Mexico’s State of Nayarit heads into 2027 with new luxury resorts on the coast, a modernized international airport in the state capital of Tepic and a year of surfing, cycling, Pride and cultural events, giving travel advisors material for longer trips that reach well past the Riviera Nayarit resorts the Mexican Pacific state has long been associated with internationally.
Nayarit Takes the Stage
One of the largest changes is in Tepic, where the modernization of Tepic-Riviera Nayarit International Airport (TPQ) is creating another international gateway to the region. The work includes a new passenger terminal, an expanded runway and apron and an air traffic control tower of approximately 141 feet. Los Angeles, Houston, Calgary and Vancouver are among the cities now linked to TPQ by international routes and landing in the capital puts visitors closer to the state’s inland towns. That lets an itinerary begin with Tepic, mountain scenery, colonial towns, coffee-growing areas and San Blas, a historic port, before continuing to Riviera Nayarit.
The coast’s luxury growth, which recently brought Rosewood Mandarina and Siari, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, continues with several resorts expected to debut in 2027:
- Omni Pontoque Resort at Punta de Mita, scheduled for spring 2027 as the first luxury resort in Mexico from Omni Hotels & Resorts, with 202 guestrooms plus junior suites, suites, four-bedroom villas, pools and a spa of approximately 11,000 sq. ft. on 50 oceanfront acres.
- Montage Punta Mita, planned for 2027 within the Punta Mita community, with 145 guestrooms, 62 Montage Residences, several culinary concepts, pools and a signature spa.
- Milaroca, A Belmond Hotel, Riviera Nayarit, is anticipated to open farther north on a 105-acre beachfront estate with 57 guest pavilions and 27 private villas, along with an organic farm, a wellness center, dining venues and pools.
Families and multigenerational groups have a different option at VidantaWorld in Nuevo Nayarit, where BON Luxury Theme Park combines attractions and immersive entertainment with restaurants, elaborate landscaping and resort amenities. As part of the larger VidantaWorld complex, the park pairs with resort stays and dining, leaving other days for surf lessons in Sayulita, the San Blas mangroves or the state’s inland towns.
Nuevo Nayarit hosts the RBC GranFondo Riviera Nayarit cycling race weekend on April 17, 2027, part of a sports tourism effort that also includes golf, sailing, running, paragliding and surfing. Sayulita, which received Surf City recognition in late 2026, will mark its first full year with the designation in 2027, while San Pancho and Punta de Mita offer other breaks nearby. Sayulita Pride brings a march, performances, educational and cultural programming and community events, with 2027 dates expected closer to the event.
Away from the coast, Nayarit has nine Pueblos Magicos, a designation Mexico’s tourism authorities give communities for attributes including history, traditions, architecture and culture. Clients can meet coffee producers in the hills around Compostela, sample traditional sweets, regional spirits and unusually large ears of corn in Jala below the Ceboruco volcano, and visit Mexcaltitan, a small island community surrounded by wetlands. The Wixarika people, known for beadwork and yarn art carrying symbolism tied to their worldview, host visitors through community-based tourism programs built around art, storytelling, gastronomy and traditions. Food shifts with the route, from pescado zarandeado, shrimp, oysters and ceviches along the coast to markets and traditional cooks in Tepic.
Offshore, the Islas Marias, reached by boat, housed a federal penal colony established in 1905 and are now an environmental, historical and cultural tourism destination within the Islas Marias Biosphere Reserve, part of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
Why It Matters
A Global Rescue traveler survey released earlier this year found that 52 percent of respondents prefer lesser-known international destinations with fewer crowds, compared with 12 percent who favor established tourism hubs. Virtuoso’s 2027 Luxe Report adds that social media can quickly turn little-known places into crowded must-sees and names privacy as one of the experiences shaping high-end travel. Nayarit lets advisors answer both requests in one booking: pair a stay at one of the 2027 openings at Punta de Mita or Milaroca with time in Compostela’s coffee country, Jala, Mexcaltitan or the Islas Marias, and route clients through Tepic to put the inland towns within easier reach.
For more information, visit visitnayarit.travel.
