Tag: mexico

Vacationing in San Pancho Nayarit Mexico

Posted on by Selva Suites
San Pancho, also known as San Francisco, is a small coastal town located in the state of Nayarit, Mexico. With its laid-back atmosphere and stunning natural surroundings, it’s the perfect destination for a relaxing vacation.
One of the main attractions in San Pancho is its beautiful sandy beach, which stretches for miles along the coastline. The crystal clear water is perfect for swimming and there are plenty of beachside restaurants and bars where you can sit back and enjoy the view.
In addition to the beach, San Pancho is also home to a number of cultural and natural attractions. The town is known for its art scene, with galleries featuring works by local and international artists. The surrounding area is also home to a number of nature reserves, including the Marietas Islands National Park, which is home to a variety of unique plant and animal species.
If you’re looking for some adventure, there are plenty of opportunities for activities such as surfing, snorkeling, and horseback riding. Or, you can simply relax and take in the beauty of the surroundings by going on a hike or taking a leisurely stroll through the town.
No matter what you’re looking for, San Pancho has something for everyone. With its stunning natural surroundings, rich culture, and laid-back atmosphere, it’s the perfect destination for a relaxing vacation.
Book your vacation at Selva Suites today!
Click here to see a detailed video and photos of our vacation suites located in the jungle hills of San Pancho. Breathtaking views of the jungle and the ocean. Five minutes walk to the beach. Secluded and away from the loud noise of the village, yet near enough for your dinner plans.
Starlink Internet is Available Now in San Pancho, and we have it!
Elsewhere in San Pancho, you can get a . The is cell-service ignorant. This means that they provide data service through whichever cell service Skyroam can link best.  Since , you can take it into the village of San Pancho, or even to the beach and have internet access (assuming there is a cell signal). The added bonus is that does not have any contract commitment.
Starlink Speed Test at Selva Suites in San Pancho
Starlink Internet Speed Test in San Pancho
Internet access in San Pancho and even other nearby places like Sayulita and Lo de Marcos is limited. Many places say they offer internet access, however, the quality of the internet ranges from bad to non-existent. As a result, any other internet connection that is not Starlink will have problems. It will be slow and often it simply disconnects.
Starlink offers tremendous speed and reliability for a stable and quality internet connection. Only with Starlink, you will be able to perform a trouble-free video conference call. Only the tranquility of Selva Suites will allow for a quiet environment to do a professional video conference meeting.
Click here to read this in-depth related article analyzing the various internet options you might find in San Pancho.

SURFING IN SAN PANCHO

Posted on by Selva Suites

Recommendations and Experiences on Surfing in San Pancho

At San Pancho rentals Selva Suites we provide the most current information on activities in San Pancho. In this article, we focus on surfing in San Pancho.
Surfing in San Pancho and the surrounding beaches is ideal, but where would you start? Most beaches have sharp rocks, so you will need to be careful. Using good local surfing experts is a good idea, regardless of whether you are taking a class or are an experienced surfer. The San Pancho and Sayulita beaches seem to cater more to experienced surfers, while La Lancha and Punta de Mita are calmer beaches ideal for learning to surf.
At our spring break, we visited our favorite surf shop in San Pancho: Santa Madre Adventures. The shop is located on the main street at 100 Avenida Tercer Mundo, close to the beach, and almost across from the Mr. Ribs restaurant. The whole team is great. They know all the beaches and are up to date on the weather, water, and surf conditions so they will choose the right beach based on your skill level.
They can accommodate both small and large groups. Our group has varied at different times from 6 to 14 persons with a mixture of adults and children. The surf shop assigns on average a teacher/guide per two persons, so the learning experience is pleasant and productive. The guides treat everyone with respect and have the patience to guide you and provide tips and tricks to get you surfing on the very first attempts. They were great with our children, helping them gain confidence fast and see surfing for what it actually is; a fun and exciting sport. They make sure to give you both theoretical and practical instructions and take you in the water slowly, which alleviates any initial fear the children (and adults) might have.
If you are an experienced surfer, Santa Madre Adventures is a great resource for location and surf conditions information. They rent all types of surfboards for all skill levels and provide transportation to the beach of your choice at very affordable rates. In the shop, you will also find clothing and surf equipment to buy, which come really handy if you have forgotten to bring some with you.
All staff is bilingual and an added comfort for safety is that they are trained in ocean rescue and first aid. The shop also offers eco-tours at Marietas islands marine reserve, yoga retreats, mountain biking, and hiking.
Here is a fun video of one of our surfing days.

