It’s not an illusion: The 177 towns that make up Mexico’s ‘Pueblos Mágicos’ are casting a spell to bring visitors to explore the slower side of the country. Longtime Mexico traveler Bill Fink explores how they’re creating a richer—and equally enjoyable—travel experience.
As the sun peeks over the mountains of Isla Carmen in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, I’m immersed in a scene from decades ago. Under swaying palm trees in the soft sands of Baja California, the long peninsula jutting south from the border with California, a few houses and fewer hotels line the Loreto shore. Residents stroll by walking their dogs; some dogs are walking themselves. At sea, small fishing boats putter along, seeking the catch of the day.
Locals drive onto the beach across an inlet to munch on tamales in the backs of pick-up trucks. I grab a kayak and paddle to a gentle soundtrack of lapping waves, the buzzing of a distant outboard motor and some yipping dogs. So begins a day on the edge of Loreto, Mexico, one of the ‘Pueblos Mágicos’ or ‘Magic Cities’ that Mexico Tourism is promoting as an alternative to heavily-touristed destinations like Los Cabos and Cancun.
I’ve been traveling to Mexico for more than 30 years, from resort vacations as a kid and tequila-fueled college spring breaks to peaceful camping trips, city escapes and cultural tours. I’ve seen many Mexico spots transform from unique and culturally rich into standardized, sanitized tourism products. But when I heard about a Pueblo Mágico program in Loreto, I wanted to see how it’s alleviating overtourism while keeping its travel experience intact.
About 300 miles (482 kilometers) from Loreto, the tourist destination commonly referred to as “Cabo” (consisting of the region of Los Cabos and the city of Cabo St. Lucas ) looms at Baja California’s southern tip. With over three million annual visitors, Cabo dwarfs Loreto’s 115,000 visitors. And yet, both destinations feature the same weather, the same waters, the same inland landscape.
In the last decade, Cabo tourism has exploded, particularly for California weekenders, bachelor parties, and vacations to its seemingly endless strip of resorts. Cabo’s downtown is packed with chain restaurants, party bars like Señor Frogs and Cabo Wabo slinging Jello shots, rows of shady pharmacies selling prescription drugs for all, and hustling touts lining the streets.
Discovering the magic of Loreto can be as simple as walking along the shaded pedestrian promenade of Juan Maria de Salvatierra, lined with family-run shops, restaurants, and the historic Spanish Mission.
Of course, Cabo knows what many people want, be it families heading for the resort’s numerous all-inclusives or brides-to-be celebrating with girlfriends in the Cabo sunshine.
However, well-worn paths to places like Cabo is turning paradise into purgatory, with diesel-belching traffic gridlock on city streets and in overcrowded marinas, long lines everywhere from the airport to restaurants and attractions. At a certain tipping point, the popularity may spoil the things that made these destinations uniquely attractive.
The Mexican government began the ‘Pueblos Mágicos’ or Magic Cities program in 2001 to counter overtourism by highlighting undervisited towns. The qualifying requirements are for a town to maintain a notable quality in architecture, history or culture, to not already be in a widely promoted area, and have a population of 5,000 with accessible roads, restaurants and lodging.
The towns of Juasca de Ocampo, Real de Catorce and Tepoztlan became the three first in the program. Now with 177 sites across Mexico, the Pueblo Mágico program continues to recognize locations with a focus on traditional culture.
Loreto is one of four Magic Cities in the state of Baja California Sur. I was pleased to see the “notable quality” in my visit that Loreto and nearby San Javier combine to feature more 17th century Spanish Missions (two) than stoplights (one) or chain restaurants (one).
Discovering the magic of Loreto can be as simple as walking along the shaded pedestrian promenade of Juan Maria de Salvatierra, lined with family-run shops, restaurants, and the historic Spanish Mission. Posada del Cortés, my small boutique hotel, features a pop-up pastry stand at the entrance, run by a neighborhood mom with a sweet tooth.
With only a single chain restaurant in town (a forlorn-looking Subway), visitors and locals embrace home-cooked meals from family-run diners both humble and upscale, from the great ceviche and margaritas at open-air Baja Haay to fine steaks and wine at Serrano Grill.
Loreto’s 17th-century Mission Loreto church is not just a tourist attraction, but hosts regular services. Next door, a Mission museum displays relics of Indigenous and colonial history, from altar pieces to antique farming tools and weapons, along with an ancient cave painting exhibit showing off a ‘magic’ collection of mystical symbols.
Back in town at night, it’s all about the seafront Malecón … It reminds me more of a 1950s movie than any Cabo party zone.
