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Four Seasons Punta Mita Built Two Golf Courses Around a Pacific Surf Break, and the Surfers Won
On Mexico's Riviera Nayarit, Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita sits on a private peninsula best known not for its two Jack Nicklaus golf courses but for El Anclote, the beginner-friendly surf break at its edge.
Sep 26, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Punta Mita is a private, gated peninsula on Mexico's Riviera Nayarit, about 45 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta's airport by road. Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita has occupied a stretch of it since 1999, and its two Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses, including the Pacifico course with its natural island green, the Punta Bahia, reachable only by low tide or golf cart, are what the resort is best known for on paper. In practice, the peninsula's real draw sits just outside the gates.
El Anclote and the town beyond the gates
El Anclote, the beach and surf break just outside Punta Mita's guarded entrance, is a long, forgiving right-hand wave that has made the peninsula a genuine surf destination rather than a purely golf-and-spa one. The adjoining fishing village of the same name has grown around that reputation, with open-air seafood restaurants along the sand and boats that run out most mornings to the surf spots and snorkelling reefs off nearby Marietas Islands.
What sets the resort apart
The resort's rooms are arranged as low-rise casitas rather than a single tower, most with a private terrace and several with plunge pools, spread across landscaped grounds that keep sightlines to the Pacific and, on clear days, the Marietas Islands offshore. The Apuane spa draws on temazcal, a pre-Hispanic sweat-lodge ceremony still practised in parts of Mexico, alongside a more conventional treatment menu.
Beyond the peninsula
Sayulita, the surf town that put this stretch of coast on the map before Punta Mita's resorts arrived, is a short drive north and worth the detour for its markets and smaller, scrappier surf scene. Puerto Vallarta's Zona Romantica, with its malecon and older town centre, makes for a reasonable half-day trip in the other direction.
Traveller tips
- Puerto Vallarta's international airport is the nearest gateway, roughly 45 minutes by road depending on traffic through Bucerias.
- The dry season, from November to April, brings the most reliable sunshine; the wetter summer months bring short, heavy afternoon showers rather than washed-out days.
- Surf lessons and board rentals are widely available in the town of Punta de Mita just outside the resort gates, at a fraction of any in-resort rate.
- Confirm current entry requirements for Mexico directly with official sources before booking, as visa and tourist-card rules can change.
Where this is
Punta Mita, Nayarit, Mexico