Tag: puerto vallarta

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.

Don’t Cancel Your Puerto Vallarta and San Pancho Vacation. AIRPORTS DO COVID-19 TESTING!

Posted on by Selva Suites
At San Pancho vacation rental home Selva Suites we care about the health and safety and want to make sure the latest information about Covid-19 status and testing is available. For your visit in San Pancho, consider renting one of our suites, at the secluded and private location in San Pancho, which will give you the additional peace of mind of being safe and Covid-free.
President Biden through an executive order has established a new rule for anyone, both US and non-US Citizens, to have been tested (either antigen or PCR) within 72 hours prior to boarding their plane to return to the US. There has to be proof of a negative Covid-19 test result.
Many people are cancelling their trips because of this change. Fortunately, Mexico is responding in various ways, we read in the news that resorts will offer this service on-site. The most attractive are the airports of Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta (PVR) have established Temporary modules for Covid-19 tests.
The tests will only be available to passengers booked on international flights and will cost 450 pesos (around $USD22)  for the antigen test and 1,450 pesos (around $USD72) for the PCR test. In a press release, the Grupo Aeropuertos Pacificos (GAP) said testing modules will also be installed at its airports in Tijuana, Los Cabos, Guanajuato, Hermosillo, Mexicali, Morelia, La Paz, Aguascalientes, Los Mochis and Manzanillo.
Here is the official text for what you can expect when traveling out of Puerto Vallarta:
COVID-19 TESTING
Puerto Vallarta International Airport.
For passengers bound for the USA.
According the Center for disease control and prevention (order that takes effect on Tuesday, January 26 every passenger bound for the United States of America, must perform a COVID 19 PCR or Antigen screening test, with in the 72 hours prior to boarding your flight to the United States and carry the results electronically or on paper to be presented to the airline prior to travel.
For this reason GAP facilitates the installation of the Polanco medical laboratory on a temporary basis as one more option for passengers that travel to our destination.
GAP recommends arriving with enough time to take your flight and previously perform, if possible, the documentation and requirements to fly. If the passenger wishes to be tested at the airport, at least an additional hour must be added to their travel itinerary from the airline’s recommended time.
In addition, GAP suggests that passengers check with their airline for government requests and to learn about possible changes to their flight itinerary.
Laboratorio Medico Polanco is a laboratory oriented to provide support services for medical diagnosis of the highest quality. Some of the most important services that we provide are Clinical analysis, Imaging services such as X Rays, Ultrasound, Mammography, Densitometry, Magnetic resonance and Tomography, as well as office services such as Colposcopy, Electrocardiography, Audiometry and Spirometry among others.
LOCATION
The testing services are located at the Puerto Vallarta airport, right next to the Departure Check-In counters, at a modified parking lot area.
This is an areal view of the Puerto Vallarta airport which shows the location of the Polanco Medical Laboratory performing the Covid Tests.

Areal view Covid-19 Test Puerto Vallarta Airport

This is the actual tent where the Covid-19 test is being done prior to your departing flight.

Covid Test Tent at Puerto Vallarta Airport

COVID-19 TEST COST
– Antigen Test cost MXN 450 (approximately $USD 22). Results are delivered in 30 minutes
– PCR Test cost MXN 1,450 (approximately $USD 72). Results are delivered between 24 and 48 hours.
FAQs:
Hours of operation
24/7 service, every day of the week, ongoing and uninterrupted hours, will start operating on this schedule starting January 29 at 4pm.
How are the results delivered physically, digitally or both?
At the opening they will be sent by e mail or printed onsite.
What are the payment options? Is it paid in person (on the spot payment) or can it be done online?
The payment is in person (on the spot payment) in Cash, US dollars or Mexican pesos, VISA, MasterCard and American Express.
What documents must the passenger present for the test?
You identify yourself with your passport, in order to validate the data and confirm that they match, to prove that it is for an international passenger must show your flight or reservation.
From what age is it required to present the PCR or antigen test to travel to the United States of America?
Two (2) years and older.
At the San Pancho vacation rental home Selva Suites we care about the health and safety and want to make sure the latest information about Covid-19 status and testing is available. For your visit in San Pancho, consider renting one of our suites, at the secluded and private location in San Pancho, which will give you the additional peace of mind of being safe and Covid-free.

Whale Watching Season in Puerto Vallarta, and San Pancho Mexico!

