Chacala Camping

Camping in Chacala

Camping is different in Mexico, of course, than in organized campgrounds in the US and Canada. For one thing, it's cheaper.

For another, in Mexico the sense of social distance is very different, and people are accustomed to camping tent-to-tent, really packed in. Especially during holiday periods, you are apt to find your camping neighbors in Chacala kind of "oozing" into what you think is your area. But, really, that's the fun part, in many ways. Big families camp together, and if they think you are polite and friendly you are quickly adopted into the family. It's really fun and nice.

Another thing is if you are lucky enough to have access to a toilet on the Chacala beach (40 cents per use) you flush with a bucket of water from a tank out in the middle of the usually uni-sex toilet area. There are private booths for the toilets. Showers are warmed by the sun, so about 2-3pm is a good time to shower (90 cents a shower last year).

You make your own fire pit. And watch out for hot coals partially buried in the sand. People get burned fairly often.

Camping fees in Chacala tend to be kind of negotiable, and at different times the fee may cover different things. Like showers, toilets, electricity, trash collection, etc. You should try to clarify those issues up front, before you pay. You are expected to pay on arrival. Small bills are good.
Camping on Chacala beach at Easter

HOW TO FIND A CAMPSITE IN CHACALA

As you drive into Chacala from the big highway 200, turn left at the green overhead sign that says "Playa Chacala". Stay on this bumpy one lane dirt road until the first place you can turn left, into a kind of a palm grove. There is camping in this area, and it's obvious. You can continue thru the palm grove, curving to the south and the beach, and find other places to camp. The signs usually say "banos" and "regaderos" and "agua dulce". That is: toilets, showers, and fresh, not ocean, water. They rarely say "camping"

Occasionally there will be a man standing at the entrance to the palm grove, collecting parking money. He is collecting if you are parking in the palm grove or around around Delphins, to the north. Tell him you are going down the road, (if you are) and don't pay. If you are camping on the beach road you will be paying some family that lives along the road. Make sure you are paying the right person. There are places to camp all the way to the gate for Majahua and Mar de Jade, on the south end of the beach. Families running these camping areas pay Federal concessions for the right to manage and charge fees to camp in these areas. You can camp for free below the high time line if you are looking for a little excitement when the tides comes in. You will still have to pay for the toilets/water/trash collection. No free lunch for campers.

Two long-term Chacala residents, Don Beto and his daughter-in-law, Esparanza, have the two nicest camping grounds in Chacala, with ramadas for shade, and trash collection, toilets, showers, and access to electricity. You can't park next to your camping area at either place. But there is parking. Esparanza's is my favorite because she keeps a close eye on things, with the help of her large family.

When you see a place you might like to camp at, park your car and walk to the nearest house, and ask about camping. Make eye contact. Say "Buenas Dias" and something about how beautiful the beach is. Be friendly and curious. In Mexico, if they don't like you, they generally won't deal with you. Even in stores. The customer is NOT always right in Mexico. And rudeness is the number one complaint, right after cheapness, about gringos coming to Chacala.

In Chacala trucks come by camping areas areas every day, picking up trash, selling five gallon jugs of clean water, and bread, plastics, fruits and vegetables, seafood, ice cream, whatever. And vendors walk along selling this and that.

The camping areas are in
the upper right hand corner

How To Get To Chacala

HOW TO GET TO CHACALA FROM THE PUERTO VALLARTA AIRPORT

To see step-by-step photos of how to take a taxi or bus to Chacala, go to

Chacala Nayarit http://chacalanayarit.blogspot.com

Be sure to go to the other website (above) after reading the following post.

GETTING TO CHACALA

You have at least three of choices about how you get to Chacala from the Puerto Vallarta airport. You can either take public transportation (taxi or bus) or make prior arrangements to be picked up at the airport. Or you can rent a car. About which I know nothing.

In any case, if you are arriving after 4pm or so, I would suggest you get something to eat before you head out for Chacala. Or bring some snacks, because if you arrive in Chacala after about 6 or 7pm most restaurants are closed or closing down. The very small groceries/tiendas are open later however. During the winter months it gets dark around 5pm.

Remember that the PV time zone is one hour early than Chacala time, giving you an extra hour to get to Chacala before dark.