REMOTE WORK IN SAN PANCHO RENTALS DIGITAL NOMADS.

Posted on by Selva Suites
Remote employees and digital nomads can now work remotely in San Pancho rental suites. Selva Suites has Starlink!!
Reserve your vacation and work remotely for a short-term, extended time, or long-term stay at San Pancho rentals Selva Suites. Work remotely from San Pancho while on holidays and vacationing.
San Pancho Nayarit vacation rentals suffer from good internet connectivity. The most common question is whether there is good enough internet in San Francisco for someone to work remotely. To clarify, we are not referring to San Francisco, California. We are talking about rental homes in the San Francisco village in Nayarit, Mexico, also known as San Pancho to work remotely.
Covid-19 changed the way people work.  Many have joined the digital nomads to work remotely. They look for a remote work lifestyle at a vacation rental home in San Pancho. This post is for remote employees, contractors, or freelancers joining the digital nomads at a San Pancho rental home. It is for people looking for a place to rent combining vacation and work. Also for people looking for short-term rental, long-term rental, or extended time off without losing contact with work.
San Pancho is a desirable place for digital nomads and remote workers. I see the question of remote work in San Pancho’s homes for rent, repeatedly in forums and Facebook messages. Social media responses are funny and sarcastic because in general, the internet in San Pancho is unstable. Here is a comprehensive list of internet connection options for working remotely in San Pancho.
Starlink (SpaceX subsidiary) Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satelite Internet.  San Pancho rental Selva Suites is currently the only one I know that has installed Starlink, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satelite Internet service provided by Starlink (a Subsidiary of SpaceX) owned by Elon Musk. This is truly the most reliable and fast internet service available anywhere. It is far superior to the old satellite internet services. We are the first to have it here at our vacation rental property Selva Suites in San Pancho See our Internet speed! In repeated speed tests we typically get around 180 Mbps! not bad, huh? The 209 Mbps is one of the best speeds we have gotten.
Remote Work in San Pancho with Fast Starlink Internet
Working remotely is now possible here in San Pancho with this Starlink Internet speed at Selva Suites.
Starlink Internet Speed Test in San Pancho
Elsewhere in San Pancho, you can tether your laptop to your cell phone. You can also get a . The is cell-service ignorant. This means that they provide data service through whichever cell service Skyroam can link best.  When you position the close to our powerful cell-signal booster, you will get reliable fast internet service so you can work remotely. Since , you can take it into the village of San Pancho, or even to the beach and have internet access (assuming there is a cell signal). The added bonus is that does not have any contract commitment.
Here are the other internet options you might find in San Pancho.
Landline DSL Internet access is provided by TelMex. TelMex is Mexico’s main landline phone service provider. Along with phone service, they also provide DSL internet service. In theory, they have packages that provide up to 24Mbps. In practice, however, they deliver 2 to 3 Mbps which is laughable really. Netflix needs at least 8Mbps to stream without buffering. For a business video conference with Zoom, MS Teams, Webex, or similar there can be buffering, stuttering, image pixelizations, and voice delays. In many cases, TelMex service goes down altogether varying between 2 hours and 4 days!!!
WiFiMiFi. You will see this service offering in San Pancho with some yellow signs. This is what this company does: Internet service arrives at Sayulita WiFi via antennas. Sayulita WiFi retransmits the signal to an antenna in San Pancho MiFi. In turn, it redistributes and splits this signal among the San Pancho users. As a result, signal quality is low and gets worse as more users try to use this limited supply. This means slow internet. It is good enough for email, but not enough for uploading YouTube videos, photo sharing, or video conferencing.
TelCel MiFi. They require a two-year subscription contract with Telcel to get a MiFi. Typically there is a 15Mb limit and it is quite expensive. All wireless providers, Telcel, AT&T Mexico often go down like TelMex and can vary from one hour to as many as 4 days!
HughesNet or ViaSat Satellite Internet. These options are relatively OK. The problem is that they require a two-year contract and are quite expensive. It costs $USD150 for a 25Mbps theoretical top speed. Real speed is 5 to 10 Mbps and has a 150Gb data cap limit. Also, the latency with HughesNet and ViaSat satellite internet service is very high at 50 or 60 milliseconds. It is extremely slow to do any meaningful work.
Starlink Low Earth Orbit (LEO)  Satelite Internet. This is by far the best option and available here at Selva Suites. Built by genius Elon Musk this is the next generation of Satelite Internet. Starlink has currently around 2300 satellites and is growing by 60 additional satellites per week. Our holiday rental in San Pancho has it. True liberation, work remotely in the tranquil environment of San Pancho during the day. Watch the amazing sunsets and dine at exquisite restaurants. Starlink currently offers a service with no data caps. The actual current speeds vary between 50Mbps and 200 Mbps. The target is between 250Mbps and 300 Mbps. The current latency is between 18 and 25 milliseconds. This is a tremendously reliable performance that will allow for true remote work.
If your remote work involves a lot of video conference calls using Zoom, MS Teams, Webex, and so on, then you are risking having issues when the connection is slow or non-existent. If however your remote work can be controlled in terms of time, such as writing reports, creating digital material, and connecting to a system providing IT support without the need for video conference, then it would be safe to move your work to San Pancho, and using the would be a very good option for speed, freedom, and flexibility.

