Para obtener instrucciones en español, cambie el idioma a "Spanish" 

La Colina is about 2km from Highway 200 where it passes San Francisco, Nayarit. (AKA San Pancho) The road is a rocky dirt road, which goes over several arroyos (streams). In the summer, which is rainy season, a 4×4 is highly recommended. From Nov to July most vehicles will make it, just drive slowly.

It takes about 20 minutes to walk from the San Pancho Pemex to La Colina.

Scroll down for Bus from Puerto Vallarta Airport directions.

Video of the route (Option 1 below) from outside the San Pancho Pemex gas station to La Colina. In this video they drive down through the river bed, which is no longer possible due to big rocks being in the way. Stick to the road.

Directions to La Colina

To reach La Colina from the South (Puerto Vallarta/Sayulita/San Pancho)   Go to the San Francisco (San Pancho) Oxxo/Pemex gas station.

Option 1: Turn left onto the highway, pass the restaurants and stalls on your right and turn right onto the dirt road just before the bridges. Go slowly, it’s easy to miss. Go down the hill and dog leg left-right to join the road coming from under the highway.  

Option 2: With your back to the Oxxo, turn left and drive beside the highway on the dirt road “lateral”.   Stay on the dirt road directly beside the highway pass the concrete depot and ferreterías until you reach the “Sazón” factory on your left. Stay right, the road goes down a slight hill and you can turn right under the bridge under the highway. Turn under the highway.   LOOK FOR THESE SMALL WHITE SIGNS WITH GREEN ARROWS AND THE LA COLINA SPIRAL LOGO ON THEM. You can also follow the signs to “Tranquilandia”  which is an organic farm on the way to La Colina.

———————–  

To reach La Colina from the North (Guadalajara/San Blas)   Take highway 200 to to San Francisco (San Pancho).   Before you get to town, you will cross two bridges called “Puente San Francisco I” and “Puente San Francisco II”   Just after the highway crosses the bridges, do a sharp right and go down the dirt road directly beside the highway and turn right under the bridge. (You are essentially doing a “u-turn” and going under the bridge.) if you miss it don’t panic. Just pull off at the Pemex and follow the “from the South” directions  

————————  

Once under the highway bridge “Puente San Francisco II” …   Follow the road left.   Cross arroyo (creek bed) number 1.   Follow the road right as you come out of the arroyo.   After about 100m stay on the road – don’t go down into river.   Keep following the road past a big orange house until you reach a fork in the road.  

Follow the sign for Tranquilandia not the sign to “Gotcha” – take the right fork down into crossing arroyo #2.   Follow road and cross arroyo #3   You will pass big gates with bougainvillea trees in front of them on your left and several small houses on your right. When you reach a big brick house on your right you are at Tranquilandia. Keep going straight and go down hill to arroyo #4.  

If dry and smooth: turn left, drive on left of stream cross the stream and go up onto road – stay to the right of the big rocks (don’t go into Rancho Bouganvillea) If wet/rocky: go directly across the stream and up the other side, then turn left past the goats/horse/donkey and go down and up through the smaller creek and follow the road to the right.   Rancho Bouganvillea will be on your left.   Follow the dirt road (now narrower) along about 300m until you cross arroyo #5. You will see our wooden gate in front of you, feel free to open the gate and park your car inside.

Welcome to La Colina.   (If no one is visible when you arrive, give us a call on +52 322 888 6797 or walk up the road to the right of the gate about 200 meters – you will pass the cabañas and then on the left is where you’ll find the pool and further along the Scorpion Temple that we live in.)  

Bus from airport to San Pancho

When you arrive at Puerto Vallarta airport you will need to go through immigration and then customs. Immigration will stamp your passport and write how many days you can stay. It’s usually 180 days but be careful because they sometimes give less. If you don’t have a return ticket say you are driving out of the country with a friend if they ask how you are leaving.

At customs you will push a button. If the light goes green you are free to go, if it goes red you will go put your bags through a X-ray scanner and possibly be searched. You can bring up to $500 USD of gifts, so make sure you have receipts for anything new looking.

After this you will be accosted by people trying to sell you time shares, taxis, etc. Just walk past them all until you pass the rental car offices on your right. At this point you will have to give up your trolley if you are using one.

You will come out in the main airport now. Here on the right is a bank of ATMs. This is a great place to get money out. We like the Santander and HSBC machines the best. When the machine asks if you want them to do the conversion DECLINE the conversion. It gives a terrible rate.

The ATMs in San Pancho charge a higher fee than you get in the airport and often run out of cash.

If the bank machine only gives you 500 peso notes, go into a shop and buy yourself a delicious drink to get some change for the bus. There’s an “Oxxo” in the airport parking lot which is a good place to get snacks/drinks.

To get to the bus stop turn immediately left as you get outside the airport building. Walk all the way down to the end of the airport, go over the pedestrian bridge and over to the far side of the highway.

This is where you catch the bus. You want a white bus with green writing that says “COMPOSTELA”. You need one that has “San Francisco” or “San Pancho” written on the windscreen.

Tell the driver you are going to San Pancho. The fare will be about 50 pesos (depends on the driver).

The bus takes about an hour. Once you pass Sayulita, San Pancho is the next town. You’ll see a big “HACIENDA SAN PANCHO” sign on the left, you will be getting off a couple hundred meters later across from a Pemex gas station.