I realize that during Holy Week in Mexico there is more traffic on the roads and that many places are more crowded and pricier than usual, but am interested in more information. Specifically, a group of us are renting a cliffside house up the beach from San Pancho (otherwise known as San Francisco), a seaside town about 45 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta and the only time that various scheduling matters make it possible is around Easter. (FYI, no kids, just adults.) The house itself seems very nice and secluded enough. I hear from expats living in the area that during Holy Week vacationing Mexican families set up a small tent city at the other end of the long beach, near town. That sounds fine, and even perhaps fun and interesting.

What I'm curious about is what else to expect, whether positive or negative for a group that's looking for a relaxing vacation (hitting the Puerto Vallarta hot spots is not on our agenda) that's also culturally interesting. Interesting religious processions or other religious activities to observe? Noisy firecrackers or all terrain vehicles in towns or on the roads or beaches? (We know that most of the beach there is for walking rather than swimming due to the strong surf.) Is this a good time to drive an hour or two inland for a change of pace and interesting Holy Week activities to see, or is the traffic too crazy?

I realize that most or all folks reading this won't be familiar with the specific place we're going, but any general insights on Mexico this time of year would be welcome. My wife has been to Mexico before, I travel to many developing countries for work, and we vacation in those countries sometimes, so we know that even set up in a comfortable house in Mexico things will be different than in the United States. I lived in another Catholic country, the Philippines, for a number of years, where Easter is pretty laid back compared to other holidays, but expect that Mexico could be different simply because the two countries are different in so many other ways.

Thanks for any info and insights.

Semana Santa, as it is called, most of Mexico City empties into the coastal areas and some upscale highland areas. Lots of people from Tepic will have come down the highway to Rinc�n de Guayabitos, San Francisco, Sayulita, Lo de Marcos, Bucerias... Chacala, which used to be a seriously remote place, fills with R.V.s

Many of these places were tiny towns when I used to spend time there - and are now tourist destinations with trailer parks, hotels, etc. Some of the original residents were displaced into the mountains so they could continue to farm and their old properties used for more lucrative reasons, or they lost their original livelihood and became laborers, gardeners, servanst or perhaps immigrated to the US to find a job. I suspect you won't find much in the way of tradition there, and "old timers" have only been there ten years.

I wish I could tell you the little tent city down the beach will be great, but camping is a relatively recent phenomenon in Mexico, so I suspect you will find tons of rubbish, people using the margins of the beach as, er, bathrooms, and possibly too much drinking and disorderliness.

In P.V. itself, it will be crowded, restaurants and other places will be pricier and more crowded, lots of waits. "Noisy firecrackers or all terrain vehicles in towns or on the roads or beaches" are indeed quite possible.

You may find services you want to use will be closed, and if you have maid or cook service, some days they may go missing on you. The airline may also be overbooked, so earlier rather than later to the airport, if you are returning just after Easter.

What you won't find is some of the religious fanaticism that you might see in the Philippines: nobody will be getting themselves flogged on Good Friday, much less nailed to crosses and the like.

Inquire locally - you will be told about any processions or observances that might be of interest to you, and probably invited. Much better - you then get to participate in local, family-friendly genuine observances. Your secluded home with a view sounds like it will be very nice for Semana Santa.

I think Nayarit (San Francisco is in the state of Nayarit, on Mountain Time Zone; Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, Central Time Zone,) still maintains one hour time difference from Jalisco, but check so you don't get caught on the wrong side of the time zone for airport check-in, etc.

JDiver, thanks very much for the sobering but very useful info. For future reference (and not around Easter), are there any other places in Mexico you recommend for renting houses near beaches?

Thanks again.

Mexico is so varied, and people's interests are too - so it's not easy to recommend. But enjoy San Francisco, and you'll be able to say "I was there before..." That piece of coastline north of P. V. is about to endure a quantum leap of development, I suspect, and even the President and tourism secretariat have recently been flogging another new mega-development called "Litib�."

I think coastal Oaxaca is still a much more laid back area, and the highlands of that state are quite beautiful as well. Climate makes a huge difference as well: some parts of coastal Mexico can get incredibly hot, others can be subject to tropical storms and hurricanes - Gulf, Caribbean and Pacific.

I think I saw a recent ad for Litibu...or maybe some similarly named place in Mexico...maybe even here on Flyertalk? (I'm not being very definite here, I know.) Anyway, thanks once again.

You are very observant! The Litib� ad appeared on occasions at the bottom of a thread, probably even this one.

Antoher place that is kind of interesting is the laid back community of Isla Mujeres - it is very close to Canc�n, yet it has a definite flavor of its own, and is much more family oriented.