Protecting Puerto Vallarta Jungles in Mexico Nayarit and Beyond in San Pancho Playa

Posted on by Selva Suites


Mexico’s western golden beaches coast is a fantastic vacation location. Especially the area that stretches from south of Puerto Vallarta of Mismaloya and north of Puerto Vallarta to Punta Mita, Sayulita, San Pancho playa (San Francisco) and Lo de Marcos.

The unfortunate collateral damage is that with irresponsible real estate development comes the destruction of the natural beauty that the tropical Puerto Vallarta jungles offer. Among all the San Pancho Mexico rentals, we are proud that we developed our property of Selva Suites real estate vacation rental property with minimal impact to the surrounding jungle and local animals.
In the pretty Nayarit state, we built the home on the spot which was free of trees and did not remove jungle trees. We still managed to get amazing ocean views because we invested in raising the height of building. We only trim some of the jungle foliage close to the property and never remove any plants.The jungle is important for the natural balance. The jungle provides natural protection from any potential hurricanes by absorbing and diminishing the wind force. The jungle with its deep root system prevents earth erosion of our surrounding property.
We try to not consume the water provided – or wasted 🙂 – by the government. We collect the rain water into a cistern and maintained it in clean condition with a three-stage filtration system. The shower water is heated by solar water heaters.
Within the Mexico vacation rentals industry, San Pancho is truly one of the most quiet, family friendly, laid back yet luxurious destinations in Mexico. The San Pancho private residents and vacation rentals owners are proud of San Pancho and are making conscious decisions to provide comfort and luxury without destroying Nayarit’s natural beauty and natural resources.
Kudos goes to the all the people of the San Pancho Mexico real estate management company that worked on this project and who can be found at www.EvolutionaryConsulting.com/build.php.

Seven Family-Friendly Activities and San Pancho Rentals, Nayarit Mexico for 2019 & 2020

Posted on by Selva Suites

So you are planning your next vacation escape to Mexico. You have found Puerto Vallarta, maybe you have already been there and are looking into exploring the areas outside Puerto Vallarta. You have heard of the up and coming vacation and popular retirement destination of San Pancho (San Francisco) Nayarit. What can someone do there? Where can a family stay? 

