, lined with palapa restaurants, panga boats, and vendors selling grilled fish on a stick. Locals call the bay "the world's largest swimming pool," and once you've floated in it at 10 in the morning with a coconut in hand, you'll understand why.

We live 25 minutes away in the hills of Altavista, and Guayabitos is our go-to beach day. This guide covers the town, the beach, the food, the boat trips, and where to base yourself if you want all of it by day and jungle quiet at night.

What and where is Rincón de Guayabitos

Guayabitos means "corner of the little guava trees," and the town sits exactly where the name says: in the corner of Jaltemba Bay, about 65 km north of Puerto Vallarta airport on Highway 200, in Riviera Nayarit. It shares the bay with two sister towns. La Peñita de Jaltemba, just across a small river to the north, is the working town with the bank, the produce market, and the famous Thursday tianguis. Los Ayala, over the headland to the south, is a smaller and calmer beach cove.

What makes Guayabitos special is who vacations here: mostly Mexican families, from Guadalajara and Tepic, plus a loyal colony of winter snowbirds from the US and Canada. That mix keeps the town real. Prices are in pesos, the food is actually Mexican, and the beach scene is multigenerational: grandparents under umbrellas, kids on banana boats, and someone's uncle asleep in a hammock.

The town: Sol Nuevo, retornos and the plaza

The whole town hangs off one long main street, Avenida del Sol Nuevo, running parallel to the beach. Off it, side streets called retornos loop toward the sand in cul-de-sacs, connected by walkways called andadores that thread between the hotels to the beach. You never really get lost in Guayabitos; every path eventually hits water.

The renovated main plaza on Sol Nuevo, with its kiosco, flower boxes, and big colorful GUAYABITOS letters, is the town's meeting point, and hosts craft markets and concerts in season. There's also a smaller Monday tianguis in Guayabitos itself with jewelry, pottery, and art, though the Thursday market in La Peñita is the main event.

Driving in: there are free and paid lots within a short walk of the beach, plus street parking, but on holiday weekends arrive early because the town fills fast.

Guayabitos Beach

The beach is the whole point: a long, gently sloping crescent protected by headlands at both ends, with water that stays between 77 and 86°F all year. The waves are small enough for kids and grandparents, which is rare on this stretch of Pacific coast and exactly why families have come here for generations.

How a beach day works: pick a palapa restaurant and the chairs and umbrella are yours as long as you keep the micheladas and ceviche coming, or rent a standalone spot for roughly 50 to 100 pesos. Then let the beach come to you. Vendors walk the sand selling pescado embarazado (grilled fish on a stick, the bay's signature snack and arguably the best beach food in Mexico), shrimp skewers, mango, pineapple, churros, coconut water, hammocks, and jewelry. The sell here is soft compared to Puerto Vallarta; a friendly "no, gracias" and everyone moves on smiling.

The south end, near the hotel zone, is where the action is: palapa restaurants, beach bars with live music, banana boats. Walk north toward the residential end and the crowd thins out to palms and quiet sand. In winter, keep an eye on the horizon while you float: humpback whales are regularly visible right from the beach.

Isla del Coral snorkeling

The island you see a mile offshore is Isla del Coral, a protected, uninhabited island with clear water and reefs full of tropical fish. Pangas cross from the beach in about 10 to 15 minutes, some with glass bottoms, for roughly 250 to 350 pesos per person round trip, often with snorkel gear included. Isla del Coral Guayabitos Tours runs organized trips, or you can simply hire a boat off the sand.

Two tips from experience: go early, because the island is nearly private at 9 am and busy by noon, and bring your own snacks and water rather than counting on the island's little restaurant.

Whale watching (December to March)

Every winter, humpback whales migrate from Alaska to breed in these warm bays, and February is the most reliable month to see them breach. You can watch them from the beach, but being on the water next to a 40-ton whale is something else entirely. Barco Fiesta Guayabitos runs family-friendly tours with an optional Isla del Coral stop, and beach pangas offer smaller, cheaper trips sold right on the sand. Book a few days ahead in January and February.

Bonus season: sea turtles nest on this coast from July through December.

Fishing charters

Mahi-mahi and yellowfin tuna run these waters. Book a reviewed charter like Capitán Tony's Charters in Guayabitos or Chacala Pesca Deportiva out of Chacala, or negotiate directly with a captain on the beach. Most trips include gear, and plenty of palapa restaurants will happily cook your catch for dinner.

Where to eat in Guayabitos and La Peñita

You will not eat badly on this bay, and you will pay a fraction of Puerto Vallarta prices. A seafood lunch for two at a beach palapa runs around 300 to 400 pesos. Most places are cash only, so bring pesos.

In Guayabitos:

• Restaurante Pineda: the bay's institution, thousands of glowing reviews, famous for pescado zarandeado (butterflied fish grilled over wood). It rushes at lunch and dinner, so go off-peak.
• El Comelón: locals will tell you the garlic shrimp is the best in the bay, with live music on weekend afternoons.
• Piña Colada: a long-time favorite for camarones al ajo and serious margaritas.
• Vista Guayabitos: on the hillside toward Los Ayala, worth it for the view over the whole bay at sunset.

For even better value, cross the river to La Peñita, where our favorites include La Casita de Irma, Hanami sushi, and the morning fishermen's dock. We cover them all in our La Peñita guide.