The Malecon (walkway) between the beach and the little harbor,
with a view of Isreal and Chata's garden below the terrace/palapa
for guests of their rental units.

PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION TO CHACALA FROM THE PV AIRPORT
There are some options for people who do not want to take the bus north to Chacala. Or don't have friends who are willing to pick them up. Or for people who just want to get to Chacala, and are not on a tight budget. Or for tired people with tons of luggage and small kids, etc etc etc. Or for people who have late flights.

There is a locally-based taxi services that will pick you up up, by reservation, at the airport, and bring you to wherever you are staying in Chacala. The fare is set ahead of time and depends on various factors (arriving or departing, other guests arriving/departing at the same time, season of the year, and if you want to stop at a market or whatever, etc). The driver stands at the area where you come out of airport customs with a sign with your name on it. The driver can show you where the bathrooms, ATM's and money changers are in the airport.

Cundo's Van Service
Cundo and his brother Juan can be reached for reservations and price quotes at trinimoya2@ hotmail.com. In order to get a price estimate, please provide airline and date and time of flight arrival, and number of passengers. Trini, Cundo's wife and famous Spanish teacher, can also be reached at 011 52 327 219 4018 (from the US).
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO CHACALA FROM THE PV AIRPORT

As of Dec 2007

As you walk out of the immigration/baggage area of the airport you will be in the main floor of the airport, which is generally full of resort reps, taxi drivers etc, most with signs. At this moment, if you need a restroom, ATM, phone, money exchange, food, or a newspaper don't walk out the doors in front of you, but walk back around behind the area you just came out of and find what you need. The three ATM s are spread out along wall of the terminal, on your left. The entire terminal in being remodeled and the selection of restauants is very limited. a Carl's and a Cuban Bar and a couple of coffee/bakery kind of places. And a Starbucks hidden near the far right end of the Departures counters. Across the street via the bridge are some shops and a Feliz Chicken outlet.

When you are ready to head to Chacala, and if haven't made prior arrangements to be picked up you have several choices.

1. You can take a taxi to Chacala. If you engage a taxi driver within the airport or right outside the door you will pay top price. If you walk out the doors right in front of you as you leave the baggage area and look to the left you will see a ramp leading to a bridge across the highway. On the other side there are other taxi's who haven't paid the special airport fees to be allowed to work right out of the airport. So they are cheaper and no different, as far as I know. (for photos showing these locations go to Chacala Nayarit. http://chacalanayarit.blogspot.com

Be sure to negotiate the fare before you get in or let the driver take your bags.
You will need pesos from now on, and the airport ATMs are good because they give out smaller bills, which you will need. I think the cheaper taxis are between $60-80 dollars (400-800 pesos) to Chacala. Might be less, might be more. The drive takes less than two hours, depending on this and that. Most of these drivers seem to speak enough English to negotiate a deal with you. Clarify to the driver that you are going to Chacala, Nayarit, because there is another Chacala (Jalisco) to the south.

The taxi driver probably won't know the location of where you are staying in Chacala, but he can ask around and find out for you. Be sure you are taken right to where you are staying and that someone is there with a key before the taxi leaves.

Most planes land in mid-to-late afternoon in Puerto Vallarta, and chances are you will arrive in Chacala after dark from December-March. The person you have made reservations with will probably make clear arrangements with you about the location of your rental and accessing the key. Remember the time difference between P.V. and Chacala.

If you are coming to town without a reservation you should try to arrive before dark. There are several nice places on the paved road (don't turn off onto the dirt road at the Playa Chacala sign). Casa Chacala is on the left, and then Aurora's is on the right. Concha's and Sarahi are downhill at the first cobblestone left turn.

Casa Chacala from the street

2. You can hitchhike, which would be very unusual in urban Mexico and you would possibly attract the interest of the police or (other) disreputable people. And you really don't want to be hitchhiking after dark. Really.

3. You can go to the central bus station (about a mile north of the airport) via a taxi from either inside or across the bridge from the airport. Tell the taxi driver you want to go to the Camionera Central. There is no ATM at the bus terminal, so be sure to get pesos at the airport ATM's. The fare from right at the airport is about $15/150pesosUSD or a little more, and from across the bridge is about $6USD/60pesos. There is a baggage holding place at the terminal, in case you need to go do errands before you head north. There is NO baggage storage at the airport. There is a major shopping center about three blocks south of the airport, on the only road. Across the bridge and head south.