Posted on by Selva Suites
María Francesca – BanderasNews.com
December 12, 2018
whalewatchingpuertovallarta
Each year from December to March, Banderas Bay and the waters off the coast of Vallarta-Nayarit offer some of the world’s most spectacular whale watching. (Photo: Larry Bennett, Aspen Photo Art Gallery)
Our wonderful room accommodation of Selva Suites in San  Francisco (San Pancho) will be right in the heart of this migration!!
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Discover the extraordinary world of whale watching on your Puerto Vallarta vacation! Each year from December to March, Banderas Bay and the waters off the coast of Vallarta-Nayarit offer some of the most spectacular whale watching opportunities in the world.
Each year in late November, hundreds of Humpback whales start arriving off the coast of Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit. Their annual migration from the cold waters of Alaska brings them as far down as the Bay of Banderas where they will procreate and raise their young in our warm waters, which offer some of the most spectacular whale watching opportunities in the world.
This year’s whale watching season officially opened on December 8, 2018 and will run through March 23, 2019. Every year the Environment and Wildlife Secretariat (SEMARNAT) grants permits to vessels that are authorized to offer whale watching tours. On these boats, crew members have been trained to offer participants the best possible experience without affecting the natural habitat of the whales.
A typical whale watching expedition will take between 2-4 hours. Tours leave daily from Puerto Vallarta’s Maritime Terminal, beginning at 8 am. One can choose from special boats designed specifically for whale observation, a variety of smaller boats, or the larger tour boats that also provide food and beverages.
Each authorized vessel is required to have a copy of their permit onboard and to fly the whale watching flag, so when you are offered a Puerto Vallarta whale watching trip, make sure the boat has the proper accreditations. This will ensure that you, your family and friends enjoy a safe whale watching experience, while helping to protect these gentle giants that call the Bay of Banderas “home” for a few months every year.
There’s absolutely nothing that compares to the thrill of seeing these fascinating animals in the wild, and Puerto Vallarta tour operators offer a variety of exciting whale watching expeditions that are safe, educational, and most importantly, lots of fun!
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Moving to the Land and Soil Survey.

Posted on by Selva Suites

3D Land Elevation and Selva Suites Building Layout on the Lot in San Pancho! Only three minutes from the beach, close to Sayulita!

Today was a pivotal point of our project. We are getting closer to finalizing the architectural design and positioned the proposed builing onto
Selva Suites Floor Plan on the Land of Selva Azul in San Pancho
Selva Suites Floor Plan on the Land of Selva Azul in San Pancho
the available lot considering the zoning laws and regulations. The green lines on this image show the lines within which we are allowed to build. Zoning rules demand certain distance from the neighboring lots, which is great as it ensures both our and the neighbors’ privacy and tranquility.
The blue shape is the layout of the building and its location on the lot. The majority of the building will be located on the existing flat platform. Off to the left side and at the lower levels of the lot, there will be a great sistern which will be collecting rain water. The sistern will also function and be part of the necessary retaining walls.
This information was shared with the community management and provided this information for the land and soil surveyor. The land and soil surveyor will go to the lot, dig several holes at different points and depths of the proposed building site and collect land samples. They will do a chemical analysis which will tell us what it the quality of the land and whether we would need to reinforce it with other materials to make is strong to sustain the weight of the building.
It is exciting that we completed one stage and are moving to the next phase of this building project.
In this animation video you can see a three-dimensional view of the lot elevations. There will be additional retaining wall and land on top of the flat platform, which will raise the starting level of the building structure of the garage and the suites by approximatelly 3 feet giving better view to the ocean and the jungle cliffs. The second level will be 8 feet higher on top of the 3 feet. The second level will have our main living area, and the swimming pool accessible via stairs and ramp for the guest renting the suites or rooms.  Check out the animation:
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Don’t Miss This One Thing in the Building Process in San Pancho, Sayulita, Punta de Mita, Puerto Vallarta.

Posted on by Selva Suites

Topography, Land and Soil Surveys

Satelite-Topography-San Pancho-Selva Suites
Satelite Topography map San Pancho Selva Suites Lot

Important parts of our building project are the Topography, Land, and Soil studies. This was an exciting weekend; we met with the topographer, architect, civil engineer and the soil surveyor at our lot.

The topographer spent about a week getting all the exact points of reference and defined the border lines of the lot. Downloaded these data via GPS satellite. It recorded the land’s steepness and identified all major trees. Based on these data and the zoning laws and rules, a defined perimeter was proposed to build.

This photo is a satelite image of our lot with the blue lines pointing the perimeter.  The following image shows the elevation of each lot area and the main trees marked by type of tree and height. Remember this is extremely important as mentioned in this other posting.

We shared this topography information with the Land & Soil surveyor so that he has an idea of which parts of the soil will need to be studied. The surveyor will be digging at 4 to 5 holes at different points on the lot at apprximatelly 4 meters depth each hole. Soil sample will be taken to a lab to analyze its composition to determine how stable is the land to build on. So many people try to cut corners to save money in the short-run only to regret it later. These topography and soil surveys are well worth the investment to save you from potential disastrous building decisions.

