Todos Santos

Artists from throughout the United States' Southwest (and a few from Mexico) have found a haven in this small town near the Pacific coast north of Los Cabos. Architects and entrepreneurs have restored early-19th-century adobe-and-brick buildings around the main plaza, and speculators have laid out housing tracts in the rocky hills between the town and the shore, contributing to a rapid rise in real-estate prices. In high season, tour buses on day trips from Los Cabos often clog the streets around the plaza. When the buses leave, the town is a peaceful place to wander.

Los Cabos visitors and locals typically take day trips to Todos Santos, though there are several small inns that provide a peaceful antidote to Cabo's noise and crowds. El Pescadero, the largest settlement between Todos Santos and Cabo, is home to ranchers and farmers who grow herbs and vegetables. Be sure to head back to Cabo from Todos Santos before dark, because Carretera 19 between the two towns is unlighted and prone to high winds and flooding. And don't be tempted to try the dirt roads that intersect the highway unless you're in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Sands on the beach or in the desert stop conventional vehicles in their tracks.