The last time I went to SMA was ~20 years ago. I hear it has become much more touristy and expensive. I'm thinking of going back for ~1 week in early March. Is that a good time to go for a less crowded experience?

My wife and I have lived here for almost 13 years. Probably the biggest change we've seen is the proliferation of condo/townhouse developments, (used as weekend homes) primarily owned by well to do people from Mexico City, Queretaro, Leon & even Celaya. They're typically the main tourist influx these days. Midweek it's still fairly quiet in town. We try to avoid going into or towards Centro on the weekends if we can. I don't know if I'd say restaurants are considerably more expensive apart from typical price increases due to inflation. There are lots of new upscale places it seems than there were 5 years ago. We tend to stick to our favorite, moderately priced places rather than try the new trendy places. I can't accurately comment on hotel prices since we live here. However, pre-covid, we lived a year in Queretaro and would come and spend a night occasionally. We'd typically not spend over $75-$80 US (often less) for a modest hotel. But it'd be easy to spend a lot more. Seems there are new upscale hotels opening everywhere. Thanks to Conde Nast. Some restaurants & hotels didn't survive COVID. But the first part of March should be pleasant weather-wise. Not the hot season, and no rain. I don't know if there are any events that might be going on in early March. I'll try and investigate.

And I should add that the current exchange rate mxn/dollar makes everything more expensive for US visitors.

Thank you for the feedback!

Thank you! I've just made my air travel and Airbnb reservations for early-mid March!