You know how sometimes you just get lucky in life and you meet really nice, genuinely kind, people? Well, I did just that when I met Aaron and Sonia. I forget how they got my name, but as fate would have it, they reached out to me about walking their dog. I knew immediately they would be a great fit as a client and happily began caring for their dogs. Aaron and Sonia travel a lot and one day I happened to ask where they were going. Aaron told me they had just bought an airbnb in San Pancho Mexico and were visiting it. I'd never heard of the area, also known as San Francisco, Mexico. One thing lead to another and before I knew it, I was booking flights to check it out.
Harper, Olivier and I went during Harper’s winter break. We all fell in love with San Pancho. It’s a small town, a little north up the coast from Sayulita on the central Pacific coast of Mexico. It’s about 30 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, which is where we flew into.
NUMBER 1, and I can not stress this enough…. DO NOT RENT A CAR if you don’t know the traffic laws in Mexico. Just don’t be dumb like us, hire a car to drive you. We rented a car and got pulled over TWICE in one day. It was not fun or worth it. Once you are in San Pancho, everything is very walkable. I’d also strongly suggest getting Pesos BEFORE you arrive, if possible. The big restaurants take credit cards, but the small ones don’t, at least not when we were starving wondering aimlessly in the dark of the evening begging for food. The do have ATM machines, but Olivier couldn’t remember his code and my bank wouldn’t authorize a withdraw, they eventually did but I had to call them. Other than those two suggestions, everything was fantastic.
We rented a golf cart to get around and Harper loved that. The town is very easy to drive a golf cart around in and we always felt safe. The people who live there are very friendly and nice. They have a nice downtown with shops and restaurants that lead out to the beach. We went in the water, but I’ll caution you, it’s rough. I was taken out by a couple of waves. Harper had to help me up because I couldn’t see with my entire head of hair smashed against my face. There were a bunch of little kids playing in the water, so I thought it would be ok… turns out I’m not as nimble as a child.
One of the days we were there we spent at Tierra Tropical Beach Club. It was really nice, I would definitely recommend checking it out.
To this day (6 months after our visit, because I need to do better at this) Harper contends it was her favorite vacation. She asks all the time when we are going to go back. I would absolutely go back to this laid back, quaint, beach town.
San Pancho, Mexico
11.23.23 - Written by Rebecca Leimbach - All images are copyrighted, please do not use without my permission.
Casa Joya is beautiful. It has everything you could possibly need. I wanted to move in, but they wouldn’t let me.
The town has a lot of nice shops to visit and a bunch of restuarants. The waves are pretty rough at the beach. I got taken out at the knees a couple times, yet there were a lot of kids playing in the water.
How awesome is this beach club? They serve food and beverages and have a pool and amenities. It was a great way to spend the day. The cost to use the club is very reasonable too. You can’t really walk to the club, we took the golf cart. I’d definitely recommend spending the day here.
It’s pretty easy to walk to everything, but we chose to rent a golf cart, mostly because Harper begged me to. She had the best time driving us all over the town.
Quick Recap:
DO NOT RENT A CAR (unless you are a seasoned professional at driving in Mexico). There are many car services you can use to get to and from the airport.
Have the car take you to Mega in Bucerias on your way to San Pancho to stock up if you want to purchase groceries. Mega is like Costco or Sam’s club but you can get smaller quantities.
Bring Pesos with you. Usually banks require 3-5 business days to get Pesos, so plan in advance. We did not and we damn near starved to death the first night. We also didn’t stop at Mega and we also rented a car. Learn from us.
Rent a golf cart in advance of your trip. We didn’t and had to wait for one to become available. I suggest securing one when you book your flights.
The Ocean is rough. Harper managed it well. I, on the other hand, got tossed around like laundry in a washing machine.
It’s a very laid back, relaxed vibe, expect to go slow. Which we loved.
Check out the beach club for at least one day. The pool is perfect for kids.
Stay at my friend’s Airbnb, you won’t regret it. OH!!! There are rooster’s that roam around the area, they put out earplugs for it.