5 Reasons Not to Miss Todos Santos, Mexico

Plan your perfect trip to this coastal paradise

Hotel California may be an Eagles song, but its existence as a hotel in Todos Santos, Mexico, predates the song. A trip to Todos Santos lets travelers explore the city’s vibrant history and culture.

Alamy

Robin L. Flanigan,

AARP

Published April 04, 2025

About one mile from the Pacific Ocean in Baja California Sur is Todos Santos – a charming, artsy enclave celebrated for its culture, history, and vibrant food scene.

There’s a reason the Mexican government officially designated Todos Santos a “Pueblo Mágico” (“Magic Town”).

Situated nearly equidistant from the more touristy Cabo San Lucas to the south and the peninsula’s capital, La Paz, to the north, this beach paradise – in the foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna mountains and on the Tropic of Cancer – appeals to all the senses.

Here are five top picks for making the most of your time in one of Mexico’s treasured gems.

Go on an entertaining history tour

A pleasantly paced, two-hour tour of this town, colonized in 1723, combines historical timelines with interesting stories about early missionaries and more recent tycoons.

The excursion leads to a theater, cultural center/museum, and the town’s mission and gorgeous homes and buildings constructed during the town’s boom years as a major sugar-cane producer.

A stop along the way is the lushly appointed Hotel California – open since 1950, decades before the iconic Eagles song – but a tourist spot for its name, nonetheless.

The tour is a great way to get in your steps since, according to the American Heart Association, research shows that walking can help control weight and reduce the risk of heart disease and other health problems.

The tour is $75 a person. Add a Taco Crawl to the history tour – a bilingual foodie guide takes you to three taco/ceviche places, with one dish per stop – for an extra $45 a person.

Ninety-minute cooking classes include a hands-on demonstration, chips, homemade salsa, drinks, and cooking tips.

Michael DeMaria

Take an authentic cooking class

At the Spanish language school Hablando Mexicano, owner Ivonne Benitez believes it’s important to teach not only the words but also the flavors of her country, so she offers cooking classes using a traditional outdoor, wood-fired clay oven.

Choose from 10 menu possibilities, such as chiles rellenos, camaron a la diabla and mole poblano, considered the national dish of Mexico.

Classes include a hands-on demonstration, chips, homemade salsa, drinks, and cooking tips (never wash dried chiles, for example). At the end, enjoy the prepared dish together. The classes run for about 90 minutes, sometimes longer when the conversation flows.

Benitez’s main customers are retirees. A 2022 AARP study on lifelong learning found that 55 percent of Americans 45 and older are actively learning new things as they pursue personal growth.

Public classes are $40 a person; private classes are $60 each for two or three people and $40 each for four to eight people.

An added perk? Unlike cooking at home, you don’t have to clean up afterward. It’s bad luck to have guests help with that, says Benitez.

Buen provecho! (Enjoy your meal!)

Sample a flight of small-batch mezcals – a type of tequila – served in clay pots.

Michael DeMaria

Sample a selection of Old-World mezcals

The tastes of Mexico aren’t only found in the food. Sip and savor a type of tequila – one of Mexico’s oldest and most culturally significant spirits – with a flight of small-batch mezcals at El Refugio Mezcalería.

Owner Noel Morales Meza, 55, says four generations have been involved in producing and selling the restaurant’s artisanal mezcal in the central and mountainous areas of Guerrero, Mexico. The mezcal is distilled in copper pots in the traditions of his ancestors.

Six half-shots served in small clay cups pack quite a punch, so sharing is common – and you still might not be able to finish. (Yep, guilty.)

Given that a 2024 study in the medical journal JAMA Network Open found even low-risk drinking to be associated with higher mortality among older adults with health-related or socioeconomic risk factors, a few small sips may be just what the doctor ordered.

And because our taste buds shrink and decline in number as the years progress, leading to fewer of them, this is a great way to prove that those remaining are still doing their job.

If you’re lucky, Morales Meza, whose recipes are featured in the cookbook The Native Mexican Kitchen: A Journey into Cuisine, Culture, and Mezcal, will be there to wax poetic: “All there is in this world,” he shares, “is imagination, emotions, and necessities.”

Cheers to that.

Sea turtle hatchlings are released at sunset on the beach to ensure a safe trip to the ocean.

Michael DeMaria

Watch the release of sea turtle hatchlings

Watch as a sea turtle conservation team releases hatchlings onto the beach at sunset – a ritual to help endangered species find their way to the ocean.

To help olive ridley, black, and Pacific leatherback turtles, volunteers with rescue organization Tortugueros Las Playitas collect turtle eggs, then monitor them in a beachfront greenhouse until they’re ready to hatch. Releasing hatchlings at sunset increases their chances of survival because preying sea birds have gone to roost.

It’s a memorable way to spend time in nature. According to a recent article in the Australian Journal of Psychology, exposure to nature can enhance older adults’ motivation to become more socially involved, which in turn can contribute to overall well-being.

“Getting to see the turtles emerge from the nests was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” says Lisa Osiecki, 53, of Pleasant Ridge, Michigan. “It was really a bucket list opportunity for me.”

Participation in this activity depends on when you travel. Plan-ahead alert: Releases are scheduled for about 5:30 p.m. every day from Dec. 8 through Jan. 30, then most days in February at 6:30 p.m.

To witness the release is free; a box is passed around for donations.

Teddi Dean leads a meditative session about 20 minutes away from Todos Santos.

Michael DeMaria

Gather for an oceanside meditation

A guided meditation on a wooden platform overlooking the Pacific Ocean is as soothing as it sounds, which is why this experience is worth the 20-minute drive to nearby El Pescadero.

The weekly Sunday Sangha (“sangha” is a Sanskrit word meaning “community” or “assembly”) is open to the public and held on the grounds of Modern Elder Academy, an upscale “midlife wisdom school” founded by entrepreneur and bestselling author Chip Conley. It consists of a 25-minute meditation followed by a discussion to support everyone’s practice.

MEA’s Teddi Dean, 60, head of mindfulness and movement, leads the gatherings. Dean is a surfer and former member of the iconic misfit Bones Brigade skateboarding team in the 1980s.

“There’s nothing more beautiful than sitting quietly with others,” says Dean. “Every time you sit, you get to know yourself again. You get to check in with the unfinished business of your heart.”

Research has shown that meditation helps with depression, which can lead to higher rates of insomnia and memory loss, as well as other conditions, in older adults, according to the American Psychological Association. Results from a study published in 2023 show that meditation improves psychological well-being for older adults as they confront aging-related challenges.

MEA does not have a street address (talk about getting away from it all), but a maps search – use “MEA Baja” – will get you there.

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Robin L. Flanigan is a contributing writer who covers mental health, education and human-interest stories for several national publications.

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