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The PGA Tour has two consecutive weeks in Mexico, beginning with this week's VidantaWorld Mexico Open, Oct. 29-Nov. 1 at Vidanta Vallarta. Next comes the World Wide Technology Championship, Nov. 5-8 at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas. For golfers considering a trip of their own, those stops introduce two very different parts of the country.
The details become more interesting once you start arranging your own golf. At Punta Mita, Pacífico's optional "Tail of the Whale" par 3 plays to a natural island green available only at low tide. Anyone traveling specifically to hit that shot should settle the timing before picking a tee time.
Four destinations deserve a closer look: Punta Mita, Nauka, Costa Palmas and Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo. They offer distinctly different golf, and they belong on different travel plans. Costa Palmas is on Baja's East Cape; Punta Mita and Nauka are on the mainland's Riviera Nayarit; Tamarindo sits farther south along Jalisco's Costalegre.
The island green will get the attention, but Punta Mita's stronger argument for a golf vacation is having two Jack Nicklaus Signature courses available during one stay. Pacífico and Bahía give a golfer a reason to leave room for a second round rather than squeeze everything into one morning.
Bahía moves through more undulating terrain, with putting surfaces that demand attention. Its second hole offers a useful example: The short par 5 presents a scoring opportunity, but the small, complicated green places a premium on the approach. Getting close in two and leaving a manageable next shot are different accomplishments.
Pacífico's optional island hole supplies a very different decision. Ask the golf staff when it can be played, then build the round around that window if it is essential to the trip. A reservation for Pacífico alone does not settle the tide question.
Access comes through Club Punta Mita membership and member guests, or a stay at the Four Seasons or St. Regis resorts. A vacation rental needs a more specific conversation about the owner's golf privileges and how they apply to the booking. A Punta Mita address by itself is insufficient confirmation.
The access check
Match your lodging to the golf access you need. Confirm a starting time before making golf the reason for a nonrefundable stay.
Riviera Nayarit
Who can play: Club Punta Mita members and their guests; Four Seasons and St. Regis resort guests.
Rental check: Verify the owner's applicable golf privileges. Confirm tee times through the golf shop.
Riviera Nayarit
Visitor route: Siari Riviera Nayarit, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, confirms golf access for its hotel guests at this private club.
Booking check: Obtain the actual tee-time arrangements, fees and cancellation terms before committing to lodging.
La Ribera · Baja's East Cape
Who can play: Members and hotel guests with a reserved tee time. Four Seasons' concierge arranges resort-guest golf.
Date check: Resolve the currently posted Nov. 5-7 private-event closure before booking. The notice omits the year.
Costalegre · Jalisco
Confirmed route: Arrange rounds through Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo. Its three-round experience must be used during the confirmed stay.
Outside guests: Obtain explicit resort approval. A general nonresident access policy has not been established.
Tom Fazio's 18-hole Nauka course brings jungle, changes in elevation and undulating greens into a round that includes three oceanfront holes. A golfer deciding whether to travel for Nauka should weigh Fazio's use of changing terrain alongside those three coastal holes.
Elevation and green contours make club selection and approach position worth discussing with the golf staff. For a mixed-ability group, ask which tees suit each player's carry distances. Everyone can share the same course without making every golfer attempt the same shots.
Nauka is a private club, with a hotel-guest access route through Siari Riviera Nayarit, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Siari confirms that its guests can access the course. Secure the actual golf arrangements before committing to a stay built around playing it; hotel eligibility and a confirmed starting time are different things.
Siari lists Puerto Vallarta International Airport as approximately 70 kilometers from the property and says it does not provide shuttle service. Arrange the arrival transfer separately from the golf reservation.
Costa Palmas is the Baja option in this group, on the Sea of Cortez side at La Ribera. Robert Trent Jones II's design uses dunes and rolling terrain. Costa Palmas describes the ground as firm and fast, an invitation to consider what the ball will do after landing. That should interest players who enjoy judging a running shot as well as a carry.
The club also offers seven- and 14-hole loops. Those shorter choices deserve consideration on a family trip, when a full round might consume more of the day than everyone wants to surrender.
There is an important calendar complication. Four Seasons currently lists a Nov. 5-7 private-event golf closure. The notice does not specify a year, so travelers considering championship week need the resort to resolve that before paying for a golf-centered stay. Availability on either side of those dates also requires confirmation.
Play is restricted to members and hotel guests with a reserved tee time, arranged through the resort concierge. Four Seasons places the property about 45 minutes from Los Cabos International Airport. That is an airport transfer estimate, not the drive to the tournament at Diamante.
Build the trip around the map
Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 2026
Course: Vidanta Vallarta
Region: Vallarta-Nuevo Nayarit, on Mexico's mainland Pacific coast.
Nov. 5-8, 2026
Course: El Cardonal at Diamante
Region: Cabo San Lucas, on the Baja California Peninsula.
The dates above are competition dates. The WWT Championship's full event week runs Nov. 2-8. Confirm recreational golf availability separately from tournament tickets and lodging.
Fly to SJD: Four Seasons lists 65.9 kilometers (40.9 miles), about 45 minutes by car. This is the airport-to-resort journey, not the transfer to Diamante. Confirm tournament transport separately.
Use PVR: Four Seasons estimates 45 minutes by car to Punta Mita. Siari lists its property 70.2 kilometers from Puerto Vallarta's airport and provides no shuttle service.
Keep reservations separate: The two clubs have distinct access arrangements. Staying at one does not establish playing privileges at the other.
Use ZLO: Four Seasons lists 44.7 kilometers (27.8 miles), about 50 minutes by car from Manzanillo-Costalegre International Airport. Guadalajara is listed at five hours by car. Arrange resort airport transfers at least 24 hours ahead.
Before paying: Confirm the tee time, current course configuration, taxes, transport and cancellation terms for your dates. Transfer times are property estimates. No live room or tee-time inventory is guaranteed here.
David Fleming's El Tamarindo course winds through tropical jungle along a rocky Pacific coastline. The par-72 layout measures 6,682 yards, with ocean views on nine holes. Four Seasons manages the number of players starting each day, making advance golf arrangements particularly relevant.
For travelers, Manzanillo-Costalegre International Airport is the useful geographic reference. The resort lists a roughly 50-minute, 28-mile drive from there. Tamarindo deserves time on the ground; it should not be slipped into a Cabo itinerary as though it were another nearby course.
The resort offers individual rounds and a three-round golf experience. The latter must be prepaid, is nonrefundable and nontransferable, and must be used during the confirmed stay. Anyone lodging elsewhere should obtain explicit approval for outside-guest play before making the journey.
For a golfer whose plans could change, those package terms are consequential. Settle the arrival day, departure day and time available for golf before purchasing three rounds. Individual-round bookings carry a different rule: Cancellations must reach the resort at least 12 hours before the expected check-in time to avoid the full charge.
PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent "The Starter" on RG.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.
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