Here’s everything you need to know about shopping and restaurants in Sayulita and Puerto Vallarta! I don’t know how different the restaurants, shops, and vendors are in other areas of Mexico, but I imagine you’ll see a lot of the same product options.
In the areas I visited, most shops and vendors only accepted pesos. I didn’t spend any of the American currency that I brought along. A lot of restaurants did not take credit card, either. As my peso reserves grew thin, I found myself asking, “¿Aceptas tarjetas de crédito?” pretty much everywhere I went.
Generally speaking, if an item cost more than about 600 pesos, credit card was accepted. Expect a 5% processing fee to be tacked on, though.
My travels took me to Sayulita, Puerto Vallarta, and San Pancho. Each of these cities are very colorful, have lots of murals, and rows of shops and restaurants. Other than the street vendors, pretty much everyone spoke English with a decent amount of fluency.
Shopping Tips
My well-traveled friend encouraged me to hold off buying anything until the third day of our trip. I should have listened! The redundancy in products bordered on overwhelming, but the price range was all over the place. Few shops had prices on their goods, which left plenty of room for bargaining. It also made it easy for them to take one look at us Gringos and increase the price. If you are on a budget, I urge you to hold off on buying that cute dress or necklace. There is a very good chance you will find the exact same item at another shop for half the price.
Most of what you will see in stores looks to be handmade. And maybe it is! But, if the vendor tells you that one of their family members made it, they are probably not telling the truth. By day three of your trip, you won’t need any convincing of that. I’m all about giving my money to small businesses, and there are loads of cute options. But, I do not like being lied to. And that super cute, blue skirt I bought the first night of my trip for 890 pesos? I found the exact same one for 400 pesos on day 4. I do understand the excitement to buy these beautiful souvenirs right away!
Street Vendors
While in Sayulita and other touristy areas, you don’t even need to go to any shops to bring home far too many souvenirs. The vendors will find you! If it hadn’t been for the locked gate to our hotel, I’m guessing that locals would have wandered right up to our room and knocked on the window to show off their goods. You’ll want to learn these Spanish words, “No, gracias. Estoy bien.” That translates to, “No, thank you. I’m good.”
Everywhere we ate, street vendors were approaching us and interrupting our conversations with the same necklaces, hair braids, and dog collars. Sometimes, the same vendor would make 2-3 passes. Admittedly, I preferred that to the young children that would approach our table late at night, rubbing their eyes, wearing beautiful, Mexican dresses, and pretty much begging us to buy colorful trinkets I didn’t want or need.
As you are purchasing your souvenirs, remember that you need to get all of these goodies home. We did not check any bags, so that not only meant that we needed to limit ourselves in size and weight, but we couldn’t buy any “liquids” that were bigger than 3.4oz (100mm). Unfortunately, that includes things like that delicious jar of Mexican hazelnut spread I bought. Even if you keep it under 3.4oz, if you buy any food products, play it safe and only get things that have a label and are sealed. Otherwise, you will probably be stopped at customs and might lose your yummy finds. I really wanted to buy a jar of the homemade salsa being sold at YAH-YAH Sayulita Cafe, but there was no label, so I did not risk it. The food there was fresh, creative, and absolutely delicious.
Delicious Mexican Food
Speaking of restaurants! You are about to experience the most delicious foods ever! My daughter is still in complete awe of how flavorful everything was. Gotta love that lard! She was determined to only eat “Mexican food” for the entirety of our trip. But, you’ll find many restaurants will serve hamburgers, french fries, and other American-inspired dishes. And they are good, too! In Puerto Vallarta, we went to an incredible Indian Restaurant on Isla Cuale. That establishment deserves its own blog post for all they are doing for the local cat population!
We indulged in at least 3 meals a day consisting of mouth watering street tacos, burritos, empanadas, ceviche, sopes, and more. I loved ALL OF IT. The birria was my favorite type of meat, though the seafood was incredibly fresh. I actually don’t like fish, but I LOVED the fish tacos from Matiz.
When we struggled to find anything open at 9am before our trip to San Pancho, we came across Flores & Colores, a delightful, little coffee shop on the east of Sayulita.
There was clearly a lot of pride taken in the presentation of meals. Check out the chicken and waffles I ordered from La Katrina Restaurant & Bar. The entire menu looked amazing!
We crossed the street from the plaza from La Katrina for a delicious dessert at Mexicolate.
If you have a big appetite, don’t skip “The Badass Burrito” at Mary’s Tacos!
Other Puerto Vallarta Restaurants that had my mouth watering were El Campanario (a simple and inexpensive restaurant with amazing sopes) and Cuates y Cuetes on the beach.
Other Sayulita Restaurants that put a smile on my face and a yummy meal in my belly included Fabis Restaurant and Bar (on the beach) and Le Camionato (that’s where I got my delicious burger and onion rings). There was no shortage of street vendors cooking up food just as tasty as the sit down restaurants. The 50 peso almond croissant I bought from a tiny street baker was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted! And I’m so glad that my daughter got to try authentic Mexican corn on our way to the carnival.
Pardon my cell phone pictures for most of the food. I was trying not to be TOO obnoxious with my camera.
Tipping
As mentioned before, make sure to have plenty of pesos for restaurants. And while tips may not be expected at all restaurants, be a good tourist and hand over that 20% or more. If we have the money to travel to their country, let’s make the effort to support these small businesses and people who spoil us for next to nothing.
If you don’t have money to tip, there are plenty of street vendors with amazing food (though a small amount of generosity there will go far, as well). Go out at night and those vendors will overwhelm you with all kinds of sweet treats.
How Much Does the Food Cost?
When we ordered up a round of 25 peso tacos right next to the Puerto Vallarta Airport, I was excited to overeat on this trip. Four delicious street tacos for $5? Heck yeah! And my goodness, were they tasty.
Turns out that was a bit of a tease. At least as far as food prices go. I rarely ordered a drink with my meals, and I still spent at least 200 pesos per person per meal. Sayulita IS a tourist town, so prices are a bit inflated. It’s still significantly less than you’ll spend at a restaurant with that quality of food in the US. And now that I’m back in Kansas, what I’d give for one of those Piñadas (virgin Piña colada). I don’t even like coconut, but those were amazing!
Market Day
Make sure to check out the weekly market wherever you are staying. We made a special trip to San Pancho by bus to enjoy their market on Tuesday. There was some overlap with the Sayulita market vendors, but I’m glad we made the time to check that out on Friday.
Art Galleries
Most of the art galleries did not allow pictures, but there were a few that were okay with me bringing my camera out. I could have spent all day in the art district of Puerto Vallarta walking through their galleries. I loved all of the paintings, sculptures, and beaded art. So much color and unfiltered style. And honestly, most of the shops seemed like small art galleries. More about the Puerto Vallarta art galleries on the street art blog post.
Tell me some more ways to spend my money in Mexico!
In addition to the wonderful restaurants, shops, and countless street vendors, there are plenty of other ways to wish your pesos away. There are countless fun activities like whale watching tours, guided hikes, surfing lessons, etc. If you find yourself bored in Sayulita or Puerto Vallarta, you’re doing it wrong. I’m including more details about the whale watching, snorkeling, and hiking tours I took on those separate blog posts.
If you have more specific questions not addressed here, check out these Facebook groups that I found to be super helpful:
Sayulita-San Pancho – Everything You Need or Want to Know
Puerto Vallarta – Everything You need or Want to Know
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