We met our Vallarta Food Tours guide under the Sayulita sign on a bright morning, 35 minutes up the coast from Armony Marival, and within a few minutes we were sitting down to chilaquiles.
If you’re staying on the Riviera Nayarit coast and wondering whether a guided food tour beats wandering Sayulita on your own, here is how mine went, stop by stop, plus what I did once the food ended and the afternoon didn’t. I joined the tour as part of a hosted trip with the Nayarit tourism board. The opinions are mine.
Rather not read? Watch my food tour on my YouTube travel channel, All Aboard with Joe above.
Sayulita Food Tour Stops, in Order
The first stop was a family-owned restaurant, and the family owns the entire block it sits on. We ate chilaquiles, paired with green and red sauces. A great way to kick-off my first food tour in Sayulita.
Second came birria tacos with a margarita. Oddly enough, there wasn’t consomé, but what they did have was some delicious sauces. Spicy, but delicious!
The third stop was the one I’d send a friend to first. Tacos al pastor, shaved straight off the trompo, the vertical spit the pork roasts on. The technique traces back to Lebanese immigrants who brought shawarma to Mexico and swapped lamb for pork, and watching it carved to order makes that lineage easy to believe. It was my favorite stop of the day.
The last taco stop was a deep-fried mahi mahi taco from a woman who has run her stand for at least 20 years, possibly longer. You know it’s going to be good when there are locals sitting all around us enjoying their lunch. I was so stuffed at this point but couldn’t help but indulge just a bit more.
We finished with gelato at Buonissimo Gelato & Caffe. I ordered the Tortuga, and it was fire. Tortuga is Spanish for turtle. In the dessert world, that translates to chocolate, caramel, and pecans. On this day, tortuga gelato was vanilla, caramel and walnuts. Very tasty!
What We Did After the Tour
Four of us went to a Sayulita beach club afterward to have a few drinks and watch the surfers. The DJ was great, and it’s an easy place to settle in for an afternoon.
The downsides were real. Drink prices were inflated (250 pesos = $14USD for an Aperol Spritz), and vendors came to the table constantly to sell us things. The vibes held up anyway. If you go, ask for prices before the first round so the bill doesn’t make the decision for you. They did take major credit cards, so that’s a plus!
Who This Tour Suits
A guided tour makes sense if you’d rather taste five or six places in one morning with someone who knows the stands than stand on a corner cold, choosing between dozens of taco spots. I would love to say everyone would enjoy this type of tour, however, if you’re a picky eater than maybe stay away. I could see someone like my mom avoiding it feeling uneasy about what she was eating.
Eat first, with someone who knows where the long-running stands are. Then decide for yourself what a view and a DJ are worth. I would 100% do this tour again in the future.
Want to have a full day of activities in Sayulita? Click the ‘Find Things to Do’ button below to access a variety of fun things to do in Sayulita on your next visit!