4. You can get to the central bus station by going out the airport door and over the bridge and catch a city bus going north for 50 cents (US). Ask specifically for Camionera Central before you get on. Or you can write the name on a larger piece of paper and show it to the driver if you aren't sure about your Spanish. the bus takes you right near the terminal. It's very obvious.

This is the bedroom of Aurora's Techo de Mexico upstairs rental unit,
with a large bath, and covered patio with view of Chacala Bay and a nice kitchen.

When you arrive at the bus terminal (Central Camionera) enter and go to the Pacifico bus counter and ask for a ticket to Las Varas (V pronounced as B). Usually they run every half hour or so. The ticket is about 76 pesos or about $7USD.

Ask what number gate the bus leaves from and what time. There are clean bathrooms with TP and turnsiles (30centsUSD). Some toilets have seats, at least in the Ladies. They usually take small change only. No bills. There are a couple of snack shops and little restaurant. You go through little security gate where the guy writes his initals on your ticket. This is a new thing and I have n0 idea what the point is except to slow you down when you are late for the bus.

The buses are loaded very quickly. If you have more stuff than you want to take on the bus with you, you can check your stuff under the bus. It's probably a good idea to sit on the passenger side so you can watch your stuff during the brief stops on your way north. So it won't get taken off by accident. They usually give you a claim check. Don't lose it if they do.

There are taxis to Chacala at the Pacifico bus terminal in Las Varas until later in the evening, and the fare is usually about $9us or 90 pesos. There are two collectivo's (small vans) going back and forth to Chacala from about 7am to about 5pm for 12 pesos. The taxi drivers may be willing to point out the collectivo stop to you (However, the collectivos are competition for them. Or not. It's about two blocks back the way you came into town and near the Taco stand and in front of the Toltec cement sign, which points south. Most of the taxi and collectivo drivers know their way around Chacala.

For a description of life in Chacala go here , that is http://mylifeinchacala.blogspot.com.

Bedroom of Concha's Techo de Mexico upstairs unit
with kitchen and terrace, and bath and lovely view

Chacala's Techos de Mexico Program (budget rentals)

TECHOS DE MEXICO RENTALS IN CHACALA

Techos de Mexico www.techosdemexico.com is a local organization helping Chacala families build nice income-generating tourist rental units. The concept was developed by Jose Enrique De Valle, owner of Majahua, a small resort in Chacala. Participant families are chosen on the basis of resources and other criteria similar to the Habitat for Humanity program. Families are offered loans, volunteer labor, and training and support, in order to built and run a small rental business in Chacala.

The units are rented by the day, week, or month, or year-round. Techos de Mexico rental units have private entrances with secure doors. All units have tiled floors, nice tiled baths with hot water showers, screened windows with glass, and ceiling or free-standing fans. Some Techos rental units have kitchens and all have patios or terraces. Most units have two double beds.

Currently six (listed below) of the eight families with Techos de Mexico rental units are offering their units for rent. All contact information is provided on the post "List of Chacala Rentals with Photos" above.

There are also other affordable rentals in Chacala built independently, by families living in Chacala. These include Mirador, Maria Jose, Casa Chacala, Antonio's, Casa Chacala Annex, and Soccoro's. They are also shown on the first post of this blog. The more expensive, but locally built and owned small hotels in Chacala include Majahua, and Mar de Jade.

Most of the other rentals in Chacala are owned and operated by people from Las Varas, Tepic, Guadalajara, and the U.S.

Contact information for these units is listed at right above this post, on the "List of Chacala Rentals" post. Or email alatawah@gmail.com for further information.
Casa de Aurora y Alberto











Casa de Dona Lupe (weekly/monthly)(not available for rent as of 1/1/2007)









Casa de Gracia


















Casa de Beatriz (weekly/monthly)










Casa de Guanhani (Concha)

















Casa de Laura (weekly/monthly) Not available for rent. No photo.

For more info about Techos de Mexico click here (www.techosdemexico.com) or alatawah@gmail.com

About this Blog, Chacala, and a Little Advice

Early morning walk on Playa Chacala

ABOUT RENTING IN CHACALA

For more detailed info about Life in Chacala, a small Mexican village, click here or go to http://mylifeinchacala.blogspot.com. Or for info about taking the bus from the airport to Chacala, and other information about visiting Chacala, go to Chacala Nayarit.

