Stay at the Chez Cress-Jensen
Stay at the Chez Cress-Jensen
Schedule a Visit*
Please click on the button below to reserve a dates in our scheduling calendar. Feel free to schedule a range of dates if you don't know your exact dates yet.
If you can't get this calendar to work, please see the FAQ below. Or, you can always just email us your dates if you'd rather!
*Sensible home decor not guaranteed
Frequently Asked Questions
You can always send us an email to reserve dates, but here are some tips:
- You have to be logged in to your google account.
- When you click on a day that you are interested in reserving, a box will pop up. This is a google calendar entry. By clicking save, this entry will go straight into your personal google calendar and will disappear from the scheduling calendar (so that people can't double book).
- You have to reserve each individual day that you want to visit.
- If the day you are trying to reserve is not clickable, unfortunately, that is because the day is not showing as available on the calendar. Please try scheduling a different timeframe. If your timeframe is not flexible, please contact us directly because sometimes we have ways to make it work.
- Your personal information will not be visible to other visitors using this calendar.
- This is a google product and it shows your personal google calendar superimposed on the scheduling calendar. Perhaps this is a feature designed to allow you to cross-reference and pick a date that doesn't conflict with your existing schedule. In any event, it's a bit confusing because the date you select will disappear from the scheduling calendar and then reappear on your personal google calendar in a different color.
- If it's not working and you are on a tablet or phone, try using a desktop/laptop.
- Stay tuned for our future project of putting holiday and festival dates on this calendar to help you decide when you want to come!!
We would love to see you!!
The area is very quaint with lots of beautiful lake walks, bespoke restaurants, fireworks, cobble stones streets, people riding horses, coca cola mega facilities, art, D. H. Lawrence's ghost, traffic, vines, festivals, stray dogs, theaters, waterslide park, vegan food, traditional plazas, tequila tasting, weekly tianguis (flea and farmer's markets), Walmart, live music, and nice friendly people.
Still, please keep in mind this is not a travel blog and only covers nuts-and-bolts type of stuff. There are tons of travel blogs and videos online that cover the positive qualities of the area, and we are more that happy to chat with you about it individually!!
There are many festivals throughout the year, such as Chocolate, Coffee and Wine festival, Carnaval, and Fiesta de San Andres. Many websites claim to have a comprehensive list of festivals and dates, but we have not found those lists to be even close to complete. Not all the festivals are repeated annually, so there is always something new. The best way to find out about festivals is to google around for specifically what you are interested in, or ask us. We belong to facebook groups and email circles where we might see something. Got a hobby? There might be a festival here that relates to it!
The best way is probably to take a taxi directly from the airport in Guadalajara to our door. Last I checked, it costs 460 pesos (about 23 dollars) for 2 people with luggage. Another option is to rent a car.
Taxi
The way they do the taxis from the airport is well organized, but different than what you may be used to in the US. There is a kiosk at the airport where you tell them where you are going. They will give you a price and take payment at the kiosk. Tell them "San Antonio Tlayacapan near Chapala" or "Ajijic". Let them know at the kiosk if you have extra luggage or more people than will fit in one taxi. (The taxis have large roof racks for extra luggage, but they don't guarantee against rain). They don't accept US dollars at the taxi kiosk or anywhere in this part of Mexico. You can pay with a credit card if you want.
There is one taxi kiosk in the baggage area, but if you happen to miss it, there is another taxi kiosk in the public part of the airport. After you have paid for your cab, you can proceed outside where you will see a long line of cabs. Go to the front of the line of cabs with your receipt. There is usually a coordinator there who will direct you to a cab, or if not go to the front of the cab line and ask one of the cabbies.
Rental Car
You can rent a car and drive. The drive is not bad if you are experienced at driving in Mexico. It's pretty much a straight shot from the airport to Lake Chapala. You should use google maps. Contact us privately for the address. It's ideal to download the google maps ahead of time in case of spotty cell coverage in the mountains between the two areas. After driving about 10 minutes, (or more with traffic), you will enter a rural area with a scenic drive on a smooth highway that will eventually wind up a hillside and back down into the lake basin. The total drive time is around 35 minutes, or more in traffic. We have a rental car company to recommend if you contact us privately. This rental car agency will meet you at the arrivals section of the airport with a sign that has your name on it and take you to get your car, which you will pickup near the freeway entrance that you will need to use anyway to get to Chapala. Beware that most rental car reservations are not honored in any way unless you pay a substantial deposit. The total cost to rent an entry level car including insurance should be around $30 USD per day.
Yes. It is called the Cross Border Express or CBX bridge. Imagine going to an airport. You see different lanes like 'Arrivals,' 'Departures', 'Parking,' 'Rental Car Return,' etc. Inside are counters for the different airlines, a Starbucks, a long line where you clear security, etc. Before you get to the gates when you are walking through the airport, one of the long corridors that you walk through inside this airport is actually a foot bridge across the US-Mexico border. The foot bridge goes to the inside of the Tijuana Airport.
When you first arrive, you will see a line for the airline counters, which starts under a white tent outside. Similarly to other airports, you don't have to wait in this line unless you have baggage to check. If you do need to check baggage, be aware that they will only tag your bags and you will still need to walk with them through the CBX process. There are luggage carts available for free.
