(This picture taken at our hotel, the W Punta de Mita)
I cannot tell you how excited I was a year ago to get an invitation to our friends wedding in Mexico! During the heat of COVID, Gil and I both found it so exciting to have something like this to look forward to after we could travel again. After having our own destination wedding during COVID (we got married in Key West in September!), we are both huge proponents of having your friends travel to somewhere special to you and were thrilled that Allie and Rawley chose Punta Mita, Mexico. Plus, what better excuse to plan an amazing trip than celebrating your friends?!
About Punta Mita
When you think of Mexico, you most likely think of Cabo, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, or even Tulum. I had never heard of Punta Mita, Mexico before receiving the invitation to this wedding and most people I talked to before hadn’t either! Allie (the bride) and her family have traveled to Punta Mita for years, hence why she chose it for their wedding, and now I totally see why! It was absolutely stunning. The mountainous terrain was something I did not expect by the ocean. Think California coast, but on another level. To get to Punta Mita, we flew into the Puerto Vallarta airport and had arranged transportation for about 6 of us to get to our hotel. The driver greeted us with Coronas as soon as we found him!
Where we stayed
The wedding took place at the W Punta de Mita hotel. You are probably familiar with the W Hotels, since they have them in almost every major US city, as I was, but I was pleasantly surprised with the unique-ness of the resort. It was nice and comfortable, but totally had the authentic Mexico vibe which was amazing. Upon arriving to the front of the resort in a golf cart and greeted with fresh margaritas, I was completely taken away by the lobby! I mean, these photos speak for themselves.
I know a lot of people get nervous traveling out of the country right now with all of the COVID testing and possibility of having to quarantine (rightfully so) but no one on our trip had any issues at all. We had to test negative to come back to the US but did not have to have a test going to Mexico. As soon as we got to the resort, we went ahead and scheduled our COVID tests for the morning of our departure day, which I would definitely recommend. Luckily, the W Punta de Mita had COVID tests available, but the slots filled up fast and just trust me, you wouldn’t want to rely on getting your negative test at the airport trying to make your flight and come home. The Puerto Vallarta airport was pretty chaotic arriving with really long lines that no one knew what we were even in line for. The only other impact of COVID on our trip was having to keep up with (what seemed like) a million extra papers to get in/out of the country, so my advice would be to bring a folder for your passport and all the important documents you will receive.
Now let’s talk about…food!
I’m such a foodie and love trying the best local food when I travel! I have no idea how I went through my life being so picky, but ever since I studied abroad in Argentina, I thoroughly enjoy tasting all the authentic food in different cultures.
Although my favorite food while in Punta Mita was the street tacos in Sayulita (more on that later), we ate at some AMAZING restaurants I would highly recommend.
On Thursday night, we took a cab from our resort to town and ended up eating at a restaurant called Tuna Blanca. I got the Grilled Beef Medallions pictured below on the right and it did not disappoint. Friday night, Gil and I had a little date at the bar of a restaurant called Si Senor, also in town. We enjoyed some tacos, tamales, and of course the best margaritas!
Saturday was the wedding, so we had a delicious Mexican meal at the reception, but I have to mention the other restaurants recommended by Allie and Rawley because I would love to try them all if we had had more time!
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La Pescadora (Blue Shrimp)
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Punta Mercedes
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Lobster Paradise
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Hector’s Kitchen
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Casa Teresa
Note: All of these restaurants are located on the strip in the town of Punta Mita (so have to leave your resort) but the strip is along the ocean so each of these restaurants have the most gorgeous oceanview! I would have loved to stroll down the strip before/after dinner and get drinks and some of these different places enjoying the view 🙂
(You can see the ocean view I’m talking about in my YouTube video here)
What to do in Punta Mita
The first full day we had in Punta Mita, Gil and all the guys went to play golf at this course so I went with my friend Claire and some girls on a catamaran they rented for the afternoon. Oh my gosh. SO MUCH FUN! We had the whole boat to ourselves with a full bar, fresh ceviche served for lunch, and a DJ on board. I’m convinced the staff on that boat have the chillest jobs in the entire world. We rode out and stopped in a certain place in the ocean, where we took out paddle boards, kayaks, and jumped off the top deck of the boat. Although the golf course by the ocean looked pretty sweet, I’m convinced the guys missed the best part of the trip! In my next life, you can catch me being the lunch serving lady working on a catamaran in Mexico.
One free afternoon we had, we took a car from the resort to Sayulita, an adorable little town in Mexico nearby. It is the cutest surf town on the beach full of local artists and street vendors. My recommendations – definitely buy a mango on a stick from a cart on the beach (SO yummy) and for the best food you’ll eat in Mexico, find a guy making tacos literally on the street. I have no words for how good they were but Gil and I are still talking about those tacos today haha. If we had more time there, I was dying to take a surf lesson! That has been on this Mississippi girl’s bucket list for awhile and this place would’ve been perfect. Next time!!
Good for honeymoon or bachelorette?
I have received some questions on whether Punta Mita would be a good destination for a honeymoon or bachelorette trip and my answer is YES! After the wedding, Rawley and Allie spent a few nights at the Four Seasons in Punta Mita and it looked amazing. We also happened to have some friends of ours, Ben and Caroline Jackson, who got married last month and honeymooned at the St. Regis in Punta Mita right after we left! They said nothing but amazing things about that as well. So if you are thinking of planning a honeymoon in Punta Mita, definitely check out the Four Seasons and St. Regis.
As far as a bachelorette trip, I would recommend renting an airbnb by the beach to house all the girls. All of these resorts/hotels are amazing, but for planning a bach trip, I would want to all stay together and have a big house to do things in. I have a friend who rented this airbnb and just go watch her YouTube video and tell me that doesn’t look like an absolute blast!
Now onto outfits!
Shopping for a tropical vacation like Mexico is always so fun to me! Not many times do you get to wear “resortwear” unless you live in Florida, so ya gotta take advantage when planning a summer trip like this! Click any photo below to shop the item I’m wearing. I’ve also linked the items I brought but didn’t take photos in below!
Scroll through the pictures below to shop the items I took to Mexico!
For more details on Punta Mita and a look at where we stayed, watch my travel vlog below! I would love if you subscribed to my channel to be in the know when new travel vlogs go up.
Overall, I cannot recommend traveling to Punta Mita enough and hope to be back someday! Reach out to me on IG here and shoot me a DM anytime if you are planning a trip there and have any questions. I’d love to help!!
Until next time!
xo,
McKenzie
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