Articles

 
Camping at Jalama Beach near Santa Barbara
Hugo Martín // 03.05.08
From a map, Jalama Beach County Park looks like one of the most isolated beach campgrounds in Southern California. The beach hugs a crescent-shaped coastline between Point Conception and Point Arguello, just south of Vandenberg Air Force Base. No multimillion-dollar mansions or rickety piers m...

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Disappearing Into Todos Santos
JOE CUMMINGS // 02.23.08
I first heard about Todos Santos more than a decade ago from my friend Rebecca. She had a gypsy soul and made her living peddling words to glossy travel magazines, a perfect mating of vocation and avocation. She once spent nine months driving the coastlines of Mexico in a beat-up Toyota Celica, a... read more
 
Sweet, affordable places to sleep in Santa Barbara
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers // 01.10.08
The challenge to the Travel staff: Find nice hotels, good restaurants and enjoyable activities without breaking the budget. So we ate, we slept, we played, all in the name of research. Here's where we stayed and what we liked and disliked. BRISAS DEL MAR, INN AT THE BEACH 223 Castillo St., 93...


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Club Med Ixtapa goes family-friendly
Jane Engle // 11.02.07
Family suites with kids' rooms? A gym for babies? Can this be Club Med? Mais, oui. The French resort chain, which built its reputation on swinging singles, is expanding family facilities at Club Med Ixtapa in Mexico, which is to reopen Dec. 22 after eight months of renovation. About 40% of the cl... read more
 
Morelia, Mexico a study in beauty and butterflies
Jerry V. Haines // 11.02.07
Morelia, Mexico I now know what it feels like to be inside a snow globe. But instead of fake, swirling white snowflakes, substitute butterflies -- hundreds, thousands, millions of orange-and-black monarchs -- flying around like autumn leaves in a gale. Then, you can envision the scene at ... read more
 
A bit of the divine in Tepoztlan, Mexico
Christopher Reynolds // 11.02.07
Tepoztlán, Mexico Unless you have Aztecs in your family tree, you may find this city's name hard to pronounce. But so much else is easy, or irresistible. The Aztec echoes, the steam baths, the ice cream, the pyramid, even the corn smut. Tepoztlán -- pronounced teh-pose-LAWN -- is... read more
 
Bacalar, Mexico 180 degrees from crowded Cancun
Judith Fein // 10.31.07
Bacalar, Mexico When I arrived in Cancún a few years ago, I was greeted by a sea of touts who put on the hard sell, visitors in Bermuda shorts and flip-flops, and resorts and restaurants where noise was the norm -- all part of a rock-solid tourist infrastructure. When my husband, Paul,... read more
 
Mazatlan, a Mexican harbor for American expatriates
Marla Dickerson // 10.20.07
Mazatlan, Mexico This bustling port was supposed to be just a whistle-stop for Lana and Joe Reid. The San Jose retirees were en route to the tourist hotbed of Puerto Vallarta, where they were planning to buy a home near the water. But their detour through Mazatlan turned out to be a date w... read more
 
A palette of art & history in Mexico's San Miguel de Allende
Madeline King Porter // 07.05.07
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Don Eusebio moves more quickly than his 86 years would suggest. But when it comes to his trade, he's slow and careful. Don Sebio, as he's known, is a basket weaver, one of many in this town that has nurtured its artists and artisans through centuries, even as i... read more
 
Entry requirements for U.S. citizens visiting Canada & Mexico
Jane Engle // 06.13.07
Holding a U.S. passport is the easiest way to travel to Mexico and Canada. But under the temporary waiver, effective until Sept. 30, 2007, you can use a government-issued photo ID and \"proof\" of passport application to leave from and return to the U.S. from those countries. FOR THE RECORD: ... read more