Middle-aged American couple planning a trip to Nayarit / Jalisco in mid-March. We've both had several prior trips to Puerto Vallarta, Yelapa, Sayulita in the recent past, and want to do something a bit different.

We are considering renting a car at PVR and driving a loop over the course of a week, spending the night at a few places along the way.

Possible itinerary:
PVR - San Sebastian - Mascota - Etzatlan - Tepic - San Francisco - PVR

We're thinking we'd like to get off the beaten path and see new stuff - have cultural experiences but do it safely and relatively inexpensively.

Sounds goo to me

i was thinking the same! is there a question in your question??