05_587951 ch01.qxd 7/26/05 7:10 PM Page 6 1 The Best of Mexico by David Baird & Lynne Bairstow Across Mexico, in villages and cities, in mountains, tropical coasts, and jungle settings, enchanting surprises await travelers. These might take the form of a fantastic small-town festival, delightful dining in a memorable restaurant, or even a stretch of road through heavenly countryside. Below is a starter list of our favorites, to which you’ll have the pleasure of adding your own discoveries. 1 The Best Beach Vacations • Puerto Vallarta: Spectacularly wide • Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo: These side-by- Banderas Bay offers 42km (26 miles) side resorts offer beachgoers the best of beaches. Some, like Playa Los of both worlds: serene simplicity and Muertos—the popular public beach resort comforts. For those in search of in town—abound with palapa restau- a back-to-basics beach, the best and rants, beach volleyball, and parasail- most beautiful is Playa La Ropa, close ing. The beaches of Punta Mita, the to Zihuatanejo. The wide beach at exclusive development north of Val- Playa Las Gatas, with its restaurants larta, are of the white-sand variety, and snorkeling sites, is also a great with crystalline waters and coral reefs place to play. The luxury hotels in just offshore. Others around the bay Ixtapa, on the next bay over from nestle in coves, accessible only by Zihuatanejo, front Playa Palmar, a boat. Puerto Vallarta is the only place fine, wide swath of beach. See “North- where authentic colonial ambience ward to Zihuatanejo & Ixtapa” in mixes with true resort amenities. See chapter 10. “Puerto Vallarta” in chapter 9. • Cancún: In terms of sheer beauty, • Puerto Escondido: The best overall Mexico’s best beaches are in Cancún beach value in Mexico is principally and along the Yucatán’s Quintana known for its world-class surfing Roo coast, extending south almost all beach, Playa Zicatela. The surround- the way to the Belizean border. The ing beaches all have their own appeal; powdery, white-sand beaches boast colorful fishingCOPYRIGHTED pangas dot the central water MATERIALthe color of a Technicolor dream; town beach, parked under the shade of it’s so clear you can see through to the palms leaning so far over they almost coral reefs below. Cancún offers the touch the ground. Puerto Escondido widest assortment of luxury beach- offers unique accommodations at front hotels, with more restaurants, excellent prices, with exceptional nightlife, and activities than any budget dining and nightlife. See other resort destination in the coun- “Puerto Escondido” in chapter 10. try. See chapter 13. 05_587951 ch01.qxd 7/26/05 7:10 PM Page 7 THE BEST CULTURAL EXPERIENCES 7 • Tulum: Fronting some of the best urge to be active, not far away are beaches on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, ancient Maya ruins, Cozumel, and Tulum’s small palapa hotels offer the megaresort of Cancún, offering guests a little slice of paradise far from all the variety that you might want in crowds and megaresorts. The bustling a beach vacation. See chapter 15. town lies inland; at the coast, things • La Paz: This state capital borders a are quiet and will remain so because all lovely beach, dotted with colorful these hotels are small and must gen- playgrounds and lively open-air erate their own electricity. If you can restaurants. Take a cue from the local pull yourself away from the beach, residents, though, and pass on swim- nearby are ruins to explore and a vast ming here in favor of the exquisite nature preserve. See chapter 15. beaches just minutes from downtown. • Isla Mujeres: There’s only one small La Paz’s beaches and the islets just off- beach here—Playa Norte—but it’s shore have transformed this tranquil superb. From this island, you can dive town into a center for diving, sea El Garrafón reef, snorkel offshore, and kayaking, and other adventure pur- take a boat excursion to the Isla Con- suits. See “La Paz: Peaceful Port Town” toy national wildlife reserve, which in chapter 18. features great birding and a fabulous, • Los Cabos: Dramatic rock formations uninhabited beach. See “Isla Mujeres” and crashing waves mix with wide in chapter 14. stretches of soft sand and a rolling • Playa del Carmen: “Playa” is Mex- break. Start at Pueblo la Playa, just ico’s hip beach destination with a dash north of San José del Cabo, and work of third-world chic. Above all, it’s easy your way down the Cabo Corridor to and low key. You walk to the beach, the famed Playa de Amor at Land’s you walk back to the hotel, you walk End. Some beaches are more appro- to one of the many good restaurants. priate for contemplation than for Next day, you repeat. The beaches are swimming, which isn’t all bad. See white sand; the water is clear blue and “Los Cabos: Resorts, Watersports & perfect for swimming. If you feel the Golf” in chapter 18. 