Check-Ins

Beautiful, more luxurious hotel with very comfi rooms and a really good and hot shower. Excellent lakeviews. Nice swimmingpool. Good parkingspace. A place to rest en reload. Unfortunately we were the only guests so atmosphere was somewhat less. Good services. Great breakfast. Not cheap: 660B/matrimonial. There are cabins as well 1050B/5p.

Nice big area by the highway, access to lake and old railway

Turnaround at end of road, field beside road

Amazing vineyard with 15 different grapes and around 60 different labels... Tour was really nice and we liked every single wine at the tasting (decisions, decisions...) They are extremely friendly and you have such a beautiful view on the mountains. New market wines, even Riesling, which we took with us..Absolutely loved it! Tour started with a sparkling wine and we had four different wines at the tasting. Costs for 2 people (incl. bread etc: 5200pesos.). Really liked the fact that they experiment with al kinds of grapes and soils to get the best.

I have to say something, Peru what happened to you? I've been there 5 years ago, we payd 5 soles with toilet included. Now? 5 sol after 1 km 20 sol, when you want to go Valle rojo 10 sol after 800m another 10 sol. 2 sol for toilet even for peru it's 1 sol. People of peru from this location, you are disgusting to me, everywhere I will go I will tell who you are and what happened with you.

Still $3 for 8 minutes (pay and get token from the cashier in the shop), clean, hot showers with private changing room.

our second stop here, we visited with friends and it is still as lovely and peaceful as before. We swam in the cage pool and did the escarpment and gorge hike. Firepit each night and 10 USD pppn

~15 euros / ~16 dollars for a room (300 pesos in 2023)

everything as described, restaurant was not so great though imo but just a matter of taste I guess. (if you go late during the evening they have very little left)

EDIT : Had a horrible.night
even with silicon quality earplugs, there's just 6 rooster (= male chickens) approx. 10 - 50 meters from the rooms yelling very loud non stop from 4 am... they were soooo loud and annoying (especially the little ones of course) because they competed to be the loudest and even sometimes ran 1 meter away from the windows yelling every 5 - 10 seconds.

i felt horrible from 4 am to 6 am struggling to grab a bit of sleep but anyways it's just a funny latin american road hotel story I'll have in my mind : the guy who unleaches 6 male chicken in front of the "windows" of 30 rooms and acting like everything is normal

i dont even get the point of having 3 dwarf roosters, they just fight yell and produce no meat, LATAM logic hahaha

i left tired in a good funny mood but honestly, look somewhere else really 😅

This does not point to a particular point but rather gives my personal opinion after spending two weeks exploring the mountains with my bike. I spent a week sleeping in San Jose, 1 week in San Mateo and wanna give you my opinion.

San Jose Del Pacífico, while its surroundings are obviously pretty, has for pretty much as the only reason of its existence, the fact that it is located on the main road and is therefore convenient for backpackers for a stop-over.

however, after 2pm, because the village is very poorly located meteorologically (weird way of saying it I know), you'll be in the clouds almost every day.

On top of it, the village isn't that nice compared to the area has to offer (a lot), I mean, it's pretty much constructed next to a road and a bus station and has higher prices being quite touristy.

for a more authentic experience, better views, waaaaay better sunsets, cheaper price and overall way more quiet and relax vibe, head to San Mateo Rio Hondo (two pictures included).

it is located in a valley and you can take asphalted good 40 minutes quality road to get there. then you'll enjoy better views from the village that does have a really cute main square, good vibe, and is tourist enough to have vegan, italian and a few restaurants and comfy cabañas.

safe travel and enjoy these mighty mountains !

EDIT : Oh and last thing, bring cash. otherwise to withdraw ask for tiendas that will give you money in exchange for a card payment (10% fee). Personnally I rode to Mihuatlan, the city nearby, to get cash from ATM for way less fee.

