Yoga of Offering Goodness to All
info about Tibetan Heart Yoga in San Pancho
Hello all,
I went to San Pancho last Spring to check out the site as a possible venue for THY and fell in love with the place! If you are like me and had only seen border towns and tourist spots I think you will appreciate the difference between them and the real Mexico.
San Pancho (San Francisco officially, but nobody calls it that) is a small town on the Pacific side of Mexico, about 45 minutes from Puerto Vallarta. It's not polished like the resorts are, but the beach is lined with million dollar plus homes and it is more sophisticated than the average village. The people generally spoke English, were very friendly, and the food in the restaurants was amazing (the water in the restaurants has to be purified by law, my two young children and I had no problems) ! One of the ex-presidents had his vacation home here so the town has seen more than the usual amount of money spent on infrastructure - there is a big hospital in town.
Here are some travel tips:
1. You don't need a car. The town is small and walkable and if you need a cab they are readily available because the locals don't have cars either. To get there a cab costs about 700 pesos ($70). T o save money on the cab don't take the cabs at the airport. As you walk out of baggage claim, to your left is a bridge that crosses the highway and cheaper city cabs will be waiting there. Negotiate the fee in advance.
2. Despite the info on the web sites, there are no rental car agencies on the airport. Alamo rental car hit us up for $100 extra above our quoted rated for insurance and would not rent the car to us without it. Be careful! A two lane highway goes all the way from Puerto Vallarta to San Pancho.
3. September is definitely the off season. In season, a nice 3br house near the beach that sleeps six people can be had for less than $1,000/week (we stayed at a home that worked out to $20/person/night and it was perfect). Out of season I've seen owners offer a month at the in-season weekly rate. You can definitely make a deal with the owners. Even in season we paid less than the published rate.
4. Mexico is less regulated than the US. There is a camping area right on the beach with open air showers near by.
5. Vegetarian food in the restaurants is hard to come by, but ten dollars buys a grocery bag full of amazing fresh fruit from the vendors near the highway and there is a grocery store in town where you can buy beans and rice.
6. If you do go out to eat I recommend:
Chile Rellenos- true haute Mexican by a Napa Valley transplant. If you are a foodie this is your place. The mole sauce has over 100 ingredients and was sublime. $10 an entree!
The taco shop on the main street with all of the locals at it. No name needed, on a corner of the main street into town. My two kids and I could not spend ten dollars here. Best tacos I've had anywhere at any price.
Maria's- on the main street near the beach. Ines is the owner and she serves up American-style food. Good food and very friendly. Nice smoothies. Wireless internet.
The tortilla factory - across the street from the larger super-mini. Hot tortillas for breakfast 50 cents a pound.
The Italian coffee shop next to the tortilla factory. Real coffee by real Italians!
7. They don't take American Express or any other credit cards for that matter! There are ATMs available, but I'd go for the sure thing and get cash at the airport from the ATM's there.
8. To call home you can get an international calling card at many different places in town and make your call from a pay phone. I don't remember what the rate was but I'd guess about 50c/minute. My cell phone has an international plan but I was not able to use it in San Pancho. No coverage near the beach.
9. Some rental homes have internet, some don't. Many restaurants do and there is no extra fee if you are eating there.
10. Some homes have purified water and some don't. If your careful you'll be OK either way. Don't brush your teeth with unpurified water.
There is only one main road leading from the highway to the beach, Ave Del Tercer Mundo, all the other streets branch off it. You can find all of these places just by walking up and down it.
For rentals try:
www.sanpanchohillrealty.com
www.sanpanchomex.com
www.CalandriaRealty.com
www.hotlecielorojo.com (the hotel locals would use, we did not check it out ourselves, but it was in a reasonable location)
If you have questions I'm happy to answer them here.
Hope to see you there,
Bill McMichael
I went to San Pancho last Spring to check out the site as a possible venue for THY and fell in love with the place! If you are like me and had only seen border towns and tourist spots I think you will appreciate the difference between them and the real Mexico.