2 The Best Cultural Experiences • Passing Time in the Plazas & Parks: remarkably beautiful, grand, and inti- All the world may be a stage, but some mate all at once. Mexico City’s parts have richer backdrops than oth- Alameda (see chapter 4) has a dark, ers. Town plazas are the perfect settings dramatic history—heretics were for watching everyday life unfold. burned at the stake here during the Alive with people, these open spaces colonial period—but today it’s a peo- are no modern product of urban plan- ple’s park where lovers sit, cotton- ners, but are rooted in the traditional candy vendors spin their treats, and Mexican view of society. Several plazas the sound of organ grinders drifts over are standouts: Veracruz’s famous the changing crowd. San Miguel de zócalo (see chapter 12) features nearly Allende’s Jardín (see chapter 6) is the nonstop music and tropical gaiety. focal point for meeting, sitting, One look tells you how important painting, and sketching. During festi- Oaxaca’s zócalo (see chapter 11) is to vals, it fills with dancers, parades, and the local citizenry; the plaza is elaborate fireworks. Guanajuato and 05_587951 ch01.qxd 7/26/05 7:10 PM Page 8 8 CHAPTER 1 . THE BEST OF MEXICO Mexico TijuanaTijuana MexicaliMexicali UNITEDUNITED STATESSTATES UNITED STATES EnsenadaEnsenada 2 BAJABAJA CiudadCiudad CALIFORNIACALIFORNIA JuárezJuJuárezrez NORTENORTE PuertoPuerto NogalesNogales PenascoPenasco 2 SanSan QuintinQuintin See Chapter 17 45 SONORASONORA 15 1 10 OjinagaOjinaga HermosilloHermosillo CHIHUAHUACHIHUAHUA GuerreroGuerrero 18 Piedras Negras IslaIsla NegroNegro 16 ChihuahuaChihuahua CedrosCedros 16 CuidadCuidad CuauhtémocCuauhtCuauhtémocmoc COAHUILACOAHUILA SantaSanta ObregOObregónbregón RosaliaRosalia DeliciasDelicias Nuevo Laredo MulegéMulegMulegé BAJABAJA HidalgoHidalgo MonclovaMonclova CALIFORNIACALIFORNIA deldel ParralParral SURSUR 49 30 LoretoLoreto 57 SINALOASINALOA 45 Monterrey LosLos TorreTTorreónorreón 40 Matamoros MochisMochis DURANGODURANGO SaltilloSaltillo CuliacCCuliacánuliacán NUEVO 1 LEÓN LaLa PazPaz 15 See Chapter 6 SeaSea ofof CortCCortésortés DurangoDurango TAMAULIPAS See Chapter 18 40 SanSan JosJJoséosé FresnilloFresnillo 54 Ciudad Victoria TodosTodos SantosSantos deldel CaboCabo MazatlánMMazatlazatlán ZACATECASZACATECAS CaboCabo SanSan LucasLucas ZacatecasZacatecas SanSan Ciudad Mante 15 LuisLuis PotosíPotosPotosí Tampico Río Lagartos Isla See Chapter 9 TuxpanTuxpan AGUASCALIENTESAGUASCALIENTES SAN LUIS SanSan BlasBlas Progreso Mujeres TepicTepic POTOSÍ Valladolid AguascalientesAguascalientes Cancún IslasIslas San Miguel Tuxpan NAYARITNAYARIT LeLLeóneón de Allende Celestún MariasMarias Mérida Cozumel GuadalajaraGuadalajara QUERÉTARO GuanajuatoGuanajuato Poza Rica YUCATÁN Playa del PuertoPuerto VallartaVallarta Carmen For Guadalajara, GUANA-GUANA- HIDALGO Papantla Querétaro Campeche Punta See Chapter 8 JALISCOJALISCO LakeLake ChapalaChapala JUATOJUATO Pachuca QUINTANA Allen MoreliaMorelia Bay of BarraBarra dede NavidadNavidad UruapanUruapan Mexico City Xalapa CAMPECHE ROO Toluca TLAXCALA Campeche Bacalar ColimaColima Tlaxcala Veracruz Majahual ManzanilloManzanillo PPátzcuaroátzcuarotzcuaro Cuernavaca Puebla Escárcega Peninsula MICHOACANMICHOACAN COLIMACOLIMA PUEBLA Orizaba Catemaco Chetumal 37 MORELOS TABASCO 200 Tehuacán Taxco VERACRUZ Villahermosa LLázaroázarozaro Coatzacoalcos GUERRERO Palenque CCárdenasárdenasrdenas BELIZE San Cristóbal See Chapter 7 ZihuatanejoZihuatanejo Oaxaca Tuxtla & IxtapaIxtapa Acapulco Gutiérrez de las Casas OAXACA PACIFICP A C I F I C CHIAPAS Salina Comitan OCEANO C E A N Puerto Escondido Cruz GUATEMALA Huatulco Puerto Ángel HONDURAS Tapachula EL SALVADOR 0 150 mi N 0 150 km 05_587951 ch01.qxd 7/26/05 7:10 PM Page 9 THE BEST CULTURAL EXPERIENCES 9 Tijuana Mexicali UNITED STATES UNITEDUNITED SSTATESTATES Ensenada BAJA Ciudad CALIFORNIA Juárez NORTE Puerto Nogales Penasco San Quintin SONORA Ojinaga Hermosillo CHIHUAHUA Guerrero PiedrasPiedras NegrasNegras Isla Negro Chihuahua Cedros Cuidad Cuauhtémoc COAHUILA Santa Obregón Rosalia Delicias NuevoNuevo LaredoLaredo Mulegé BAJA Hidalgo Monclova CALIFORNIA del Parral SUR 85D Loreto SINALOA MonterreyMonterrey Los Torreón MatamorosMatamoros Gulf of Mexico Mochis DURANGO Saltillo 180 Culiacán NUEVONUEVO LELLEÓNEÓN 85 La Paz Sea of Cortés Durango TAMAULIPASTAMAULIPAS See Chapter 14 San José Fresnillo CiudadCiudad VictoriaVictoria Todos Santos del Cabo Mazatlán ZACATECAS See Chapter 16 Cabo San Lucas Zacatecas San See Chapter 13 Luis CiudadCiudad ManteMante Potosí TampicoTampico For Mexico City, RRíoío LagartosLagartos IslaIsla Tuxpan AGUASCALIENTES SANSAN LUISLUIS San Blas ProgresoProgreso MujeresMujeres Tepic POTOSPPOTOSÍOTOSÍ See Chapter 4 ValladolidValladolid