Great homemade pizzas and pastas for a good price !

amazing view on top of it (see pic)

Vegan restaurant
Very friendly owner

decent wifi

around 3,8 dollars / 3,5 euros for a meal (80 pesos in 2023)

varies depending of the day

when wifi works its very fast but weather issues often happen

not luxury by any means but terrace with its great view does a lot.

rooms are alright, around 10 euros/11 dollars for a private room (double bed) (or 200 pesos in 2023)

a room with two double beds was around 17 euros/18 dollars (or 350 pesos in 2023)

friendly owners, they can make food for you, good eating area

overall very satisfied for the price

for motorbike, inside secure parking available

for cars/vans, a bit further in the street

title says all,
otherwise you will have to pay 10% fee in San Jose in some little shops.

Mihuatlan is the only city in the mountains with ATM

just some pictures about the area, awesome off road in the desert next to the river then back to the mountains south

Forest carpark. Slightly sloping. No restrictions. Quiet. Views.

got here around 6 and there was another iOverlandrr there. decided to share the spit and a park ranger came by and said Nope.
No camping in the park outside of the campgrounds.

12usd ppn November to June and 16usdppn other months. staff very friendly. there are over 40 staff working there but I was 1 of 2 guests in May. apparently it starts getting busy around June.
elephants, hippos, warthog, baboons and antelope by the river. and I heard lions at night. there is security at night. very nice place. pizza and salad wasn't very nice from restaurant. maybe stick with more african food from the menu.

Lovely spot and the tour was very informative. We didn’t even attempt to park in the lower lot with our Transit van. I’m sure we could have made it but there’s not much room at the bottom anyway. We would have had to back down as there’s no room to turn around at the bottom so we opted for the upper lot which was great. There’s access to a toilet close by and the beautiful green wall and fountain were nice to park beside.
Great and helpful staff. The price is a little high but it supports a good cause

Very nice, large parking lot, several semis there. We got permission from the manager who was very nice.

As described. Easy access to a bunch of pull-offs in the forest. Best suited to campervans that have better manoeuver ability. We stayed one night and had a quiet sleep. (Birds started chirping at about 4 am).

Reached out to David and he extended his hospitality. Filled the water tank and stayed a night in this surprisingly calm and peaceful spot.

nous avons passé une nuit sur ce parking sans aucun soucis, il y a avait 3 autres véhicules sur place. malgré le panneau à l'entrée de la zone et la police qui est passé plusieurs fois

Awesome place
Had 3G Entel
Barley any trash, just a few collected Glas bottles.
Weren’t able to reach the water but I think if you are motivated you can

Overnighted here without problems. Some people riding ATVs around when I got here but didn't bother me. It's buggy being by the water. So quiet other than the wildlife. Felt safe.

Big rest area with lots of grass. Great for dogs. Noisy with the train and highway but not the end of the world.

Gomeria. here you can buy tires or have them repaired. he does vulcanization and welding. open Monday to Friday and Saturday morning until 1 p.m. we paid 10,000 pesos for a patch on a truck inner tube and a patch in the tire.

Gomeria. ici vous pourrez acheter des pneus ou les faire réparer. il fait de la vulcanisation et de la soudure. ouvert du lundi au vendredi et le samedi matin jusqu’à 13 h. nous avons payé 10000 pesos pour une rustine sur une chambre à air de camion et un patch dans le pneu.

village square. there are large parking areas along the square. there are games for children on the square. we spent two nights here, it is a quiet town.

place du village. il y a de grande zones de stationnement le long de la place. il y a des jeux pour enfants sur la place. nous avons passé deux nuits ici, c’est une ville tranquille.

Lovely campsite with campgrounds, chalets and caravans to stay.

1 gallon $0.30 cents, 5 gallon $1.50 drinking water
Great find since none of the Walmarts around have water refill stations.

Nice little, old style roadside campground. $5 per night. Camp kitchen and pit toilets. Free firewood. It's well treed, grass is cut and the campground is nicely kept up. There's even a hand pump water well. We will stay here almost a week.