Airtime has done mountain training tours at many sites over the years. Tours to Mexico are tops in our books for the full range of great thermal flying, unbelievably good food, amazing towns and adventures.
The 2024 Mexico tour is located in the state of Nayarit, about a 90 minute drive from Guadalajara’s International Airport. Flights to Guadalajara from most USA locations are relatively inexpensive and quick, allowing us time to explore and settle in before the flying begins.
Nayarit has an extensive plateau with beautiful volcanoes, including the main flying location for this tour, El Volcan Ceboruco. There is an easy road to this newly opened launch (July 2022) above the beautiful town of Jala where we will be staying. This is a small mountain town where you rarely encounter tourists from anywhere but Mexico. There is great XC potential and a friendly LZ on the edge of town for local thermal flying. The main, late morning launch, is near the top of the 7,000 ft mountain, and the other is a lower launch, used later in the day for afternoon flights when the westerlies kick in. The site has been tested over the past year by many local and international pilots and is now ready for us to visit as one of the first tours of this incredible new venue.
In addition to flying Ceboruco, we will also visit the flying site owned by our local guide, Miguel Gutiérrez, above the coastal town San Blas. This town is only a 90 minute drive from Jala, so day trips without changing lodging are possible to go where the best flying is. Miguel recently landscaped the beautiful launch with green grass. This site is ridge soarable and also has frequently flyable wind shears and thermals that happen in the late mornings / early afternoon.
Below Picture is the ideal LZ in Jala
Travel Day – Saturday, January 20, arrive at GDL by 4pm*
Flying – January 21 to January 26
Travel Day – Saturday, January 27, shuttle arriving GDL by 10am*
Travel Day – Saturday, January 27, arrive at GDL by 4pm*
Flying – January 28 to Feb 2
Travel Day – Saturday, Feb 3, shuttle arriving GDL by 10am*
Flying longer than many of his students have been alive, Jeff Greenbaum has been flying since 1984 in Hang Gliders, since 1988 in Paragliders and running the Airtime of San Francisco school and store since 1988. Jeff has done tours to Mexico, Turkey and Guatemala as well as clinics in Hong Kong. Jeff is rated as a Master pilot in both Hang Gliding and Paragliding. He is also an active Tandem and Instructor Administrator for USHPA.
Pam started flying paragliders in 2018 and has spent the last two years flying in several XC and Hike & Fly competitions across the USA and internationally (Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil and Switzerland).
In June 2023, Pam supported the US National team at the FAI Paragliding World Championships in France as the team leader. She’s also committed to preserving free-flight in the USA, having served as vice president on the board of her local USHPA chapter and is currently an officer on the USHPA Board of Directors.
Pam is passionate about guiding and supporting pilots with their flying goals. When she’s not in the air, you might find her reading about neuroscience or sports psychology, building her fitness coaching business, playing hide & go seek, scrambling up mountains or nerding out with weather model data.
On this tour, we are excited to work with such an accomplished local pilot! Miguel and his team at Alas Del Hombre organize the internationally acclaimed Monarca Paragliding Open competition at Valle de Bravo every year. Miguel has also worked tirelessly to open and officially sanction more flying sites all across Mexico than anyone else. He helped open the launch on Ceboruco and owns the launch at San Blas, our two flying sites for this tour.
Private room – $2000 per week
Double room – $1500 per week
Non-flying spouse (sharing a private room) – $500 per week
Sign-ups prior to Dec 10th require at least a 50% deposit to secure a place in the tour. After Dec 10th, we require full payment to keep or secure a spot.
If you need to cancel before the 10th of December, we’ll refund your payment minus a $400 fee/ person to cover fixed costs. Any cancellations between Dec 10th and Dec 20th will receive a 50% refund. We are unable to offer refunds for cancellations after December 20th.
For special circumstances requiring cancellation, we’ll do our best to find a sensible solution. Also, no fees will be charged if you find a qualified replacement for your spot in the tour.
