Mexican food and café towns off the beaten path.
Less-touristed food and café towns in Mexico, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Maya pyramid mounds rise inside the town limits of Izamal, whose tradition of painting nearly every building yellow makes it one of Mexico's most visually singular places to linger over coffee. Elsewhere across these 13 picks, the contrasts are just as sharp: Pluma Hidalgo's forested Oaxacan ridgelines host a café scene outsized for a mountain village, San Agustinillo pairs its Riviera Oaxaqueña beach with a well-stocked restaurant strip, and landlocked Villa Corona holds its own in Jalisco.
Atlacomulco de Fabela
A lively Mexican town in the State of Mexico highlands, where a stone kiosk anchors a well-kept central plaza ringed by arcaded colonial-style buildings, bac…
Mahahual
This pocket-sized Caribbean village on Mexico's Costa Maya in Quintana Roo, Mahahual has grown from a fishing settlement into a tourist centre with a café an…
Pluma Hidalgo
Pocket-sized Oaxacan village set high in densely forested mountain country, where ridge after ridge of green hills stretch toward the coast, rewarding visito…
San Agustinillo
This small fishing village on the Oaxaca coast where the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains meet the Pacific, San Agustinillo offers an unusually well-stocked ca…
Villa Corona
This pocket-sized town in Jalisco, central-western Mexico, has a notably dense café and restaurant scene for its size.
Izamal
Known as the Yellow City for its tradition of painting nearly all its buildings yellow, Izamal is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Amer…
Emiliano Zapata
This riverside town in Mexico's Tabasco state with a walkable centre and a café and restaurant scene, Emiliano Zapata sits along the Usumacinta river region…
Los Tejocotes
Small upland village in Mexico's State of Mexico with a surprisingly lively café and dining scene, multiple churches, and a lakeside setting in a highland re…
La Conchita
Tiny waterside hamlet in Mexico's Xilitla highlands, La Conchita punches above its weight with a surprisingly lively café and dining scene, scenic hill-count…
Montes de Loreto
Small Mexican village near San Miguel de Allende with a surprising café and dining scene, several churches, waterside setting, and hilly viewpoints — all wit…
Las Jarretaderas
A small Mexican Pacific-coast town in the hills-fringed Bahía de Banderas region, Las Jarretaderas offers a lively local café and restaurant scene within eas…
La Lupita
A tiny upland village in Mexico's State of Mexico, La Lupita sits right at the water's edge and punches above its size with several historic churches, all wi…
Barrio San Joaquin el Junco
This pocket-sized Mexican village in the Ixtlahuaca region that sits right at the water's edge, with a surprisingly lively café and dining scene for its size…