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La Cruz de Huanacaxtle · Riviera Nayarit
Everyone here just calls it La Cruz. It is a small fishing village on the north shore of the bay, between Bucerías and Punta Mita, with a large modern marina at the edge of town and one of the best Sunday markets anywhere on Banderas Bay. The first thing we ask anyone looking here is whether they plan to come for the winter or live here year round.
The neighborhood
La Cruz is truly a small fishing village, and that is a big part of its charm. The pangas still go out in the morning and come back to the harbor, the fish is sold at the Mercado del Mar right on the water, and the town itself is a handful of streets running down to the bay.
The marina changed La Cruz without taking that away. It brought sailboats and yachts, cruisers who spend the winter tied up here, and a run of good restaurants around the harbor, and on Sundays in season the whole breakwater fills with market stalls.
Bucerías is a short drive one way and Punta Mita a short drive the other, which puts La Cruz in the middle of the north shore. Like Bucerías and Nuevo Nayarit, it is in the state of Nayarit rather than Jalisco.
Living here
The town you fall in love with during winter can feel very different in summer, when many seasonal residents leave and businesses close for the season. These are the things we make sure every buyer understands before they choose La Cruz.
We always ask this first. La Cruz in January is busy, social and full of life. La Cruz in August is a quiet village. Both are lovely, but they suit different people.
One of our favorite things about La Cruz, and we think one of the best markets on the bay, especially for the food. It runs from November through April, which tells you a lot about how the town follows the seasons.
For a full supermarket trip you will be heading to Bucerías or Nuevo Nayarit, by car, taxi or Uber. You are not going to walk down the street to a large grocery store, so factor that into your everyday routine.
La Cruz has a permanent local community, but in a town this small seasonal closures make a noticeable difference. If you are thinking about a full-time home, spend time here in summer too.
The question we get most
Buyers looking at the north shore usually narrow it down to these two towns, and they are only a few minutes apart, so it is a fair question. Bucerías has more shopping, dining and activity available throughout the year. La Cruz is smaller and quieter, and it has a stronger sense of being a village.
If you love a quiet fishing village lifestyle, La Cruz could be a wonderful fit. If you want more everyday convenience and activity year round, Bucerías may suit you better. And because they are so close, a lot of people who live in one spend plenty of evenings in the other.
Our advice is the same every time. Spend time in La Cruz during the summer as well as the winter, especially if you are considering it as a full-time home, and then decide. And before you settle on either town, look at Punta Esmeralda, which sits right between them.
Our first recommendation
When buyers ask us to choose between La Cruz and Bucerías, we usually send them to look at Punta Esmeralda first. It is a gated community at the northern tip of Bucerías, right where it meets La Cruz, and we both think it is the best place to live on this stretch of the bay.
We love it because it is close enough to Bucerías to enjoy everything the town has, yet far enough from the hustle and bustle that it stays peaceful. The views are some of the best in the bay. From here you look across the entire bay, all the way down past Puerto Vallarta to the mountains on the far side.
It is very well maintained, and it is a mix of very large villas and very large condominiums. Most of the villas have their own pool, and there are two more pools in the community. There is a beautiful spa, a really nice fitness center, tennis courts and a very good restaurant on site. It is gated with security around the clock, and you can walk right out into the bay and gather your own oysters.
It has everything someone on vacation would want, and everything someone who wants to retire here would want too. That combination is hard to find, and it is why it is the first place we show people who are deciding between La Cruz and Bucerías.
Walk through it with us
Our stake in it
We have sold both a condo and a villa in Punta Esmeralda, so when we talk about it we are talking about homes we have walked through, negotiated and closed. We do not hold a listing in La Cruz or Punta Esmeralda at this moment. That changes, and in the meantime we have full MLS access across Banderas Bay, so anything listed here is something we can show you and write an offer on.
What we bring to a La Cruz purchase is the honest conversation above. We would much rather spend an hour talking through how you will actually live here, in February and in August, than sell you a home in a town that turns out to be the wrong fit.
On the ground
Before you buy
No. La Cruz de Huanacaxtle is in the state of Nayarit, in the municipality of Bahía de Banderas, the same one as Bucerías and Nuevo Nayarit. Puerto Vallarta is across the state line in Jalisco. The paperwork goes through the Nayarit registry, which we handle, and it changes nothing about how a foreign buyer holds title.
It depends on whether you will be here for the winter or live here year round, and that is the first thing we ask. If you love a quiet fishing village lifestyle, La Cruz could be a wonderful fit. If you want more everyday convenience and activity all year, Bucerías may suit you better. The two towns are close enough that plenty of people live in one and spend their evenings in the other.
A gated community at the northern tip of Bucerías, right where it meets La Cruz, and the first place we send buyers who are deciding between the two towns. It is a mix of very large villas and very large condominiums, with a spa, a fitness center, tennis courts, pools, a restaurant and security around the clock. Condominiums start around 600,000 US dollars and villas run past 2 million. We have sold both a condo and a villa there.
Sundays at the marina, from November through April. We think it is one of the best markets on the entire bay, especially for the food, and the waterfront setting and live music make a whole morning of it. It does not run in the summer months.
For a full supermarket trip you will be heading to Bucerías or Nuevo Nayarit. La Cruz has small local shops, but you are not going to walk down the street to a large grocery store, so plan on driving or taking a taxi or Uber for the weekly shop.
Much quieter. La Cruz has a permanent local community, but many seasonal residents leave and a number of businesses close for the season, and in a town this small you notice it. Our advice to anyone thinking about a full-time home here is to spend some time in La Cruz in summer before you buy.
Most people who live here full time have one. The village itself is easy to walk, and the marina, the restaurants and the market are all close together. Groceries, doctors and most errands mean a short drive to Bucerías or Nuevo Nayarit, and taxis and Uber cover it if you would rather not drive.
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
Whether you want a place in La Cruz, a different part of the bay, or just to understand how buying here works, the first conversation is free and in whichever language you prefer.