The walk to Los Ayala and the hidden beaches

At the southern corner of the bay (the rincón itself), the shore bends toward Los Ayala, a half-mile palm-lined cove that's calmer and less built up than Guayabitos, about 30 minutes from our place. You can drive in 5 minutes, take a colectivo van for pocket change, or walk the hill trail over the headland.

Los Ayala is also the gateway to the bay's secret beaches. From its far end, a 15-minute trail over the steep hill drops you at Playa del Beso, "Kissing Beach," a tiny protected cove barely big enough for two towels, which is rather the point. Beyond it lies Playa Frideras, reachable at low tide and usually empty, and the longer trail to Playa del Toro via the Mirador del Toro viewpoint if you want a real hike with your swim.

La Peñita and the Thursday market

La Peñita, 5 minutes north across the river, is the bay's everyday working town, and Thursday morning is its show: the tianguis, the biggest weekly market in the region, with Huichol art, crafts from all over Mexico, jewelry, produce, and a street food section worth arriving hungry for. It's 20 minutes from our door and we still go most weeks. For the full picture of the town, its malecón, and where to eat, read our complete La Peñita de Jaltemba guide.

Day trips from Guayabitos

Jaltemba Bay sits in the middle of everything, which is why we chose to live here:

• Chacala: a tiny fishing village on a palm-lined bay, with jungle hikes to hidden coves and a secret surf break. Read our full Playa Chacala guide.
• Altavista petroglyphs: two-thousand-year-old rock carvings along a jungle creek, still a sacred Wixárika (Huichol) site, ending at natural swimming pools.
• Jungle hot springs: rustic stone thermal pools at Nuevo Ixtlán in the Sierra de Vallejo, where every group gets a private pool. A half-day adventure up a dirt road.
• Horseback riding: jungle-to-beach rides in Lo de Marcos, where the horses walk right into the ocean.
• La Tovara mangroves (San Blas): a boat ride through crocodile and bird country to a spring-fed swimming hole, about 1.5 hours north.

When to visit and practical tips

Seasons: November through May is dry season: sunny days in the high 70s and 80s, calm 78 to 80°F water, whales in winter. June through September is green season: hot sunny mornings, short afternoon downpours, the jungle at full volume, and the warmest water of the year in September and October. The coast gets around 320 days of sunshine a year, so the odds are with you.

Crowds: the town of about 3,500 swells past 20,000 at Christmas week and Semana Santa, when the beach becomes one giant Mexican family party (fun, but book far ahead and expect triple prices). Snowbird season runs November to April. Weekdays are always calmer than weekends. August is the quietest month of all.

Money: bring pesos. Most restaurants and all beach vendors are cash only. The nearest bank is in La Peñita, and the local ATMs famously run dry during Christmas and Semana Santa, so stock up early.

Getting around: taxis have no meters, so agree on the fare before you get in. Colectivo vans shuttle between La Peñita, Guayabitos, and Los Ayala for a few pesos. If you're driving from Puerto Vallarta, do the highway in daylight; it's an easy, pretty drive.

Noise: fair warning if you stay in the hotel zone: beach bar music can run very late, and the roosters start early. It's part of the charm, until night three.

Guayabitos vs Sayulita

They are opposite beaches. Sayulita is international, curated, and crowded: surf lessons, boutiques, bachelorette parties, and prices in dollars. Guayabitos is a Mexican family vacation: swimmable water, banana boats, pescado embarazado, and dinner for a third of the price. If you want nightlife and shopping, choose Sayulita. If you want to swim, eat well, and watch Mexico enjoy itself, Guayabitos wins every time.

From our place in Altavista you don't have to choose: Guayabitos is 25 minutes one way, Sayulita 45 the other.

Where to stay: the beach, or above it all

You will love Guayabitos. And if what you need is a real getaway, here is the honest truth: the towns on this bay are wonderful by day and noisy by night, the hotel rooms are simple, and you share every sunset with the crowd.

We built Cerrito Encantado for the other kind of trip. A private jungle home in the hills of Altavista, 25 minutes from Guayabitos beach, with a pool, Starlink wifi, and nothing but birds and green mountains around you. Beach days whenever you want them, and nights that belong entirely to you. It is an experience no beach hotel can give you: waking up above the jungle, coffee with the sunrise, the whole coast spread out below.

Book direct on cerritoencantado.com and skip the platform fees.

FAQ

Is Rincón de Guayabitos worth visiting?

Yes, especially for families and anyone who wants a swimmable beach with real Mexican beach-town energy. Calm water, cheap great food, boat trips right off the sand, and one of the most authentic beach scenes on the Pacific coast.

Can you swim at Guayabitos beach?

Yes. Jaltemba Bay is protected by headlands, so the water is calm and the beach slopes gently, making it one of the safest swimming beaches on the Riviera Nayarit. Locals call it the world's largest swimming pool.

Which is better, Guayabitos or Sayulita?

Guayabitos for swimming, families, and authentic, affordable Mexico. Sayulita for surfing, nightlife, and boutique shopping. They are about 30 minutes apart, so basing yourself between them lets you try both.

How far is Guayabitos from Puerto Vallarta?

About 65 km north of Puerto Vallarta airport, roughly a 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minute drive on Highway 200.

When is the best time to visit Guayabitos?

November through April for dry sunny weather and whale season, with November, early December, and mid-January through February the sweet spots. Avoid Christmas week and Semana Santa unless you want the full festival crowd. August is the quietest month.