This is a Blog intended to connect travellers with budget or long-term basic rentals in Chacala, Nayarit, Mexico by:

• finding renters for low-income families living in Chacala who have rentals available that are not advertised effectively (particular Techo de Mexico rentals)
  

• finding rentals for people looking for an affordable (meaning cheap), long-term (defined as a minimum of one month) rooms with baths and sometimes kitchens and/or patios.

However, all but three of the rentals in Chacala are listed here, for the convenience of people looking for a place to stay in Chacala. Contact info is included.

Chacala is a very small Mexican tourist and fishing village on the Pacific coast of Mexico, about 2 hours north of Puerto Vallarta. It is accessible via public transportation during the daylight hours. It has about a dozen restaurants, a beautiful beach, kinder-grade 1- 8 school facilities, an internet cafe, several groceries, hardware store, tourist shops, a couple of higher-end very small hotels at the south end of the beach (see Mar de Jade and Majahau web sites), and a hardware store.

Other services, such as a bank and ATM, dental and medical care, laundry services, fabric stores, internet places, hair salons, shoes stores, and intercity and interstate bus services, etc are located in Las Varas, about 10 kilometers away

RENTING IN CHACALA

Coming to Chacala and making a rental arrangement face-to-face is probably the best way to find an affordable, long-term rental. And that eliminates any surprises. As a word of warning, very few landladies here speak English. And from early December thru Easter week many places have already been rented, so it's probably better to have a reservation for those periods.
Of course, if you are equipped for it, there is always camping on the beach, my personal favorite.

SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING A SATISFACTORY RENTAL AGREEMENT

*When making a deposit for a reservation, be sure to clarify specifically important details about the deposit. For example:
What are the exact conditions for a refund of your deposit or rent?
Clarify if the refund will be made in pesos, dollars or a check from an American bank.
And when will the refund be made.

* When is the remainder of your rent due (on arrival, on departure?).

* Is the remainder of the rent due in pesos or dollars?

* Will there by food services available during your stay?
The four main higher-end places in Chacala (Mar deJade, CasaPacifica, Majahua and Paraiso Descondido) with food service do not offer food service every day and for every meal or season.

* Clarify if the facilities you are interested will be available during your stay: pool, hot tub, spa, massage, etc. Sometimes there are repairs going on, etc etc.

* Clarify in advance the exact location of your rental.
If you want to be on the beach or within a block or two of the beach, make sure the place you are considering is located there.

*If you prefer a quiet location, make sure you place will be in a quiet location. And that no construction on-site or near your location will be happening during your stay. And that no conferences or retreats are taking place. Particularly with children participating.

* Clarify in writing the exact unit and dates for which you are making the deposit.

* If it is important to you, you might inquire if the person taking your reservation (if it is not the unit's owner) if they are charging the owner a fee, and how much. You might also ask if the actual owner of the unit receives your non-refundable deposit if you cancel.

Generally, my experience, by observation, is that problems with deposits and the availability of services, problems with location, and changes in rooms or locations can happen. I hear enough of these kinds of problems to make the following suggestions. You, as a potentional renter, have an obligation to be clear when you make your reservation about your needs and expectations. And do your research. Use the links on this website to do some research about Chacala.

AND BE SURE TO SEE THE UNIT YOU ARE RENTING BEFORE YOU PAY THE BALANCE OF YOUR RENT.

There are a couple of other suggestions about making your stay a happpy one.
If you have very strong food preferences (real coffee, real cream, good chocolate, etc etc etc) bring them with you. Or ask ahead of time if they are available in the area.

* Benadryl and Immodium are not something you want to go shopping for when they are needed. Bring them with you.

* Sunscreen is a must. You might want to bring your favorite brand

* If you are a reading addict, be sure to bring enough to read. The bibliotecha has a small exchange library. The closest English language newspapers and magazines are at the PV airport. Or maybe Sayulita or Nuevo Vallarta.

*Be sure to get pesos (probably at the ATM at the airport) before you arrive in Chacala.
Change (cambio) is often a problem in Chacala, so bills of 200 pesos ($20) or smaller are good. 500 pesos bills can be a problem, except when paying your rent. Then it's fine.