Topography-San Pancho-Selva Suites
Topography Tree & Elevation map San Pancho Selva Suites Lot

Next step will be for us to complete the initial architectural layout with measures and render it within the proposed building location. This information will be passed to the Land & Soil surveyor so that he can perform the survey. We are looking this to be complete between the end of 2018.

We will be spending our end of 2018 vacation in Puerto Vallarta and San Pancho. It will be the first time our kids will get to see our lot and they are very excited.

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Architecture Designs

Posted on by Selva Suites

We have been creating many different designs and layouts for the home. We study over all of them and keep changing things. The framework consists of the allowed size set by the city, the shape of the lot and our imagination.

Selva Suites Upper Floor Layout
Selva Suites Upper Floor Layout

We are making the home layout to be practical.

 

Entrances to the home and mobility will be made easy. Moving between the two levels of the property will be done both with stairs and a ramp to make it easy for any age and ability to move around.

The rooms are being laid out so that they can have the maximum available views to the jungle and ocean. The situational construction will be done to accommodate the lot’s layout as well as to take advantage of the sun’s trajectory and winds’ and breeze natural flow. The sun’s trajectory will be important to maximize the solar panels’ capacity. The wind will need to easily breeze through the home for natural air ventilation to keep the home as cool as possible and to help move any mosquitoes or other small flying insects through and out of the home.

The upper level will be our main living space consisted of three berooms, each with its own private bathroom, a living room and a kitchen. All living spaces will be built in a manner that will allow uninterupted views of the jungle cliffs and the Nayarit Pacific Ocean.

Selva Suites Lower Floor Layout
Selva Suites Lower Floor Layout

Plenty of space for several cars to park.

The lower level will have the rental lodging guest suite rooms.  Each bedroom will have its own bathroom for comfort and privacy. Each rental guest room will have the main bedroom sleeping 2 people and a separate living room with the ability to convert into a bedroom to sleep an additional 2 people. Each suite will have its own bathroom.

There will be a patio/veranda with a seating area. It will be possible to enjoy the views either from the outside seating area or from inside the bedroom.

The rooms from the lower level will be connected to the swimming pool patio area in the upper floor with a ramp and stairs. This way even guest needing a wheelchair or families with strollers can easily move around.

The home will be ecologically friendly with solar panels and potentially windmill to generate electricity. Batteries to store it. Water sistern will be large enough to collect plenty of rainwater so that we do not depend on the city’s water supply system. Bathrooms will be connected to an environmentally friendly, staged septic system to make good use of the gray water. I will post more details in future posts as these things start to materialize.

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Digital render of home rental in San Pancho, Mexico, near Sayulita.
Digital Render Back

Five (5) Secrets to Purchasing Vacation Rental Property in San Pancho – and how we managed ours at SelvaSuites.com

Posted on by Selva Suites

1. Be Persistent, Be Patient in your Vacation Rental Search.

As I mentioned, looking for a property will be a time consuming effort. You must really want it and must be persistent. We had a few deals fall through, mostly due to the price. You will need to be prepared for several trips to find the right property.

We made an offer at a property at Lo de Marcos. This deal fell through because the agent did not seem forthcoming and was playing games around the price and the size of the lot.

Another offer in Litibu – a small, very dry and empty, village between Punta de Mita and Sayulita fell through again due to price. While the lot had great view of the Nayarit Ocean, there was no privacy, other lots where attached right next to that lot. It was extremelly dry village, without the lash jungle views available in San Francisco. As a result, there was not any shade available. This dryness was also concerning about water availability for us and our lodging guests.  So our offer was reflective of these concerns and disadvantages of Litibu, which ultimately was not accepted by the seller.  Ours here at www.SelvaSuites.com was our baby! 🙂

2. Find the Right Realtor with Knowledge of the Local Market in San Pancho!

It is important to have a good and honest realtor. Someone with experience, who will work with you, be interested in what you are looking for, but also be a consultant who will educate you about the local market, the purchasing process and protect your interests.

So many realtors simply want to “push” to sell a property. We did encounter a couple such realtors. The one that helped us purchase our property was excellent, very helpful, honest and hard working. She asked questions we would not have thought. She made sure we understood the process and the market. She was prepared for our meetings and had ready for us to see several properties whenever we scheduled our trips to San Pancho to look at properties.

Such a good and organized realtor will save you time and money by utilizing your precious time by showing you a lot of properties within a given time, so that you have lots of options.

Selecting a good realtor is crucial in the process of purchasing your dream real estate in Mexico.

3. Protected Trees and Environmental Impact Study – Manifestación de Impacto Ambiental (MIA).

Although this is great for the protection of the environment, it can be a bitch for your building plans! 🙂 This could be considered the equivalent of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) in the US. If you buy a jungle lot, as we did, it will have certain vegetation. You will want to preserve as much as possible for shading and to protect your lot from erosion.  At the same time, there are certain trees which are highly protected and you may or may not be able to remove, if they happen to be located in the area you want to build. Which trees are protected? nobody could tell us or nobody wanted to tell us, so as not to get scared.

