How Much Does It Cost to Spend a Month In Mexico? (Sayulita Edition)
Welcome back to my regular monthly budget posts! This month, as you know, I lived in Sayulita, Mexico – a small yoga-and-surfing haven about 45 minutes from Puerto Vallarta. And, as you might have expected, it was delightfully affordable.
Here’s the breakdown of my budget from April 13 – May 12 (as usual, notes are below the table).
| Pesos | Dollars | |
| Spacious studio apartment, 10+ mins to beach | 9075.60 | $750 |
| Taxis + transport | 100 | $8.35 |
| Dog food and supplies | 581.43 | $48.27 |
| Coconut oil/sunglasses/other non-essential supplies | 327 | $27.28 |
| Groceries | 1272 | $106.20 |
| Eating out, coffee, & drinking | 3232 | $269.75 |
| Entertainment and sports | 200 | $16.70 |
| Misc. | 659.89 | $55.10 |
| ATM & exchange fees | 239.54 | $20 |
Total Pesos: 15,687.46 / Total Dollars: $1,301.65
NOTES:
At the time of this writing, $1 US is equal to 11.98 pesos. (The figures above reflect this exchange rate.)
Also at the time of this writing, a one-way flight from Denver to Puerto Vallarta costs around $200, the bus from Puerto Vallarta costs about $2, and a taxi from Puerto Vallarta to Sayulita (if you prefer) runs around 450 – 500 pesos (offer them 400 and insist and they’ll usually go down to 450, though they’ll start by saying 600) if you are willing to cross the pedestrian bridge over the highway beside the airport instead of nabbing a taxi directly outside the doors (those guys won’t negotiate).
As far as monthly rentals go, $750 is actually rather high for Sayulita and you can probably find lower-priced accomodation if you are willing to show up and find a place in person. I wanted to book ahead, so $750 it was. I only booked for one month, though, and so my second month will be only $450 (summer, already-in-town-and-able-to-haggle price).
Here is some more detailed pricing on common items I used: hiring a housecleaner costs about 50 pesos per hour (less than $5 per hour). Renting a single kayak for 1.5 hours is 100 pesos (less than $10). Sunglasses cost between 100 and 150 pesos (less than $15). A taxi to Playa Escondida from Sayulita is 80 pesos. And a visit to the vet to pick up monthly flea treatment, have Luna’s leg inspected (as it was red and welty), and get some prescription medicine for said leg (which turned out to be an easily treatable fungus that’s common in tropical climates) was 282 pesos (less than $25).
This month, I ate out much more than usual. That is one of the perks of Mexico (as compared to my usual haunts of Paris and Italy): eating out costs somewhere between $2 and $10 most of the time, so even if I ate out every day, I could still stay under my monthly budget.
As you are comparing my costs to your budget, keep in mind that, as usual, I’m working while I’m here. If you are on vacation, chances are you’ll spend a little more on things like stand-up paddle boarding lessons, yoga, etc. simply because you’ll have more free time.
For me, a lot of free time was spent either romping along the beach with Luna (free), going to friend’s houses (also free), sitting in my favorite coffee shop for hours on end (minimal cost), and just wandering around (free).
Finally, keep in mind that this budget does not include my time at Playa Escondida, the really lovely resort down the road. I flew in on April 10, spent three days at Playa Escondida and then moved into my studio in town on the 13th. This budget begins on the 13th.
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Comments
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Becky Moline
Hi Gigi,
Looking to retire in Mexico, been to South America, Ecuador and Chile. Ecuador very cheap how does this compare? Thank you for any input.
Becky
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Becky Moline
Thanks Gigi,
That’s kinda what I figured. We have been researching retirement abroad and spent 4 months in South America; however much further away from family and friends. We really want the coast so if you have any suggestions I would be happy to hear them. Thanks for your response!
Becky
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Jonathan Look, Jr.
Your estimates seems about right to me. I spent last year in Mexico, both on the beach and in the mountains of Chiapas, and are budgets are very similar. Never did I feel like I was sacrificing anything. Quite the contrary. An amazing, AMAZING adventure.
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David
Hi Gigi,
It’s nice to come across your blog since it helps a lot when I find myself making a plan and it happens to be in a place where you have been and also made comments. Thanks a lot.
I’m looking to move to Sayulita in a couple of months I thought about your blog to ask you some questions regarding accommodation. I have been contacting some places where to stay and the lowest one I have found so far (which I think it’s a good deal) doesn’t have an A/C and a kitchenette. I believe you stayed in Sayulita enough time to get the essentials of what could be important to consider when looking for accommodation. I was wondering if you could tell me how necessary can be to have a kitchenette in the room?? I would be saving off $500 of the rent that I would pay at places that have average rental rates with kitchenette and A/C. Would it be worth that saving that can go towards eat-out meals ?? Did you find the kitchenette very essential for the time you stayed there??
Also, how important is to have an A/C vs ceiling fan?? I’m thinking of booking the place for the whole month of August but not sure if the A/C also becomes a must-have when it comes to making this kind of decisions to move there due to the weather???
Any insights would be appreciated.
Cheers!
David
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Joe owens
Hi everyone. Happy holidays. My lady and I are preparing to retire in two years to Mexico. We are looking hard at three areas. Salulita, Puerto Escondido, or porto area south of Baja. We are not looking to party everyday, but we love the beach, deep sea fishing, good good, friendly neighbors etc. we are both retiring at 55. May or may not but a beach front condo, just looking at comparisons right now.
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Anne Lawless
Hi, Is there a website that specifically has monthly rentals in your price range of $750 a month, the only sites I see are daily rates.
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Jackie
Your article was such a great find!
How did you find a place to stay in Sayulita? I am looking online, but the prices for a month are a bit higher than $750. I am hoping to go in June.
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Ismael
Gigi, I had a question I live in central mexico already and I would love to move to sayulita ASAP but I would like to be able to work anywhere around the are my wife and I are Americans and we speak both spanish and English fluently, do you think it’s possibly to find a job in the area?
Neens
That’s less than what my mortgage has been here in the UK!
Hoping my costs will drop considerably once I start travelling around Europe with my dog Albie – we’ll be travelling by van, though. 🙂