We have two young boys in our family 7 and 10 years old and we looked at potential accommodations, hotels, and houses to rent. In our search for family-friendly places to rent we encountered several issues and we have taken specific steps with our own San Pancho rental Selva Suites to address those challenges others are not interested or able to fix.
During our research, the houses or rooms we found were not appropriate for a family! I kid you not – there are several homes in the San Pancho Nayarit rental market which have in their frequently asked questions whether the property is appropriate for a family with the answer being negative! Some claim that there is not enough room. Others that there are lots of stairs and therefore “dangerous” for children. 
Another issue we found was that when the vacation rental home or hotel was actually accepting children, they did so at a high-cost premium. The rooms were rented on a per room basis of a two-person capacity. This resulted that we would have to rent and pay an additional room for the children to sleep. 
There are some rentals that are specifically and explicitly advertised as “adults-only” hotels or vacation rentals for the benefit of the other adult guests who are looking for quiet!
This was frustrating and we wanted to make sure that with our San Pancho Nayarit rental home Selva Suites we are able to offer a family of four, a couple with two children, feel welcome in San Pancho without costing an arm and a couple of legs! 
What does a family look for in a family-friendly vacation rental? We looked at our family; we want to have enough room for both ourselves and our children, without however being cramped. So we built our rooms to be the suite type. There is a master bedroom with a queen-size bed for the parents and next to it there is a living area or living room. The living room is equipped with a functional and comfortable sofa that opens up to a couple of beds. This additional space can either be used as a living room by a couple without children or as a bedroom for the children and it comes at no additional cost. Both the bedroom and the living room enjoy wonderful views of the San Pancho’s Nayarit tropical jungle and ocean. 
As a family, we want to have a fridge where we can store leftover food or medicines we may need to have. We want to have a comfortable way of warming up or cooking food. So at our vacation home Selva Suites we have a full-size fridge, cooktop stove, microwave, toaster oven with all the cookware and silverware necessary. These small details make a huge difference in the comfort of a family’s vacation and we are excited that we will be able to provide it for our guests. 
As a family we also want to have a way to cool down and for our kids to be able to play in a swimming pool. At Selva Suites in San Pancho, we built a really cool and unique swimming pool. On the upper floor, there is an infinity view pool. The water leaving the infinity pool cascades down the wall to the first floor where the suites are located. The unique feature is the area that collects this water (which re-pumps it back up to the main pool), functions as an additional small and shallow pool. That actually becomes a practical and usable pool to sit in and cool down while enjoying the absolutely stunning view of the jungle. It is also very useful if you have young children who would sit in the pool in safety. You just have to see it for yourselves to appreciate it. 
Having a family and children should not come as a disadvantage and should not have to compromise having quality vacations. 
We were also concerned about ways of entertaining our kids. I don’t know about your kids, but ours are big-time video game players, and we are happy to get them away from what amounts to a small addiction and into doing other things, away from TV monitors and electronics.

So what can you do here in San Pancho Nayarit? 

