Playa Carricitos
Best for. Walkers, surfers and anyone who wants an empty wild beach after a jungle hike, trading the crowds and vendors of Sayulita for open ocean, big sky and often not another soul in sight.
Best spot. The far end near the few back beach palms, where you get shade and a wide view of the empty sand, best reached in the cool of the morning and left before the midday heat.
Know this. This is an undeveloped beach with strong currents and powerful surf, and no facilities, shade or lifeguard. It is a beach to walk and to watch the waves, not a safe swimming beach. Bring everything and swim only with great care.
Sayulita itself has grown loud and busy, its little town beach packed with surf schools, vendors and umbrellas, so the reward of Playa Carricitos is that a short sweaty walk buys you the opposite. Head out of town to the south, up a steep dirt road through the jungle, and after twenty five to thirty minutes on foot the trees open onto a long wild strand where the Pacific rolls in hard and the sand often runs empty in both directions. There are no palapas, no music and no one selling anything, only a few palms at the back, the jungle behind and the open ocean in front. For a barefoot traveller this is the coast the way it was before the town filled up, and the walk is the gatekeeper that keeps it that way.
The pleasure here is pure and simple, space and wildness. You come over the last rise, drop down to the sand, and the beach is yours to walk, the waves crashing in sets and the light huge and clean off the water. Surfers hike in for the uncrowded waves, walkers come for the emptiness and the birdlife along the jungle edge, and the sunsets put on a show with nothing built to spoil them. Time it right, on a weekday morning, and you may have the whole beach to yourself, which is a rare thing this close to a town as popular as Sayulita.
The honest and non negotiable note is that Carricitos is wild in the full sense, and that includes the water. The surf is powerful and the currents can be strong, there is no lifeguard, no shade beyond a few back beach palms, no water and no facilities of any kind, and the walk in is steep and rough underfoot with construction along the way. This is a beach to walk, to surf if you know what you are doing, and to sit and watch the ocean, not a safe place for a casual swim or for young children in the water. Carry in everything you need, including plenty of water, wear real shoes for the trail, tell someone your plan, and leave the beach as empty and clean as you found it. Respect it, and Carricitos gives you the wildest, most honest sand near Sayulita.
No club, no vendors, just the wild
Carricitos has nothing built on it at all. The whole reason to make the walk is a beach with no service, no crowd and no scene.
There is no beach club at Carricitos, and there is nothing else either, no vendor, no palapa, no shade for hire and no water. That total absence of service is precisely why people walk in. This is a beach for self reliance and quiet, where you carry your own water, food, sun cover and a hat, sit under a back beach palm and let the empty sand and the surf be the entire experience. For a naturalist it is the pick of the Sayulita coast, wild and unpolished in a way the town beach long ago stopped being.
When you want a lounger, a cold drink and a meal by the water, Sayulita keeps all of that back in town along the main beach and at the calmer coves nearby, where surf schools, palapa restaurants and beach service line up together. Our Sayulita beach clubs guide is honest about which of those are worth your time and where a wild beach like Carricitos rewards the walk instead. Pair a dawn hike out here with a long lunch back in town, and let Carricitos stay the empty, untamed end of the trip.
On foot through the jungle
Playa Carricitos lies south of Sayulita and is reached only on foot. From the plaza you head west on Ninos Heroes, follow it to the end where it climbs steeply, then keep to the dirt road as it rises through the jungle, taking the left fork away from Playa Los Muertos and over one last steep climb before the beach opens below. It is roughly a twenty five to thirty minute walk each way, rough and potholed with construction in places, so it is a hike rather than a stroll. There is no road access, no parking on the sand and no taxi to the beach itself.
Come fully self sufficient, because there is nothing out here. Carry plenty of water, sun cover, a hat, snacks and anything else you need for the day, and wear real shoes for the trail rather than sandals. There is no lifeguard, no shade beyond a few palms and no phone signal to rely on, so tell someone your plan, keep well back from the powerful shore break, and treat the water with real caution. Go in the cool of the morning, carry out all your rubbish, and leave the beach exactly as wild as you found it.
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Carricitos is a wild beach with no service at all, but tell us your dates and party size and we will help arrange a lounger, a table or day access at a beach or club back in Sayulita. We reply by email.
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Common questions about Playa Carricitos
Where is Playa Carricitos near Sayulita?
Playa Carricitos is a wild beach south of Sayulita, reached only on foot. From the plaza you walk west on Ninos Heroes to the end, climb the steep dirt road through the jungle, take the left fork away from Playa Los Muertos, and over one last rise the beach opens below, roughly a twenty five to thirty minute walk each way.
How do you get to Playa Carricitos?
On foot through the jungle, there is no road to the sand. The trail from town is steep, rough and potholed with construction in places, so wear real shoes and allow twenty five to thirty minutes each way. There is no parking at the beach and no taxi to it, and the walk in is what keeps it so empty.
Can you swim at Playa Carricitos?
With great caution, and it is not a swimming beach for most. The surf is powerful and the currents can be strong, and there is no lifeguard, so it is best treated as a beach to walk, to surf if you are experienced, and to watch the waves. Keep children well back from the shore break and never swim alone here.
Are there facilities at Playa Carricitos?
None at all. There are no vendors, no restrooms, no beach bar, no water and no shade beyond a few palms at the back of the beach. You must carry in everything you need, including plenty of water and sun cover, and carry out all your rubbish, since nothing is provided and nothing is sold.
Is Playa Carricitos worth the walk?
If you want wildness and space, yes. It is one of the few beaches this close to Sayulita where you can find long empty sand, big surf and often not another person, especially on a weekday morning. If you want service, easy swimming or a short stroll, the town beach and the calmer coves suit you far better.
When is the best time to visit Playa Carricitos?
The dry season from November to April brings the most settled weather for the hike and the clearest light for the sunsets. Whatever the month, go in the cool of the morning to beat the heat on the exposed trail and beach, carry plenty of water, and leave before the midday sun since there is almost no shade.