The 4 Most Underrated Vacation Spots in Mexico
Ten million visitors came through Cancún in 2023, representing 1 in 4 tourists to Mexico that year. For a country three times the size of Texas, rich with culture, art, and nature, the figure is a perfect encapsulation of the problem with overtourism: people descending on one or two main points while dozens of splendid places remain largely under the radar.
As Mexico prepares for its high season—which spans from the winter holidays through spring break—it's doing what it can to disperse crowds beyond Cancún. An airport opened earlier this year in Tulum, with flights from Dallas, Miami, and New York City now landing daily. Another airport, in Mérida, is in the final phases of a large-scale expansion set to double its domestic and international arrivals. And the long-anticipated (but highly contested) Maya Train, which inaugurated service in December and will connect destinations around five of the country's eastern states, has just added stations in Chetumal and Bacalar to its growing route network.
As it stands, most of the seaside capital's tourists are "experienced travelers from Europe," says Sebastien Larmier, who owns and runs Narrativ, a collection of high-end rentals in town. "But more people are coming in from the U.S. and Canada. It's a new phenomenon."
He concedes that the train has come with a fair share of controversies and environmental concerns. (Among other things, its construction has razed large swaths of rainforest and endangered local populations of jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and armadillos.) But as a French native, Larmier says he's seen firsthand how a train connection between two cities can transform the local economy. "It will be life-changing for the small cities around the Yucatán Peninsula," he predicts.
Make one of Narrativ's luxury houses—such as Casa Japa, a four-bedroom 18th-century manor that opened in 2023—your home base for explorations around the city, including its four-mile Malecón (boardwalk) path, which hugs the coast and offers the best sunset views in town. Or try Hacienda Puerta Campeche, a grande dame hotel recently taken over by Six Senses Resorts & Spas.
Get to Bacalar's cenotes and jungles before the town becomes as popular as its northern neighbors. The local swimming holes are some of the biggest in Mexico; they're more like small lakes than the caves you'll find farther up the riviera, with Cenote de la Bruja—the Witch's Cenote—being a favorite for its deep midnight-blue waters.
While Los Cabos, on the very tip of Baja California, teems with giant resorts and cruise ships, La Paz opted not to expand its port, preventing cruise ships from docking there. But new restaurants and bars are opening: Pujol's former chef de cuisine Alejandro Villagomez is cooking at his first solo spot, Nemi, where he's using local produce and seafood to make beautifully composed plates. Sunrise/Sunset is a new juice bar that focuses on natural wines once afternoon and evening roll around. And Toto Frito (the name means "everything's fried") has developed quite the following for its sustainably sourced oyster po'boys and fish tacos—all served in a no-plastic-allowed dining room.
There is also now a great place to stay, courtesy of Mexico City-based Grupo Habita, which in 2021 opened the five-story Baja Club Hotel. Its 32 earthy rooms have access to a Miami-chic pool and rooftop bar with Sea of Cortez views.
There are fresh reasons to go, including a burgeoning wine scene that benefits from wide swaths of fertile ground around the Popocatépetl volcano, some 40 miles west of the city limits. While many vineyards are still too new to visit, there are exceptions such as Entreerres, where you can pair pinot noir and grenache with generous cheese and charcuterie platters on a pretty terrace facing the active, smoky peak.
That same soil is what lends poblano chiles—traditionally from Puebla—the peppery flavor that characterizes the most famous local dish, chiles en nogada, says Zach Rabinor, founder of the luxury travel outfit Journey Mexico. "There is excitement and hope that the same unique soil that makes Puebla's chiles so special will also contribute to unique and excellent wine," he says.
Ironically, one of the city's oldest features—a series of 500-year-old secret tunnels—is also among its newest attractions, having only been discovered in 2016. Guests of the Banyan Tree Puebla hotel have prime access, as one tunnel leads straight to its garden.
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