Surfing and Surfing Lessons: If you and your children are experienced surfers you can rent boards at the local San Pancho surf stores and head for the beach. If you want to learn or just experience surfing the local San Pancho surf stores offer classes. They provide the surfboards and transportation to calmer beach waters where you can try in an extremely fun and safe manner. We did this a few times and it is absolute fun for the kids. So for your vacation in San Pancho bring a surf shirt so you don’t get skin burns and environmentally friendly sunblock lotion. 
Release some baby Sea Turtles into the Ocean: This is also a unique experience. Sea turtles come to our beach in San Pancho to lay their eggs. Local environmental organizations staffed by volunteers protect the eggs and when they hatch, invite our San Pancho visitors to look at the baby turtles, hold them and release them into the ocean. As they will tell you, the walking part of the baby turtle from the sandy beach into the water is one of the most important challenges that the baby turtle must overcome on its own if it is to survive in the ocean. So, please follow the instructions of the people managing these events, but take lots of pictures and videos of your children enjoying these unique experiences and create some unforgettable memories. 
Horseback Riding: There is a very inexpensive, almost private class provided by professionals. The horseback riding classes are happening at the La Patrona Polo Club, which is in San Pancho and nearby our San Pancho vacation rental Selva Suites. The class is fun and for the inexperienced first-time rider, it is a surprise how difficult a sport to do it properly and correctly. Make sure you wear long trousers/pants because you must use your knees a lot to ride the horse. 
The Tourist version of Horseback Riding: This is a more easy-going ride, no need for long pants here, just sit and enjoy a relaxing ride. There are local companies that will rent a few horses and take your family on a slow, guided tour that lasts approximately two hours. The routes are determined by the guides based on the route conditions, how crowded the area is and so on. In general expect to ride through the jungle, cross some rivers, get to a high vista point for gorgeous views and photos, maybe ride on a beach and through a village. We did this with our friends and their children, the experience is amazing and the kids are bonding over such a unique activity.
La Patrona Polo Sunday Brunch: During the high tourist season in San Pancho between November and May, the Polo Club hosts a very relaxing Sunday Brunch and they absolutely welcome kids. The event starts at 11 am and ends around 4 pm. It includes an unlimited grill buffet and certain drinks. On the grill, you will find everything: beef steaks, beef and pork ribs, sausages, octopus, chicken. There is a game of Polo by the local Polo teams which is described by a commentator. There are opportunities to get photos with the horses. The area is large, open and flat, so the children can run around safely so you can easily act like an iguana keeping one eye at the Polo game and the other at your children.
Nature and Bird following and watching: Our village of San Pancho and the surrounding areas are in the middle of an amazing and exotic ecosystem. There are animals, birds, and plants not seen normally in usual urban cities or even in zoos. You get to see these in their natural habitat, guided by experienced biologists and zoologists. Depending on the time of year you visit our beautiful San Pancho, you will encounter different fruits. There are mangoes, avocados and other exotic fruit that at times they simply drop to the ground and you will see local people just eating it. Go ahead, do the same, free fruit provided by nature, without any pesticides.  
Restaurants, Restaurants, and some more Restaurants: All of them unique, each with their own original taste. You will want to visit each restaurant every day in San Pancho. Extremely tasty and very affordable. 
Well, there you have it, I hope I have given you enough information about our family-friendly AND wheelchair accessible vacation rental home Selva Suites and our San Pancho village in Nayarit Mexico. 
Do you have comments or questions? Please contact me through the contact section of our website https://www.SelvaSuites.com. I always respond fast and hope to see you and your family as our guests at our San Pancho vacation rental home we named Selva Suites.

Spring Break – Semana Santa in San Pancho with a View. Building of Selva Suites started!

Posted on by Selva Suites
We passed our Spring Break in San Pancho. We rented a whole house, similar in quality to what we are building on our lot. The weather was amazing, the people of San Pancho as always welcoming and friendly with great tasting food.
The house we rented in San Pancho is in a similar location to our lot. Not far from the beach and relatively close to the village of San Pancho without having to deal with the loud noises from the San Pancho tourists and vacationers.
We walked to our lovely jungle lot and we are so excited, we can’t wait for our Selva Suites home to be ready. The building permit has been given, we have purchased the first materials and are almost ready to hit the ground.

Selva Suites San Pancho Building Project Estimates Are Here!

Posted on by Selva Suites

We have received from our engineer some building estimates. Prices can and will fluctuate depending on many factors such as the global commodity exchange of raw building materials, exchange rates, your choice of engineering manager, architect etc. As a result, I am not going to report the exact prices in this blog. However, I will report high-level expectations and actual.
From our prior research, we had received estimates and were expecting a wide range of $50 to $200 per square foot. We have now landed on an approximate estimate of $100 per square foot. This level is with good quality, experienced project manager, but not necessarily one of the “famous”, “big-name” building companies in the area who will charge a hefty premium for that brand big famous name. Also, this estimate is with very good quality building materials, cement and rebars, Hebel/Aircrete for the walls, one of the best quality and durable PVC plumbing piping, ecological applications such as solar energy, solar water heating, and custom architectural design such as ours.
It is important to have the assistance from people who can manage the whole project from the beginning to the end. You have continuity, communication and knowledge transfer among the different parties working on the project when it is managed by a single company.
After researching a lot we went with Evolutionary Consulting Solarium Vita ( www.EvolutionaryConsulting.com/build.php ). They have long experience both in the US, the Mexican and particularly the San Pancho, Sayulita and Lo de Marcos markets. The combination of this market experience was important because they know both the legal requirements and materials offered on both sides and can make smart recommendations based on facts on the ground.

