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    Leave the tourist hordes & chain restaurants behind

    Going beyond the usual suspects straight to Huatulco — a more natural Mexico resort land

    Lonnie Schiller
    Jul 31, 2010 | 2:27 am
    One of the small villages on the water

    "They all went to Mexico" — Willie Nelson

    When Americans think of Mexican resorts they probably start with Cancun, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco — the usual suspects.

    But there’s a new contender (really not so new) that any Mexico fan should have on his short list — Huatulco. Down the west coast below Acapulco where the coastline bends to the east, Huatulco suffers none of the overbuilding, time-share vultures or chain restaurants of the other top destinations.

    Back in 1973, Fonatur — Mexico’s national trust for the promotion of tourism — selected Cancun, Ixtapa and Los Cabos for development because of their pristine beaches, beautiful coastlines and potential to attract Americans. But if you’ve been to any of those places lately you know they did a little too good of a job — at least in the “attracting Americans” part of it.

    While Huatulco is also one of the developments created by Fonatur, its growth was slower, less of a free-for-all. Consequently it still has much of its original pre-gringo feeling in place. And all of the beauty.

    Huatulco is actually “the bays of Huatulco” rather than a single town. It's nine bays and countless, mostly deserted, beaches with the towering San Miguel mountains in the background. Like with the other chosen spots, Fonatur put the infrastructure for growth in Huatulco — wide boulevards, clean water, a golf course and a marina — but things didn’t take off immediately.

    Originally designed to spread out over nine bays, only the area around two of them has been developed. But that’s the beauty of it. There’s a small town La Crucecita that has a main square, the requisite church and only a minimum of T-shirt shops.

    Restaurants come and go but in my five years of going to Huatulco, several excellent ones remain (and new ones show up all the time).

    On my last trip with my friend Shaun Wymes — a Brit who is building 70 really handsome condos on a perfect beach — we sailed the bays, stopped at deserted beaches, swam ashore and generally acted wealthy. We also visited a botanical reserve, swam under a waterfall and went zip-lining — or zip-crashing.

    Through the trees on a prayer of a brake

    Zip-lining is one of those things I associate with Costa Rica, zipping along above the canopy of the rain forest on a line — hence the name. In Huatulco some enterprising young Mexicans had strung a cable across a big valley, built towers at each end and most importantly — printed up a nice color brochure.

    Halfway across the valley several hundred feet above the ground, I thought, “Is there such a thing as OSHA here in Mexico? Are these brakes really gonna stop me?”

    They actually referred to them as Mexican brakes. (Note to Miguel — the owner — if he happens to read this: Maybe call them Swiss brakes. No offense of course).

    There are certainly many things to do in Huatulco (just don’t believe everything you see in the color brochures) but the beauty of the place is ... well ... the beauty. And if you can’t stay with Shaun (or buy one of his beautiful units at Cosmo) there are several really great hotels, mostly on Tangolunda Bay.

    The Quinta Real Huatulco is an elegant, small hotel overlooking the water. The white buildings look like they could be in the Greek Isles, but the thatched palapa roofs remind you that you are in Mexico.

    For an older hotel, the Camino Real Zaashila is nice, also on Tangolunda Bay. There’s a good restaurant on the terrace next to the beach.

    All in all if you’re looking for a new place to blow out your flip-flops — Huatulco is truly hitting its prime.

    Note: Don’t go if you’re looking for spring break or all-night discos, but do go if you want Mexico at its natural best.

    Continental currently flies non-stop from Houston in and out of the Huatulco airport Wednesday and Saturday. Even the airport is friendlier and more authentic — a giant palapa 20 minutes from the coast.

    Looking across the bay at Camino Real Zaashila

     
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    Houston rises on new list of best summer travel destinations

    Amber Heckler
    May 14, 2025 | 4:00 pm
    Houston skyline downtown at night
    IdeasLaboratory.com
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    Not even triple-digit heat will deter tourists from visiting Space City this summer: The Houston metro has climbed into the No. 35 spot on WalletHub's list of the "Best Summer Travel Destinations" in 2025.

    The report annually ranks 100 U.S metros based on attractions, safety, activities, weather, local costs, and travel costs and hassles. Factors that determine each city's ranking include flight costs, the number of affordable restaurants with high ratings, crime rates, and more.

    The Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area in Florida is the No. 1 most sought after summer travel destination this year.

    Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land moved up 10 spots from its 2024 rank, and it previously ranked 38th in 2023.

    Here's how WalletHub broke down Houston's ranking in each of the six main categories:

    • No. 7 – Attractions rank
    • No. 16 – Local costs rank
    • No. 26 – Activities rank
    • No. 50 – Weather rank
    • No. 88 – Safety rank
    • No. 89 – Travel costs and hassles rank

    Houston ranked the highest in the attractions and local costs categories, proving that the city's affordability is a major benefit for visitors as well as locals. There's surely no shortage of things to do in the city, from dining at a new steakhouse, to checking out a local bookstore, or enjoying a summer concert series at Meow Wolf.

    But there's so much more that goes into choosing the right place for a memorable summer trip, says WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. Creating and sticking to a vacation budget that considers all costs of a trip, such as meals and local transportation costs, is a good place to start.

    "[C]hoosing a destination that’s not only entertaining but also affordable is important when travel, dining, and activity costs have surged so much in recent years," Lupo says. "It can also allow you to have a longer, more relaxing trip."

    The study's scope isn't just limited to just Houston proper, which also means tourists may flock to suburbs like The Woodlands to explore its inviting new restaurants. It also includes Conroe, where tourists can relax with a drink in hand at the popular Margaritaville resort.

    Other top Texas summer travel destinations
    Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown (No. 5) and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington were the only two Texas metros to earn spots in the top 10 summer travel destinations.

    Surprisingly, El Paso (No. 31) ranked four spots ahead of Houston. The final two Texas metros that earned spots in the study are Corpus Christi (No. 80) and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission (No. 97).

    The top 10 best summer travel destinations in 2025 are:

    • No. 1 – Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
    • No. 2 – Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Georgia
    • No. 3 – Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia
    • No. 4 – Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
    • No. 5 – Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
    • No. 6 – Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana
    • No. 7 – Salt Lake City, Utah
    • No. 8 – Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware-Maryland
    • No. 9 – Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida
    • No. 10 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
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