San Blas (Mexico)

San Blas is a city and port of about 10,000 people (2010) facing the Pacific Ocean in Nayarit state of Mexico. It is a relaxed beachside town, complete with a lively village plaza, historical attractions, and jungles and swamps full of wildlife for the nature lovers in the family. The town is one of Mexico's designated Pueblos Mágicos.

Understand
During Mexico's colonial era, San Blas was established as a port city with connections to the Spanish Empire's Asian outposts via Manila. During this era, Acapulco was the primary commercial port while San Blas took on the role of primarily serving the Spanish armada as a military base and a shipyard for repairing naval vessels. (The town still has a naval base, and visitors may sometimes see patrol boats going in and out of the harbor.)

At one point San Blas was earmarked for tourism development. The town (and beach) are plagued by small biting no see-ums, and as a consequence no mass-scale tourism happened.

Get in
It is about 160 km (99 mi) north of Puerto Vallarta, and 64 km (40 mi) west of the state capital Tepic, and three hours drive from Guadalajara.

Small bus station beside the Plaza. You are able to catch buses direct from Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta. It is easiest to transfer buses in Tepic.

Buses from Tepic run hourly.

Get around


San Blas is a small town and you can get to the beach and most restaurants and bars by foot.

You can catch local buses to towns along southern Nayarit's Pacific Coast, some going as far as Puerto Vallarta.

From the Muelle, ferries go to Islas Marias, a former penal colony turned offbeat weekend destination. Ferry info and reservations can be made on the official Islas Marias website.

Do

 * Surfing. You are able to hire surfboards on the street running between the plaza and the beach, and also from beachside restaurants. San Blas has some of the best surfing conditions in Mexico with a number of challenging surfer beaches close to town.
 * Matanchen Bay offers legendary breaks. In fact, many surfing enthusiasts consider this area to have the world’s longest most rideable waves (allegedly riding a mile on one wave)!
 * Stoners, which gets its name from surfers who spent more time on the beach smoking weed than out on their boards riding the waves, is on the outer point of Matenchen Bay and offers high quality waves that break frequently.
 * Lolas is slightly remote but can be reached by panga from the San Blas waterfront. Because its remote, the beach is mercifully crowd-free with the only people there likely to be fellow surfers. Lolas offers reliably good surfing conditions, and is known for some of the best barrel surfing in San Blas.


 * Chill out on the beach. There are many palapa restaurants and bars where you can sit in the shade, buy meals, and enjoy a cool beer or a frosty margarita. San Blas is blessed with several beautiful beaches. More distant beaches include Playa los Cocos, Playa las Islitas, and Bahia de Matanchén (which has a malecon and a muelle). Beaches in town include:


 * Relax in the plaza, there are many stalls to browse and cafes, restaurants, and liquor shops in the surrounding streets.
 * Jungle boat tour of the mangrove swamps in the Tovara reserve.
 * Birdwatching. * The area has an abundance of migratory birds in the surrounding estuaries and lowland palm forests, attracting significant numbers of birders. The Audubon Christmas Bird Count regularly finds well over 200 species in San Blas, with a record 292 species in 1983.



Buy
There are many stall on the plaza selling Mexican crafts: hammocks, jewelry, carved wooden animals, decorated ceramic plates, artwork, etc.

Eat








Sleep









 * Restaurant Mar y Sol have cabinas for rent right on the beach. Negotiate a weekly rate.
 * Playa Isletas has cabinas for rent on the beach.
 * Stoners Surf Camp - also on the beach.

Connect
Cell coverage is good in town and along the highway connecting beach towns in southern Nayarit. Mostly 4G service. Most hotels and restaurants have internet available with free WiFi.

Go next

 * Islas Marietas
 * Tepic
 * Chacala
 * Sayulita