The Final Plan Details are Penned in. Almost Ready for Construction of the Vacation Home.

Posted on by Selva Suites
At a previous post, I discussed the materials to be used for the walls. We had the choice of regular cement blocks or bricks, the Convitek and later we were looking at Hebel and Aircrete.
Hebel and Aircrete are brand names companies in Mexico making a building material mixing cement, other materials and air. The production process created a building block which is lightweight, very tough when you hit it directly, yet soft enough to be able to be cut using a hand-saw. Installation time is very fast, using simple adhesive on all sides. The air pockets within the building block functions as a sound and thermal insulation system. This eliminates the need for additional installation of other materials for sound and thermal insulation. The building material is also able to withstand being in direct flame for four hours.
On a overall $250,000 to $400,000 building cost, the cost difference using Hebel/Aircrete vs regular cement block is estimated at $15,000. Taking into consideration the value and benefits it is a no-brainer and makes absolute sense to use Hebel or Aircrete.
We have also had some long meetings working on several building details. We have made 90% of the decisions for the number and locations of the electrical outlets and light switches. We have decided the route and functionality of the water supply piping, water storage and distribution, gas storage and distribution, gray water treatment.
Water and gas lines along with their respective controlling valves will be easily accessible for fast and easy access when there is a need for a repair.
The property has the appropriate surface inclinations so that the rain water can be collected and drained into the quite large cisterns. We are looking at one or two-cistern system with a range of 115 m3 to 180 m3 water storage facilities. This should provide us for quite a healthy safety large quantity of water supply in case of government water shortages
The stored water will be maintained and treated with chlorine and filtration both while stored in the cistern and with a whole house water filter before the water enters the house for consumption for shower or cooking.
Our engineer will be working in the coming weeks to create the project labor calendar and line up the builders. So everything is shaping up and is falling into place to be ready to break ground and start construction by the time the building permit is issued in about a month’s time from now.
Exciting times!!

New Thermal & Sound Insulating Building Materials for Selva Suites Home in San Pancho, Mexico.

Posted on by Selva Suites
We are still in search of the ideal material to build Selva Suites. In this earlier post, I discussed the Convitec material. While Convitec might be economical with some thermal and sound insulating properties, we are concerned about its stability, strength, and durability. I read in some forums of some people who had the unfortunate experience of mice or critters getting within the walls, under the stucco, eating away the material. In some cases, it was attributed to bad workmanship. However, what would be the long-term maintenance to keep this hermetically closed, so that critters do not get it? This is a concern.
An alternative that we are considering is a relatively new technology of synthetic cement blocks. These type of cement blocks were initially created by mixing concrete with ashes, creating air bubbles within the block. However, the challenge with this is that the recipe must be very accurate to produce a good and consistent-quality result. The technology evolved and new formulas which appear to be more stable producing a more consistent result. Every country and cement producing company markets the same material under a different brand name. In Mexico, there are two companies Aircrete and Hebel.
The material they sell has some amazing results and properties. The Aircrete and Hebel blocks are very light compared to regular cement blocks. It is easier and cheaper to transport. It appears to be easier and faster to install than regular cement blocks. Because of the air bubbles within the block, it provides extreme thermal and sound insulation. It is hard and solid, yet it can be cut easily even with a regular manual saw and it is extremely easy with an automated saw to cut through the lines for water and power. The installation videos available on YouTube appear simple. The material can withstand to be exposed to a continuous fire of four hours!!
We have requested more information and quotes from these companies. We hope the price is going to be appropriate for our budget and comparable to regular cement blocks.

Latest 3D Video Render of Selva Suites Home and Suites for Rent in San Pancho!

Posted on by Selva Suites
This is the latest 3D Video Render of the Selva Suites home. Good things are coming. We will be getting a more precise construction cost analysis and we are collecting now all necessary documents for the building permit. Enjoy the video.