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Every Thursday night during the months of November to June, San Jose de Cabo’s galleries stay open late for Art Walk. You can join other art lovers on a casual stroll through the Art District’s many galleries, enjoying work in various media from both local and expat artists. Several local restaurants participate in the Art Walk, too, offering specials or discounts as part of the weekly event.

Everyday Universal Experiences: Audrey Scott and Dan Noll, Uncornered Market

Central Plaza is a lovely place to spend the day and watch the community wind down in the evening. During the day, the plaza is full of music and children playing, and the surrounding streets are full of restaurants, shops, and art galleries. As the sun sets, the plaza gets quieter; the town’s lights turn on, and the children leave, one-by-one, to go home for the night. Stay late and enjoy the peace and quiet of the sleepy plaza, or head down one of the side streets and partake of the local nightlife!

What could an Alaska local ever discover on a voyage through the Inside Passage? Just the essence of the place he thought he knew.

The one-hour drive from Cabo San Lucas to Todos Santos is dotted with tempting detours. Chief among them is Playa Cerritos, one of the few Pacific-side beaches safe for swimming. Of course, it’s not the swimming conditions that attract legions of surfers each year, but the wonderful swells and breaks, which invariably make for an excellent outing on the waves. You can rent a board or sign up for lessons at Mario Surf School, and otherwise there’s plenty to support a day at the beach. Grab a bite at the Cerritos Beach Club, pick up a trinket or two from one of the local artisans, and treat yourself to a shoreline horseback ride or an oceanfront massage.

Why we love it: A top Cabos stay with low-key sophistication and activity-focused fun

Highlights:
- Multi-bedroom villas for easy family vacations
- Activities like water sports, beachfront fitness classes, golf, and more
- One of the best restaurants in Los Cabos, right on property

The Review:
Esperanza has become something of a hospitality legend in Los Cabos, so it makes sense that Auberge Resorts’ sister property, Chileno Bay, has style and substance right out of the gate. Located on one of the area’s only swimmable beaches, the resort makes use of its prime location with a water sports center that offers glass-bottomed kayaks, snorkel gear outfitted with GoPro cameras, and more. If you’d rather stay on dry land, the property also provides access to hiking on UNESCO-protected mountain, camel-back rides through the Baja Outback, and dune buggy excursions on the shoreline.

Of course, no one would fault you for laying low by the triple-tiered pool, which winds down like a river to the beach; relaxing at the holistic spa with a salt inhalation room and reflexology pool; or even simply staying in your room. Here, the 60 earth-and-sea-hued guest rooms provide comfort in the way of spacious bathrooms with soaking tubs and private terraces with outdoor showers; some suites have infinity-edge plunge pools and outdoor hot rubs, while 32 multi-bedroom villas include fully equipped kitchens and expansive rooftop terraces with fireplaces. When it comes time to eat, there’s French Laundry alum Yvan Mucharraz’s modern Mexican restaurant Comal, plus a beachside taco bar and a courtyard coffee shop.

If you associate the phrase all-inclusive with the bracelet-wearing, tropical drink–swilling masses, then Marquis Los Cabos will make you do a double take. The adults-only resort offers unique amenities—open-air yoga classes, a 13,000-square-foot spa, tequila tastings, salsa-dancing lessons—plus an architecturally stunning property with nary a cheesy palm-tree motif in sight. The views begin in the alfresco lobby, where a stone arch draws your attention to the horizon, and continue through two curvaceous infinity pools overlooking the Sea of Cortez. The 235 rooms, outfitted with marble baths and works by Latin American artists, are just as inspiring thanks to private balconies that offer views of whales and dolphins in the distance.

Venture a little off the beaten path for big rewards—tlayudas and parrilladas with a view, samples of organic mezcal, and abundant archaeological treasures.