Everyone walks the same direction through a series of lines and stops, similar to clearing customs after an international flight. There is one place where it would be easy to accidentally leave the Tijuana airport, which is after you get your visa paperwork stamped and have your luggage X-rayed by Mexican customs, so keep an eye out for that and keep left.
Once you get across the CBX bridge, the flight from Tijuana is considered a domestic flight. The atmosphere is more convivial rather than security oriented, lots of people are on vacation. After you land, you are free to get your baggage and leave the airport as you would with any domestic flight. There are no further customs in Guadalajara.
Don't rely that there is always parking available onsite to go to the the CBX bridge. (It is probably best to take Uber or get dropped off by friend/family. There are also some nearby parking lot businesses that take reservations, but check reviews).
As you line up to board your plane in Tijuana, some airlines will spot check the weight of your carry-on baggage with a hand scale. They will charge you if you are above the weight limit. Bring pesos to pay the charges if your carry-on baggage might exceed the weight limits.
I wouldn't count on Uber, but there are several good options for transportation if you don't have a car here. (We don't have one). Taxis are very affordable. We are walking distance from all kinds of restaurants, live music, lakefront Malecon (boardwalk), a live theater, and the Plaza de San Antonio Tlayacapan. Also within walking distance is a Walmart, a hospital with 24 hour walk-in service for both emergencies and non-emergencies, pharmacy, small shopping mall with movie theatre, and waterslide park for kids. There is a bike/pedestrian lane that offers a pleasant walk to several neighboring villages, including the famous village of Ajijic. There are also busses that run every 7 minutes or so straight down the Carretera (highway) in either direction to neighboring villages for around 10 pesos.
We have:
- One large guest room with a king size bed and its own bathroom/shower.
- A 'casita' located in the backyard which has a tiny bedroom with a small bed and and tiny bathroom/shower. The casita has Netflix and video games and will soon be getting its own mini-split air conditioner.
- Couches and such for additional persons if needed.
Yes. Both rooms have WiFi. The fiber internet is pretty fast, but occasionally there are neighborhood outages. We have two providers (yes, two internet providers) so that if there is an outage in one, we can switch to the other.
Always double check current requirements, but generally you need to fill out what is called a Forma Migratorio Multiple or "FMM" form, which you can find here:
https://www.inm.gob.mx/fmme/publico/solicitud.html
If you are using the CBX bridge, this form is confusing as to how to select the point of entry. You will want to select a land entry ("Terrestre") and then scroll to Tijuana, which is alphabetized under "Conexion peatonal".
Depending on where you fly from, they might give you the FMM form on the plane. This form is also available at the CBX bridge - look for a line of gringos printing something out from computer screens near the entrance to the main security line. You can avoid this line if you fill out the form in advance. To skip the line, you might have to be persistent in showing your paperwork to officials, many of whom assume every gringo needs to go through the gringo FMM line.
This form gets you either a visa or 'visa waiver' depending on how long you stay and other factors. The cost ranges from $0 to $27 USD approx. for a tourist length visit. It's unheard of that they would deny you entrance to Mexico, but your ID and payment will be verified, so it's another line to wait in. Be prepared to show proof of your flight back.
No. It mostly doesn't get very hot here other than approximately April 15 to June 15, and the month of August. Even then, an isolated day in the low 90's F is about the hottest it gets. (More info in the section on weather). We do not have central air conditioning, but the house has passive cooling and ceiling fans. We also have a plug-in air cooler if needed. The casita is going to be getting its own mini-split air conditioner soon, so it will be possible to hunker down there and watch Netflix in the event it feels too hot. There is also a pool.
The house water is well water from a managed, collective well and is considered drinkable. Nevertheless, we also have bottled water delivery.
To date, a negative COVID test has not been required to cross the CBX bridge. If you are not using CBX (flying out of Tijuana), check requirements of the airport you are flying out of.
You will probably need a negative COVID test for your your return flight since the Guadalajara airport is in charge of deciding what is needed for outgoing flights from its airport. They have been requiring a COVID test that is no older than 3 days. There are several small labs and medical clinics that do testing in our area, or you can get one at the 24 hour hospital. The maximum cost is equivalent to around $60 USD. All the labs are set up to provide results by email in about 1 day since there is only a 3 day window to get the test before your flight.
We have never been aware of proof of vaccination being necessary or sufficient to use the airports. As far as we know, the requirements focus on a negative COVID test. This is the type of COVID test they use to find out if you have present, active COVID.
Masking requirements are similar to the US.
The weather is very nice most times of the year. This is partly because there is a rainy season starting mid-June that cools everything down during what would otherwise be the hottest summer months. The hottest months are mid-April - mid-June (hot, dry, and smokey from prescribed burns) and August (hot & humid). The hottest it gets is isolated days of low 90's F. We prefer the rainy season (mid-June to November), but the dry season is considered "high season" for tourists, with prices and crowds abating mid-April due to the heat. It just depends on your taste. The rain is intermittent in the rainy season, and happens more at night. We are at a high altitude so nights are cool in the fall, winter and spring, allowing a cooldown at night. November is perhaps the best month because you can enjoy the greenery left over from the rainy season without all the rain. Here is a website that you might not easily find online with comprehensive information on the local weather:
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