Mexico Travel

Travel writing and travel itself feed each other. The act of writing about a place forces you to pay attention in ways that casual tourism does not. You notice the texture of a conversation, the specific shade of light on a building, the sound of a particular bus engine. Whether you publish anything or not, … Read more

Armond Kelty was a traveler and photographer who documented the landscapes and spiritual traditions of the American Southwest and Mexico. His work captured light on desert rock, adobe churches and the quiet spaces between places — what he sometimes called “God’s Light.” His photographs were more contemplative than documentary, focused on the way light reveals … Read more

Handling money while traveling in Mexico comes down to a few practical decisions: where to exchange, how much cash to carry, and whether to use ATMs or change money at a casa de cambio. After years of traveling there, my approach is simple — use ATMs for most cash needs and keep a small reserve … Read more

Mexico is the country I keep coming back to. It is not one place — it is a dozen different landscapes, cuisines and cultures packed into a country the size of Western Europe. The Pacific coast beaches share nothing with the Chiapas highlands. The Yucatan jungle is a different world from the Sonoran desert. The … Read more

I traveled through Venezuela before the current crisis made it effectively impossible for most tourists. Rio Caribe on the Paria peninsula was one of the highlights — a small fishing town on the Caribbean coast with cacao plantations in the hills behind and empty beaches along the peninsula. Whether this is still accessible to travelers … Read more

If you travel with a camera — and you should — there are ways to turn your travel photographs into income. Not life-changing money for most people, but enough to fund film, memory cards and the occasional lens. I have sold travel photos through stock agencies, print-on-demand services, and directly to publications over the years. … Read more

The south of France between Avignon and the Mediterranean offers a different kind of travel from the rest of this site — but the slow-travel philosophy is the same. Village markets, cooking with wild herbs, the Camargue wetlands and events like the Gypsy festival at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer make this region worth exploring at a walking pace. … Read more

Aguascalientes is known for one thing above all others: the Feria Nacional de San Marcos, which runs for three weeks in April and May and is one of the biggest fairs in Mexico. Outside of fair season, it is a pleasant but quiet colonial city on the highway between Guadalajara and Zacatecas, with good food … Read more

San Cristobal de las Casas sits at 2,100 meters in the Chiapas highlands and feels like a different country from the hot lowlands below. Cool nights, pine forests on the surrounding hills, a colonial center with amber shops and indigenous markets. The Tzotzil and Tzeltal Maya communities in the surrounding villages maintain traditions that predate … Read more

San Luis Potosi gets overlooked on the gringo trail between Mexico City and the northern border, which is a shame. The colonial center is handsome — pink sandstone buildings, wide plazas, a cathedral that glows at night — and the city works as a base for the surreal landscape of the Huasteca Potosina to the … Read more