Las Ventanas al Paraíso represents the epitome of luxury, with gorgeous, gigantic rooms featuring traditional crafts, handmade mosaic headboards, and classy furniture and accents. Balcony railings are awash in pink blossoms of bougainvillea. Some rooms take amenities further still, with private kitchens and wine cellars, as well as personal butler service. The property is set between the desert and the sea, and common areas, such as pools, have exceptional ocean views. Service is ultra-attentive, as one would expect at this price point, and guests rave about on-site restaurants and dining, especially in La Cava, the resort’s private wine cellar. Concierges can assist with planning a host of excursions and experiences, from cooking classes to whale-watching trips.

Arriving at Viceroy Los Cabos (formerly Mar Adentro) is like getting a glimpse into the future of hospitality. Linked by a seemingly boundless plane of water, a series of minimalist white cubes—housing a rooftop bar, spa, world-class fitness center, movie theater, and more—rises from the desert landscape like a mirage, the work of Mexican architect Miguel Angel Aragonés. The view is memorable at Nido, a ceviche restaurant that sits under a nestlike dome of twigs. Equally striking are the 104 modernist guest rooms. Unlike the region’s traditional stucco and terra-cotta haciendas, they’re serenely spare, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Sea of Cortez and tablets that guests can use to create their own lighting concept.

The church of the mission of San Jose del Cabo is simple, both inside and out, but one of its charms is a special area where locals tie ribbons with petitions for divine intervention or expressions of thanks written on them. If you’d like to join in on the tradition and express your thanks, choose a white ribbon and write about what you’re grateful for on it. Then, tie it to the rack near St. Charbel Mahklouf, the somewhat obscure Lebanese saint who is believed to work miracles.

A short drive from San Sebastián, the village of Getaria sits sleepily on the coast. Set between the sea and vine-covered mountains, Getaria has a privileged position that makes it a destination not to be missed if visiting nearby San Sebastián. Enjoy the local Basque wine, txakoli, in situ. Bonus points if you do so over some grilled fish, caught and brought daily to Getaria’s active port.

Why we love it: A sprawling retreat offering high design and a beachfront location

The Highlights:

• Guest rooms with private plunge pools or whirlpools
• The only Thalasso therapy wellness spa in Baja
• Five separate pools, plus 4,000 square feet of beachfront

The Review
Though the Baja Peninsula has welcomed a slew of luxury properties over the past few years, it seems the 128-room Solaz is only in competition with itself. First, there are the sophisticated stone-and-wood interiors, which balance high-tech details (remote controlled lighting) and luxe amenities (outdoor showers, private plunge pools) with locally sourced decor and wall sculptures by Mexican artist César López Negrete.

Guests even have the option to add personal butler service, which can arrange everything from swimming with whale sharks to ordering a bottle of local wine from the property’s wine cellar. Outdoors, the landscaping features endemic desert plants like agave and cacti, with a hardly a palm tree in sight.

Then there’s the spa, a 10,000-square-foot refuge that features the region’s only Thalasso therapy seawater treatments and a Himalayan salt igloo. Five pools (including two sleek infinity ones that overlook the Sea of Cortez), four dining outlets (a Mexican breakfast spot, a seafood restaurant, a poolside cafe, and a coffee lounge), a beachfront fitness center, and 4,000 square feet of white-sand shoreline complete the desert dream.

Visitors who come to Tequila to eat—it is a restaurant, after all—won’t be disappointed. With caught-the-same-day seafood and beef, poultry, and vegetables sourced from Mexico, the menu offers plenty of delicious dishes, including a grilled seafood platter with shrimp, scallops, and octopus. But those in the know also visit Tequila to imbibe the spirit after which it’s named; the restaurant has a bar stocked with more than 50 different kinds of tequila and bartenders are more than willing to tell you about the similarities and differences among them all. The backdrop for all this is an oversized patio surrounded by fruit trees and the chef’s herb garden. Smokers can take a turn through the walk-in humidor, featuring Cuban cigars that are impossible to get back in the United States but are perfectly legal in Mexico.

AFAR chose a destination at random—by literally spinning a globe—and sent Sloane Crosley on a spontaneous journey to Ecuador.