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By: Donna HeiderstadtTaste Tequila in Riviera Nayarit
Home to the golden Pacific shores of the resort area collectively known as Riviera Nayarit, Mexico’s Jalisco state is also the birthplace of tequila. A honeymoon along this 200-mile stretch of palm-fringed coastline can be spent lounging poolside at a luxury resort in Punta Mita or Nuevo Vallarta or riding waves in a vibrant surf town such as Sayulita. There are also six golf courses and plenty of tennis courts for newlyweds who’d like a friendly one-on-one match before toasting the sunset with icy margaritas.
Photo courtesy of Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit
Where to Taste: On The Ultimate Tequila Tour (available at the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, where the bars stock 120 different tequilas), you’ll fly via helicopter to the José Cuervo distillery in the town of Tequila for a private tour and tasting, all the while learning about how the blue agave plant became Mexico’s most famous export. The Tequila Bar at the St. Regis Punta Mita is a welcoming spot to experience an exclusive tasting of aged tequilas — and try a Mita Mary, the resort’s Mexican-flavored (with tequila, of course) nod to the Bloody Mary — which was invented at the St. Regis in New York. The tequilas and tequila cocktails are just as plentiful at all-inclusive Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit, where the menu at Mexican restaurant Frida also includes dishes flavored with tequila and agave (sugar sap tapped from a succulent of the same name).
Photo courtesy of Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau
Other Adventures: Continue your spirit-centric trance with a Tequila Spa Experience — exfoliation, body wrap in agave azul (from which the finest tequilas are made), a tequila-scented body mask and more — in the couple’s suite at the Remède Spa at the St. Regis Punta Mita Resort. Drive up the coast to Sayulita for a day of casual surf-inspired fun, shopping and a tasty lunch of fish tacos. You’ll also want to head south to legendary Puerto Vallarta to sample one of the city’s top culinary experiences at Trio or Hacienda San Angel Gourmet.
Where to Stay: The Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita features sophisticated, Mexican-style casita rooms and suites, plus a serene spa, set on a photogenic section of the Bay of Banderas, which is known for its amazing sunsets (room rates start at $795 a night; fourseasons.com). In addition to stellar service, the allure of the St. Regis Punta Mita is its stunning infinity pool, elegant Mexican-Mediterranean decor and sprawling 10,000-square-foot spa (room rates start at $799 a night; stregis.com). At the all-inclusive, all-suite Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit in Nuevo Vallarta, the contemporary-style accommodations are deliciously spacious and feature private terraces, some with views (room rates start at $699 a night and are all-inclusive; vallarta.grandvelas.com).
Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita
Photo courtesy of St. Regis Hotels
