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The girlfriend and I are thinking about a surfing holiday in Mexico in November. As I am the skier in this relationship and not the surfer, is this a good time to go, where is nice yet not stupidly priced and does anyone have any other suggestions for locations?
November is actually a perfect time to go. The tourist season down there doesn't really pick up until Thanksgiving or after. But the weather gets good in Oct/Nov.
As for surfing spots. If your looking for novice stuff, I highly recommend Sayulita. Great beginner waves. Plus there's a ton of good shit (more advanced stuff) in close proximity...or so I've heard.
Thanks arty! Just the answer I was hoping for. Any ideas on places to stay? Preferably near or on the beach.
I spent five weeks in Sayulita in Nov/Dec (where I first met Arty... wearing a TGR shirt and totally smashed...) and I can recommend it for a good time. Places to stay... well, what's your budget? That's the shoulder season (at least until mid/late Nov) so you might be able to rent a one bedroom house or so for pretty cheap. Villa Amor is the spendiest place there, right on the beach (I lucked out and stayed there for three weeks in one of the deluxe suites ($300 a night)... for free) and on the other end of the spectrum is Camarones campground, sites from about $2 a day, also right on the beach. Plenty of other little places around. It's a small town so even if you're in "downtown" you're still only a 2 minute walk to the beach.
www.sayulita.com
if you're interested in renting a nice 1br house (http://www.move2sayulita.com/propert...ana/solana.htm) I can recommend this one. It belongs to a friend of mine. It's a 5 minute walk out of town on the way to Playa de los Muertos and Playa Caracitas (the sunset beach). Nice place, away from the noise of the zocalo but still an easy stumble home. She or her parents may or may not be there at that time... but hey, it's worth a shot.
be warned that if you're looking for an undiscovered place, Sayulita is not what you're looking for. Prepare to meet a shit-ton of WA/OR/BC folks. I ran into a bunch of ski folks I knew from Whistler, Baker, and Hood. It's a pretty popular spot for the Whistler rad boy crew to hang during the mud season too...
For surf gear go to Sininen surf shop, right across from Don Pedro's. Eira Carranza is a Finnish woman that has lived in MX with her husband (forgot his name) for a long time and their son Kalle is the new Mex. surf champ ( and a very cool kid). Tigre restaurant is the kickass seafood restaurant behind Chocobanana, and Diego and Tigre Cadena (two of the owner's sons) are some of the baddest assest surfers there. Tigre was Nat. champ last year. Surfboard repairs go to Jose "shoh-lewin" who lives under Tigre restaurant. The red chair taco stand by the Y in the road north of the zocalo has the best tacos (6 pesos), but the gringas (10 pesos) at Cesar's place (white booth outside of Chocobanana) are pretty much the shit. Eat shrimp and fish tacos at Miguel's place across from Sayulita Properties and Sininen. The Pollo Asada lady (one block up from Don Pedros) is open on weekends and has a kickass dead bird with all the trimmings for about 40 or 50 pesos.
hop pretty much covered it. The couple who run Sininen took really good care of me. I bought a couple of rash guards (had one disappear) and rented a board from them for two weeks for a good deal. They'll even let you swap boards too.
Tigre's tent on the beach in front of Sininen is a great place for lessons too.
And just to add another real estate option (and plug my buddy), talk to Damien at Don Pedros. www.donpedros.com He's terrible about answering email, so don't take it personally. ;) Also he's leaving for the summer in a few weeks. It's ridiculously hot down there in July, August, and September. Should be back after that.
Hop,
You da mang! thanks to both you and Arty. Hop, do your freinds in Sayulita know you as Hop? Also, although I am heavly leaning towards here, is there something that is a little more out of the way and still this accessible to the beaches/surf?
Thanks again!
they'd know me as "Adam, the long-haired guy from Mt. Baker that was there in Nov/Dec". The Casa Solana friend lives in Portland and knows me well... we worked together all last summer.
I know next to nothing about anywhere else, as (contrary to initial plans) I didn't leave Sayulita once I got there except to fly home. I never went, but Ticla is a few hours south of PV and has a much more remote feel, but consequently less opportunity for rentals, etc. in addition to more serious waves. There are other places all along the Pacific coast... the Lonely Planet Pacific Coast of Mexico guide has a section on surfing... good info there.
Thank you both again for your sage advice! The good news is the girlfriend thinks it is perfect (insert whipping sounds here). There is a change however. Now we have to go mid October. How does this compare/change things?
Thanks again
Sayulita in Oct: temps and humidity way up, crowds way down. That's the tail end of the rainy season.
I don't know if you were thinking of using my Casa Solana reference or not but if you were, be aware that the family that owns the house recently lost someone and they might not be in a position to discuss such things right now. :(