1- 2 month stay in Saladita or Sayulita?

[linter]

  Was thinking about spending two months in Tamarindo this winter but am opening up to the possibility of Saladita or Sayulita.  Anyone know these two areas well enough to recommend one over the other?

  I'm looking for (relatively) inexpensive lodging ... easy-going (!!!) left-hand point break ... small waves ... lodging right on or vvvvery near the break, so I don't have to rent a car ... market within reasonable taxi distance ... nice people ... quieter pad the better ....  SUP-tolerating locals....

  Anyone have any thoughts and/or suggestions?  I hear that Saladita's left is like an inverse Malibu, which sounds great, but, again, I really don't know.

   Thanks!

[Tom]

Sayulita is a very user friendly righthand break that has every thing else you requested. Its a small town, lots of dining and rental options. I haven't been there for 5 years and I know its grown since, but is a very nice town. The surf get crowded and I' not sure about SUP.

[linter]

  If Sayulita is a right-hand break, then that counts it out for what I'm looking for.  Drat, because I think the range of things available there is much better Saladita.

  Anyone else want to weigh in, feel free.  As long as it meets my requirements (and is not hours away from an airport), I'm game to look anywhere!

[PabstSUP]

I was staying and surfing at my cousin's place about an hour north of Sayulita in December and stopped into town one afternoon.  It is a fun town with a laid back vibe.  The break in front of the village is a right, though I think there's also a left further down the beach.  There are plenty of SUPs in the water (overall it's pretty crowded) and rentals available (from huge boards to a 7'6" Naish Hokua I saw while walking down the beach).  I didn't surf that day due to the conditions and the fact that I got my fill surfing a great uncrowded left further north that is really only accessible by boat (or long paddle).  I actually rented an almost new 9' Starboard Converse for the week I was there from Pacific Paddle down in Bucerias. 

Not sure I would want to spend much time in Tamarindo.  I was there about 15 years ago and from what I heard when I was in CR in Novermber it's now hugely built up and really crowded.  If you're thinking of Costa Rica, I would look further south into Nosara and Santa Theresa/Mal Pais (where I stayed in Nov).  There's a really nice left in Mal Pais called Sunset Reef, though it's at the end of the road there and you would likely need a car.   

[PabstSUP]

Oh - and of course there's the amazing long left down in Pavones.  You should get in touch with Shawn PilonSUP to learn more about that area.  He's posted quite a bit on the zone.  Hope to get down there sometime in the future. 

[linter]

  Thanks for the info.  I'll look further into the breaks around Sayulita; I'm about to count it out, due to lack of an in-town left.
   I'm very much a dawn-patrol-type guy, when crowds are typically at a minimum.  Even in Tamarindo, the crowds weren't an issue -- at least at the times I was surfing.  I actually like the dirty funky aspect of T, and I have gotten to know a few people there.  It's just that I wouldn't mind a wave better suited to my needs.
   also, tamarindo is just as expensive as any Western town.  could not believe the price of chow!

[p06781]

Sayulita is nice but by far the best surfing is in punta Mita (15 miles away ) .  Way more choices to surf,  quieter,  lots of choices to rent.  La launcha is a really fun wave.  Too many people in the line up in sayulita.  IMHO,  going down in end of July. 

Btw,  A friend went to saladita and it was not sup friendly. 

Jim

[p06781]

In punta Mita,  La launcha has both left and rights.  Stinkys is a right,  anclohote is a right.  El faro is right,  the Cove by the 4 seasons is a left and right.  All usually have offshore winds. 

In sayulita the left is fun but needs some swell to be really good.  The right is crowded with really good locals,  and lots of tourists.  Winds are more often on shore and gets choppy I  the afternoons. 

Jim

[linter]

Great info.  Know of any places I could look into, that might rent to me for 2 months or so and not cost me arms and legs?

[Tom]

Linter,since you're comfortable with Mexico, you might want to check out the Cerritos / Todos  Santos area in southern Baja. I can't suggest any monthly rentals, but I know they do exist.  A car would probably be required.

[linter]

Hey, Tom: Never been to Mexico, so my comfort level, such as it is, is based on blissful ignorance.  Also, I don't want to have to rent a car.

  Now it looks like Saladita is out.  Someone who spends a lot of time there wrote me the following: "it is NOT a SUP friendly spot.  The situation at present, as set forth by the local guys, is that they are welcome in the water ONLY in the afternoons after the morning crowds have thinned out.  It is too crowded with beginners here to have them in the lineup and the local guys pretty much hate them, due to butt heads who have been here and pretty much not shown any respect.  There was a dude here a month ago who refused to get out of the water in the morning who got pretty badly beaten up by the local bad boys and his board taken away, sawed in half, and burned.  Normally these guys are mellow, surfer/fishermen types.  But they hate the SUPS.  The general vibe is nobody wants this to become like so many other places these days filled with them in the lineup.  I use mine for paddling only and if I ever do venture into a wave it is late in the afternoon when nobody is out.   So, if you are thinking to spend a couple months here SUPing the point.... not a good idea."

   damn, now where to look?   maybe p06781 will weigh in again about punta mita and suggest a place to stay within walking distance of one of the lefts there ....

[p06781]

Hey Linter, Yes there are plenty of places to rent in punta mita. There are lots of condos that canadians and usa people own that are not used in the summer. Check out vrbo or just google it . Fly into pvr and stop at the "mega" or costco and stock up on food and beer on the way over.  I usaully dont get a car and stay at this awesome hotel "la quinta del sol" that has beach access and in front of the break "stinkys". The owners are socal surfers and it is now managed by a super canadian couple " rami and larissa" .  There are bunch of us regulars that head down mulitple times a year.  It has a board storage room and safe n secure. There plenty of places to rent boards but if you want "higher performance" then plan ahead. I rent from coral reef surf shop in bucerias and get one of his "joe blairs" . The owner is a old socal to hawaii to mexico married a local and never left guy. He really knows the scoop on everything and supports the locals surf team .  There is also a "starboard" dealer in pvr that rents.  You can take the bus from the airport to mita for 30 pesos . 

My friend said the exact thing about saladita that you heard , only in the afternoons when the wind is up and it sucks . Lucky he is a great proner too but spent the $ to bring his sup board.

The breaks around mita are sup freindly using common sense and sharing waves using the "rules" .  La launcha has private beach access that opens at 7am and is 2 miles from mita. cab or car required. Guard at gate will only let you thru if you have surf equipment. Too much beach theft in the past.   You can dawn patrol and paddle down from the the hotel in 20-30 minutes earlier :-) , This is what i usaully do if I cant get a free ride from the hotel managers that surf. It can be crowded on weekends with locals . This place goes off even when others have nothing. 

Mita is a active fishing village and you can hire "panga boats" to take you to the breaks . This how the people from the 4 seasons/st regis usaully get to la launcha.  However the point is where the 4 seasons is has the "cove" which is supposed to be an awesome wave. I have not surfed it but the hotel owners always surf this wave .  Again you can on sup get there in a 30 minute paddle passing a fun right called " el faro" . It does have alot of sea urchins so dont touch the bottom or wear booties. Mita used be on the point until $$$ bought the land and moved the whole town .

I will be down july 29 to august 6th for my birthday . 

If you rent from coral reef or use the la quinta hotel make sure you say Jim from oregon sent you . Helps me score points and deals ....