SF Chronicle: Mexico off the beaten path

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Predictions of apocalypse may be nonsense, but 2012 may indeed be a portentous year – in the positive sense of the word – for Mexico's tourism industry and for longtime travelers to Mexico.
For fans of "Old Mexico," the obsession with beach chairs and all-inclusive resorts that Cancun's birth has wrought has been an escalating frustration. But this has been a good year, not only for travelers who prefer simpler, authentically Mexican experiences but for the villages, family-run lodgings and restaurants and local guides who serve them. Tourism Secretary Gloria Guevara engineered a new emphasis on the country's less-traveled destinations rich in history and culture, while buzz about the misnamed "end" of the Maya calendar introduced what, for many, was a novel concept: Mexico has a vast world ripe for exploring beyond its hugely successful beach resorts.
What better time to offer our list of favorite underrated destinations in Mexico? Some are close enough to be day trips from large, popular tourist destinations (but merit consideration as destinations unto themselves); others are more of a challenge. We've included destinations in areas currently besieged by drug-trafficking violence because we trust they will one day be safe again. All have one thing in common: They have been unjustly overlooked during Mexico's frenzied ride on the luxury train.

La Paz

Until Los Cabos was born, La Paz looked to become the next Acapulco. The unassuming capital of Baja California Sur remained a relaxed city of Mexicans going about their business, while only a smattering of U.S. tourists joined vacationing Mexicans to enjoy the Mission-style downtown, traditional ways and long, palm-lined malecon. That's begun to change already. First, Costa Baja opened just outside of town, the first resort that would meet the expectations of travelers accustomed to the likes of Cabo or Cancun. The City formed a tourism board and began to toot its own horn. In San Jose del Cabo, Puerto Los Cabos has just opened a new boutique hotel, Hotel El Ganzo and announced that JW Marriot and Secrets are on the way. Now that Highway 1 has been expanded to four lanes from Cabo San Lucas to La Paz, the capital is 1½ instead of 2½ hours away, making it an easy ride from the Los Cabos airport and a viable day trip for those tied to Cabo. For those watching these developments with dismay, La Paz's essential nature hasn't changed, at least not yet. But the new road will also take you more quickly to Todos Santos or the rugged East Cape's hiking, kayaking, surfing, cave paintings and hot springs. And that's a good thing.

La Paz

Until Los Cabos was born, La Paz looked to become the next Acapulco. The unassuming capital of Baja California Sur remained a relaxed city of Mexicans going about their business, while only a smattering of U.S. tourists joined vacationing Mexicans to enjoy the Mission-style downtown, traditional ways and long, palm-lined malecon. That's begun to change already. First, Costa Baja opened just outside of town, the first resort that would meet the expectations of travelers accustomed to the likes of Cabo or Cancun. The City formed a tourism board and began to toot its own horn. In San Jose del Cabo, Puerto Los Cabos has just opened a new boutique hotel, Hotel El Ganzo and announced that JW Marriot and Secrets are on the way. Now that Highway 1 has been expanded to four lanes from Cabo San Lucas to La Paz, the capital is 1½ instead of 2½ hours away, making it an easy ride from the Los Cabos airport and a viable day trip for those tied to Cabo. For those watching these developments with dismay, La Paz's essential nature hasn't changed, at least not yet. But the new road will also take you more quickly to Todos Santos or the rugged East Cape's hiking, kayaking, surfing, cave paintings and hot springs. And that's a good thing.



Parras de la Fuente, a bucolic town in northern Baja California, is home to the oldest continuously operating winery in the Americas.

For the vast majority of the English-speaking world, "wine" and "Mexico" intersect in just one place: northern Baja California. In fact, the oldest continuously operating winery in the Americas is in Coahuila state's Parras Valley, in the bucolic town of Parras de la Fuente (fittingly translated as "grapevines of the fountain"). Casa Madero, in fact, exported the grapes that started the Napa Valley's wine industry, when California was still a province of Spanish Mexico. The palatial, 24-bedroom hacienda was founded in 1597 as Hacienda San Lorenzo, and its wines are still found alongside Baja's finest on connoisseur's lists and among the winners of international competitions. The warm days, cool nights and low humidity are just as favorable to tourists as they are to grapes, but it is usually only the most ardent oenophiles who find their way here from other countries. The unassuming town's springs and pecan orchards create an oasis in the arid highlands. Little-known fact: The Sam Peckinpah classic "The Wild Bunch" was filmed in Parras.