Much of Loreto’s magic takes place beyond town, in the sea and islands of UNESCO World Heritage Site of Loreto Bay National Park. As I bounce through the waves on a boat tour, a dozen dolphins join us. “It’s like dolphin daycare here,” says captain Adrian Hernandez, who’s been running trips in the reserve for 20 years. “Dolphin parents look for food, while the kids stay in the bay and play.”
We pass a colony of sea lions basking, barking and bathing along the rocky island shore, spot a humpback whale, late in the season, breaching for a moment. As the sun dazzles in a deep blue sky, we stop at Coronado island beach for a lunch of fresh ceviche and a cold Tecate, as many Mexican families set up nearby for their own beach picnics.
Inland Loreto is equally beguiling. I join Loretours, a small tour company run by Mario Perez who has been living and guiding in Loreto for decades. We ride mules at Rancho La Mesa, where Rene Cunnngham and his wife Socorro Bastida continue as third-generation ranchers, helped by their grandson Eduardo.
We peek in goat pens, an antique tool shed, and enjoy breakfast in their open-air kitchen. I fumble my tortilla-making lesson, but it tastes great with fresh goat cheese, egg and garden herbs. As we ride into desert hills scattered with towering saguaro cactus, Rene shares tales of the ranch’s perseverance through multi-year droughts, with jerry-rigged irrigation systems scavenged from scrap. and how his great-great grandfather emigrated there from England; the Cunningham name survived generations, but the family English-speaking skills did not.
Back in town at night, it’s all about the seafront Malecón, where a few dozen townies park their cars, stereos blaring, tailgates and beers open, hanging out chatting and dancing, as other cars cruise by. It reminds me more of a 1950s movie than any Cabo party zone.
Now the tourism industry has discovered Loreto’s charms, changes are afoot. Alaska Airlines flies direct from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Holland and Princess cruise lines have been making regular stops. And Loreto has its first all-inclusive five-star resort, The Villa del Palmar, 25 miles (40 kilometers) outside town.
Like the early resorts of Cabo decades ago, Villa del Palmar allows visitors who are curious about an emerging destination like Loreto, to have a luxury base (it has a spa and golf course) from which to explore—the Pueblos Magicos experience does not require roughing it.
“Cruise ships are not the right solution for promoting the destination… we would rather promote Loreto as the home of a healthy, protected marine park, where nature is the ultimate luxury.”
- Maria Najera, Blue Whale Coalition
Unlike many homogenous resorts, Villa del Palmar embraces local culture, with regional entertainers in ritualistic Atzec golden armor and spiked headgear and fire dances, mariachi bands from nearby villages, and locally led guided hikes into the surrounding countryside, along with city tours from Loreto residents.
On my Danzante Tours snorkeling tour from Villa del Palamr, my guide Tony Peralta tells me that while he’s originally from Cabo, he left to “get away from those crazy crowds,” and fully embraces Loreto as his new home.
One night in Loreto, I experience the impact of a cruise ship visit. Crowds ferried in on tender boats walk en masse along the main pedestrian street, where restaurants have pulled out extra tables and perhaps 50 vendors set up souvenir stalls. Tour vans queue by the marina to rush group after group on tours, and a late-night concert in the main square entertains hundreds.
But in a plaza behind the concert crowd, I see a handwritten sign taped to a palm tree saying “CRUISE SHIPS DESTROY LOCAL ECONOMY.” And indeed, only weeks after my visit, a coalition of Loreto environmental, business, and community groups banded together to defy the federal government and permanently ban cruise ships and cargo ships from anchoring at Loreto.
“We won this battle,” Maria Najera, member of the Blue Whale Coalition of Loreto messages me about the cruise ship moratorium. “Cruise ships are not the right solution for promoting the destination… we would rather promote Loreto as the home of a healthy, protected marine park, where nature is the ultimate luxury.”
But surely a lack of cruise ships will hurt the tour business? Loretours’ Perez begs to differ. He tells me while “a few people are not happy”, most in Loreto are fine with the cruise ship ban, saying that tour companies can benefit from a more steady stream of visitors arriving by plane or car.
It remains to be seen to what extent Loreto will maintain its pueblo magico feel, as the tourism industry discovers it and locals work to balance visitor impact on culture. But for now, travelers can experience the Cabo of 30 years ago—by supporting a newcomer while taking pressure off an old favorite.
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From biking the backroads of the Philippines to sipping cognac in French chateaus, Bill Fink's global adventures have appeared in over 50 outlets, including National Geographic Traveler, AFAR, Frommer’s and BBC Travel.
