Travel Guide: Punta De Mita

My husband and I recently took a trip to Punta De Mita in Mexico to celebrate our one year anniversary. It was the most perfect romantic getaway we've ever taken. Even better than our honeymoon!

Since Punta De Mita is a 45 minute drive away from the larger city of Puerto Vallarta, the vibe of the place was exactly what we were looking for - low key, private, and more on the luxe side. We spent our week there lounging on the beach, enjoying fresh flavorful food, and exploring the land and sea. If you're looking for a relaxing vacation I highly recommend checking this place out!

WHERE TO STAY

We stayed at the W Punta De Mita and this was the no. 1 reason why we enjoyed the trip so much. For the first time ever, I sincerely thought 'wow, this hotel just gets me.' The grounds and rooms are designed to perfection - each room feels private, the design blends understated luxury with splashes of local color, and every inch of the place is photo worthy. The crowd skews a bit younger here, most guests were about our age with a few families. This was a plus for us. And the staff was beyond friendly and accommodating. One day on the weekend, the pool and beach area was packed, we couldn't find two open seats next to each other. However, the staff found lounge chairs, an umbrella, and a table for us and set it all up in the area we wanted. The only negative is how expensive the hotel taxis are (and no, you can't use an outside taxi to leave the hotel). The cheapest ride we had was $35 to take us to dinner at a spot 15 minutes away.

WHAT TO DO

The most obvious thing to do in Punta De Mita is lay on the beach, get some sun, and sip a cerveza. Which is pretty much what we did for the first two days. 
For some light adventure, here are other things to try:

DAY TRIP TO SAYULITA

A nearby surfing village with tons of cute shops and restaurants.

GO ON A BOAT TOUR

The tour everyone talks about goes to the Marietta's Islands. I was dying to do this because of all the breathtaking images I saw on the internet of the islands. However, the majority of the boats offering this tour were small panga boats and I don't do well on small boats in the ocean. It's not a sea sickness thing, it's more of a paralyzing fear of being on a tiny boat in the vast ocean thing. Instead, we did a day cruise with Alley Cat Sailing on a 60 ft catamaran, which I was totally comfortable on. The cruise took us to the bay to see whales. It was just about the end of the mating/birthing season when we went, so we were able to see the mama whales teaching their newborn babies survival tips. The captain of the boat took us really close to the whales too, like I thought the mama whales would get annoyed with us but I guess they are used to it? Then we dropped anchor near a secluded beach and they put out all the fun water toys - a slide, a diving board, some lily pads, and paddle boards. Oh, the cruise was all inclusive too, so we all got TIPSY!

RELAX AT THE SPA

It wouldn't be a relaxing vacation without a trip to the spa! The Away Spa at the W Punta De Mita is like no other. The spa is situated in the jungle area of the property, so you are surrounded by lush trees making the place feel like a sanctuary. The outdoor lounge space has several pool areas - some warm, some freezing cold - that you can soak in before or after your treatment. Our massages were pricey, but we thought the whole experience was totally worth it.

WHERE TO EAT

We had two amazing dinner experiences in Punta De Mita:

For our anniversary dinner, we went to Tuna Blanca. Our table was right on the beach where we could watch the sunset, sooo romantic. We ordered from their tasting menu so we could try a little bit of everything. Our favorites were the suckling pic tacos, the pumpkin soup, and omg the bread was so freaking good. Overall a great spot for the atmosphere and fresh seafood.

The other really great place we ate at was the Spice Market. The food here is asian inspired small plates. We ordered 5 plates and everything was so good, I could slap myself. The tuna tartare was our favorite, we both almost licked the bowl. The pork belly bao buns were also delicious. We both wanted to go back for dinner again before we left but we couldn't fit it into our schedule.