San Pancho (San Francisco officially, but nobody calls it that) is a small town on the Pacific side of Mexico, about 45 minutes from Puerto Vallarta. It's not polished like the resorts are, but the beach is lined with million dollar plus homes and it is more sophisticated than the average village. The people generally spoke English, were very friendly, and the food in the restaurants was amazing (the water in the restaurants has to be purified by law, my two young children and I had no problems) ! One of the ex-presidents had his vacation home here so the town has seen more than the usual amount of money spent on infrastructure - there is a big hospital in town.
Here are some travel tips:
1. You don't need a car. The town is small and walkable and if you need a cab they are readily available because the locals don't have cars either. To get there a cab costs about 700 pesos ($70). T o save money on the cab don't take the cabs at the airport. As you walk out of baggage claim, to your left is a bridge that crosses the highway and cheaper city cabs will be waiting there. Negotiate the fee in advance.
2. Despite the info on the web sites, there are no rental car agencies on the airport. Alamo rental car hit us up for $100 extra above our quoted rated for insurance and would not rent the car to us without it. Be careful! A two lane highway goes all the way from Puerto Vallarta to San Pancho.
3. September is definitely the off season. In season, a nice 3br house near the beach that sleeps six people can be had for less than $1,000/week (we stayed at a home that worked out to $20/person/night and it was perfect). Out of season I've seen owners offer a month at the in-season weekly rate. You can definitely make a deal with the owners. Even in season we paid less than the published rate.
4. Mexico is less regulated than the US. There is a camping area right on the beach with open air showers near by.
5. Vegetarian food in the restaurants is hard to come by, but ten dollars buys a grocery bag full of amazing fresh fruit from the vendors near the highway and there is a grocery store in town where you can buy beans and rice.
6. If you do go out to eat I recommend:
Chile Rellenos- true haute Mexican by a Napa Valley transplant. If you are a foodie this is your place. The mole sauce has over 100 ingredients and was sublime. $10 an entree!
The taco shop on the main street with all of the locals at it. No name needed, on a corner of the main street into town. My two kids and I could not spend ten dollars here. Best tacos I've had anywhere at any price.
Maria's- on the main street near the beach. Ines is the owner and she serves up American-style food. Good food and very friendly. Nice smoothies. Wireless internet.
The tortilla factory - across the street from the larger super-mini. Hot tortillas for breakfast 50 cents a pound.
The Italian coffee shop next to the tortilla factory. Real coffee by real Italians!
7. They don't take American Express or any other credit cards for that matter! There are ATMs available, but I'd go for the sure thing and get cash at the airport from the ATM's there.
8. To call home you can get an international calling card at many different places in town and make your call from a pay phone. I don't remember what the rate was but I'd guess about 50c/minute. My cell phone has an international plan but I was not able to use it in San Pancho. No coverage near the beach.
9. Some rental homes have internet, some don't. Many restaurants do and there is no extra fee if you are eating there.
10. Some homes have purified water and some don't. If your careful you'll be OK either way. Don't brush your teeth with unpurified water.
There is only one main road leading from the highway to the beach, Ave Del Tercer Mundo, all the other streets branch off it. You can find all of these places just by walking up and down it.
For rentals try:
www.sanpanchohillrealty.com
www.sanpanchomex.com
www.CalandriaRealty.com
www.hotlecielorojo.com (the hotel locals would use, we did not check it out ourselves, but it was in a reasonable location)
If you have questions I'm happy to answer them here.
Hope to see you there,
Bill McMichael
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sara Bara on -
Hi Bill, thanks for posting this. We have some people who are going, I will send them this info. :)
Namaste,
Sara
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Permalink Reply by Bill McMichael on -
My pleasure. It was fun to go, the Lamas were definitely looking out for me when they assigned me that job!
BENKAPA said:thanks bill!
you rock!
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