One of the deals’ reason of falling through was because there were trees which we thought were protected, the realtor thought it might be protected, but nobody could confirm. So we were very hesitant to make an offer without this information.

After a lot of research, we stumbled upon the community we eventually purchased. The developer of the community had already done the Study called MIA for all the lots they were selling, …. and it was available online!!!! We read it very carefully and we discovered this:

Protected Trees (no one will tell which ones, but here they are!!):

Palmas de coquito de aceite or Palm trees which produce a fruit nut (coco). This coco fruit can be processed and eaten. However, it is also the main food source of local birds and small animals in the area of San Pancho, Sayulita, Lo de Marcos and Punta de Mita. If these Palm trees are over 12 or 15 meters high, you are not allowed to cut them.

Tempizque Amenazado or the Endangered Tempizque. I do not know what that tree looks like. We did not have such a tree on our lot.

Here is the gray area; they may allow you to cut the trees if you agree to either re-plant some new trees of the same kind, on your lot and/or donate to the government for re-planting new trees maybe to a rate of 20 new trees for each tree you may want to cut.

We heard that the MIA report can be expensive and time consuming, because you are dealing with the government. We were very lucky in this area, because the developer already had the MIA done and we did not need to do it. It general, anytime you ask about the MIA, whether it has been done or what is the process, you will be given the run-around and vague responses.

4. Titled Property.

Extremelly important question: Is the property Titled (con escrituras in Spanish) or is it Ejido and if so at what stage of the Ejido?

Titled property legally belongs to a single person or corporation. It can legally be sold at seller’s/owner’s will. Ejido properties do not have clear legal ownership, instead they belong “to the people” the ejidatarios. If you want to buy an ejido property, you must do acrobatics, deal with Mexican beurocracy, pay a lot of money and go through a process which may take anywhere from 2 to 10 years. Ejido properties are extremely cheap compared to Titled properties, but they are so cheap for that reason. If you have time to invest and the patience to deal with this process, it might be worth it for you, because once you have managed to convert an Ejido property which you purchased very cheaply to Titled property, the price of the property will easily triple. For most people however, this is a very difficult process.

5. Water, Power, Drainage

Investigate and find what is the water situation. A scarce and extremely important resourse. Friends rented a vacation home in Cabo San Luca and half way through their vacation, the property run out of water. Imaging having this issue trying to rent your property. In San Pancho there is relatively more water and more rain that in Punta de Mita and Litibu. This is evident when you look at the surrounding environment and vegetation. However, even though there is more rain in San Pancho, this does not mean that the government will be able to provide you with water year round. Be prepared to build an undeground sistern and find ways of collecting the rain water to fill it up. Calculate your water consumption in order to figure out the appropriate sistern size.

Does you lot come with Electric Power services? Some developers have done the leg work to bring power to your doorstep. Some have not. We experienced two developers who were selling their lots at almost the same price per square foot, yet one had paved roads, water pipping to the property and electric boxes ready to be connected to the Electric company, while the other had done none of that.  It’s easy to miss these.

If your lot is outside the main village, be prepared to have to build a septic tank.  This is common thing in such areas and should not be area of concern.

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Our Little Piece of Peaceful Paradise

Posted on by Selva Suites

Today was the closing day. We are happy owners of our own jungle lot on a hill side, in San Pancho.

Our lot has amazing combo views of jungle, the village of San Pancho and the Pacific ocean.

Selva Suites Entrance
Entrance to exotic Selva Suites.

Searching for the right lot was a long and relatively complicated process. We started looking at a radius of 1-hour driving distance around the Puerto Vallarta airport.

We liked Puerto Vallarta for many reasons:
– Close to the equator has a more or less stable climate.
– There are no major natural disasters, no earthquakes or major hurricanes.
– It has a good International airport with direct flights to many cities in the US.

We have been coming to Puerto Vallarta for many years and thought about buying either a property or land to build a property for our vacation, retirement and as an investment.

The city of Puerto Vallarta is very developed with all the good and the bad things that come with it. It has easy convenient mega-stores, good internet access, and other modern comforts. It also has quite a lot of traffic, too many people and a very high rate per square footage. In Puerto Vallarta, you might be able to get a condo or an apartment with little to no privacy. For your one lot and an independent house, you can easily get in the million dollar level.

As a result, we looked farther out of Puerto Vallarta. We like the tranquility of smaller places with fewer people. We also wanted something that would be a good investment down the road. So we looked south of Puerto Vallarta in Mismaloya, and to the north at Punta Mita, Litibu, Sayulita, San Pancho, and Lo de Marcos.

We managed to find and purchase a great lot in San Pancho.

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