so truth time: the last time i went on a beach vacation was probably when i was in my early 20s, and it was probably to someplace like myrtle beach, the jersey shore, or miami. i’m just not a beach person—even though i went to shore being from philly but to sit on sand all day and work on my tan (ha!) didn’t seem all that appealing. city vacations are more my jam, where there could be a beach (like my trips to santa barbara or carmel), but that’s not the main draw.
back in april, i decided to take a solo vacation. with so much going on in my world, taking a breather was exactly what i needed to prepare myself mentally and physically for the rest of the year. so when i started researching where to go, a few names kept coming up—miami (been there, done that), charleston, san diego, malibu/venice, italy, and mexico. after doing a bit more investigating and talking to a few friends, sayulita won because it was walkable, cheap, and warm.
and win i did. sayulita is such a beautiful town with lovely people from all walks of life. and if you live on the west coast (especially california), it’s really easy to get to (a 3 hour flight). it’s very walkable with lots of hotels, rentals and hostels in and around downtown, and a solo traveller, i felt very safe even at night.
there’s lots to do no matter if you are into art, shopping, music, food, or adventure. i mixed a bit of everything into my trip: taking a catamaran out to the marietas islands to do some paddleboarding and snorkeling (and dolphin spotting) and trying my hand at surfing; checking out lots of local shops and galleries, eating lots & lots of yummy food, doing some morning yoga in the rooftop studio in my hotel, and just lounging on the beach with a good book or taking a dip in the crystal blue waters.
all in all, traveling alone to somewhere i had never been was amazing, and i’m already plotting my next solo trip, this time looking into europe. as i look at this photos sitting in foggy san francisco, it’s making me missing the sun and sand. if you’re in the states, have a lovely holiday weekend and hopefully yours involves a bit of warm weather…
loft poncho, j.crew swimsuit (sold out; bikini separates still available) / bikyni crop top, gap shorts, mango sandals, super sunglasses / rag and bone boyfriend shorts, gap tote / isabel marant top (similar here and here), gap shorts, river island gladiators (old, similar), silence and noise bag
where i stayed: hotelito los suenos, just north of the town center and 2 blocks from the beach
where i ate: ino (italian), tacos ivan (literally carving meat for the tacos right on the street), palmar trapiche (tropical beer garden with great food), sayulita espresso cafe (so many yummy smoothies!), la rustica (right on the main street so amazing people watching plus delicious woodfire pizzas), don pedro’s for oceanfront dining and live salsa music on monday’s
where i shopped: sayulita sol, a great jewelry shop owned by a fellow philadelphian; evoke the spirit, buddha for eclectic print dresses and lovely spa treatments, pacha mama
what i did: ally cat sailing cruise, surf lesson at sayulita surf school
