Tags: Celestún , Cervantino , Chacala , Frida Kahlo , Guanajuato , Hacienda Soltepec , Hotel Califor

Americans visit no other country more than Mexico . Too often it's hardly Mexico at its deepest though, as many see the tourist scene off a cruise ship , beach hotels cramming the last inch of the beach at Cancun or sometimes a border town for a few hours. Mexico is mucho mas . To help find it, here's how to use a handful of popular airports as a springboard to beat the spring break crowds.
Sure, see the beach for a few days, but the elusive "real Mexico" is easier found away from the water. Four hours inland by first-class buses, M rida is a colonial city with 16 th -century cathedrals built from demolished Mayan pyramids. On weekends the town shuts down central streets, and a weekend tradition discount montreal hotels of street discount montreal hotels food, music and dance takes over.
Beyond its museums and shops, it's a great hub town for nearby trips to see colonial villages and flamingoes. Rent a car to make a broad swipe of Mayan sites in the hills outside town like Uxmal , where geckos outnumber visitors if you time your visit when buses aren't there. Spring is also when the flamingoes come. You can see them at Celest n , a beach town on the Gulf of Mexico two hours east (pictured at top). The beaches can't rival the Caribbean, but boat trips early or late in daylight catch hundreds of flamingoes.
Set in the hilly country between Guadalajara and Mexico City , Guanajuato could be a household name if it had a beach nearby. It doesn't need it. Webs of tiny lanes run up from the compact center to hills that ring a town floor where colorful 16 th -century cathedral tops pop up for a view. Cars run through the center underground, leaving much of the central parks and streets for pedestrians. There are stunning old theaters to see music and a silver mine to tour, but the most famous attraction is the Museo de las Momias , a cemetery site with dozens of mummies propped up that date over a century. Guanajuato's pretty fun.
You can add to the stay by studying Spanish at one of the schools, which arrange homestays with local families. A week's private tuition, plus room and board, runs under $500. A couple schools include Don Quijote , whose named gets passed around a lot during October's three-week arts/music festival Cervantino.
Word is starting to get out about Chacala , a fishing village of a gorgeous mile-wide cove 60 miles north of Puerto Vallarta's touristy malecon. A road here helped. Only in recent years did a (bumpy) one connect the main highway, but visitors still find the wide expanse of gold sand mostly untouched but for a volleyball net shared by locals and visitors before dusk. A few dozens homes cluster at one end, as well as a couple high-end discount montreal hotels hotels (all restrained, no tower resorts) and cheap guesthouses. You can arrange boat tours, see whales or surf nearby, but mostly it's about kicking back.
You can well leave behind Cabo's condo and Sammy Hagar bar scene by taking an hour ride north, by car or bus. Todos Santos discount montreal hotels is a mix of a Mexican fishing town and Santa Fe, with an even split of local and New Agers from the north. There are a few things to do and eat in town, but it's mostly about the waves. Surfers hit nearby breaks discount montreal hotels in the area, and there's a couple surf schools in town if you're starting out.
If you're not up to embrace one of the biggest and most exciting cities of the world, go two hours east. Pretty Tlaxcala , a student town of 90,000, goes slower. Off most visitors' radar, Tlaxcala is big on local pulque (a less powerful relation to tequila), Frida Kahlo ( a local museum has an impressive collection) and hilltop views, including discount montreal hotels the Virgin of Ocotl n church discount montreal hotels overlooking the center discount montreal hotels or the nearby Olmec ruins of Cacaxtla that were accidentally discovered in 1975.
With a big more peso in hand, Mexican Home Cooking School offers English-language five-day all-inclusive courses focused on area specialties. Or you go deeper into spirits with the pulque tour at working farms such as the dreamy Hacienda Soltepec .
Tags: Celestún , Cervantino , Chacala , Frida Kahlo , Guanajuato , Hacienda Soltepec , Hotel California , Mérida , Mexican Home Cooking School , Mexico , Museo de las Momias , Pulque , Spring Break 2014 , Spring break Mexico , Tlaxcala , Todos Santos , Uxmal
Adventure Travel Air Travel Arts & Culture Beach Best Of Budget Cruise Disney EcoTravel Family Food + Drink Historic Sites Holidays Hotel Luxury News Road Trips Romantic Seasonal Spring Break Ski Vacations Spa & Wellness Tips & Tricks Weekend Getaways Weird
Travel Like Superman above Los Angeles Zach Everson Fish Tank Bursts in Downtown Disney Restaurant: Watch Zach Everson Points of Interest: Speculation about Missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 Continues Zach Everson Epiphany Hotel in Palo Alto; DoubleTree by Hilton San Francisco Airport North; Vault Karaköy, The House Hotel: 3 Hotel Openings Zach Everson Points of Interest: Malaysian Government's Ineptitude Hinders Airplane Search Zach Everson
10 Best Colorado Ski Resorts Gerard Walen Watch President Obama (and Steve Harvey) discount montreal hotels Surprise White House Tourists Zach Everson discount montreal hotels 10 Wacky Romantic Hotel Rooms Cheryl Lock Safe and Dangerous Places in Chicago Louie Lazar Top 5 Romantic Getaways in California Julie Wolfson
David Gilmour's Jag for sale BrusselKale: new superfood hybrid or a child's worst nightmare? Waitress' note to a diner after she picked up elderly couple's tab goes viral Giant fish tank bursts open at Downtown Disney restaurant World's largest James Bond car collection on sale for $33 million