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When traveling to Mexico there are important considerations to keep in mind. In order to make your trip as relaxing and stress-free as possible it is wise to acquaint yourself with local requirements, rules, and customs to avoid any unnecessary delays or problems while on vacation.

The following is a list of things to help you plan a trip to Mexico.

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Sunset Magazine recommends Puerto Vallarta

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Sunset magazine recently ran an article about the best places to visit in Mexico. They included Puerto Vallarta/Sayulita, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo, Los Cabos/Todos Santos and San Miguel de Allende. About Puerto Vallarta they especially mentioned the much loved Hacienda San Angel a Boutique Hotel located hillside i

Sunset Magazine had a much longer article about San Miguel de Allende and how it literally enchants people. They fall in love with San Miguel de Allende to the point of being annoying.

I remember my first visit to San Miguel de Allende and I did feel a magic about the town, the architecture was breathtaking and there was a quality of light that made the town glow just before sunset. Everywhere you looked it was almost as if the town had been styled by the best of Hollywood’s people for a perfect movie set. I remember walking thru town one day in the late afternoon and seeing an Indian women sitting in front of one of the buildings near the town square holding a bundle of calla lilies – it was perfect vision of a Diego Rivera painting.

So it is easy to appreciate the words of Sunset Magazine “People love San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. They love San Miguel so much that when you tell them you're making your first visit, their love annoys you. San Miguel will change your life, they say. Yeah, right, you think. The architecture, the culture. I've seen old buildings, you mutter, I've seen lots of old buildings.

So you make the flight to Leon, in central Mexico, and the hour-long taxi ride, and you're in San Miguel. And just as all the annoying people warned you, you're in love.

Here, on the slopes of the Mexican altiplano, is a city that reminds you of parts - the best parts - of Santa Fe, of Siena, of Seville. But it's maybe more beautiful than any of them, especially now, in spring, when the clear, high air - the city stands at about 6,000 feet - is tinted violet by hundreds of blooming jacarandas.

YOU LAND AND YOU LOOK

"This is El Jardín, San Miguel's central square," says the guide on the 10 a.m. city walking tour. My gauge of how hard I've fallen for a place is how long it takes me to recover from the plane ride and start exploring: in San Miguel, about one minute.

"Once, all the teenagers did the traditional paseo here," the guide says, "the girls walking in one direction, the boys in the other, flirting." Now, she adds, "They're like North American kids, hanging all over each other everywhere."

Some things change. Others don't. In the 18th century, San Miguel thrived as a trading and textile center. Wealthy factory owners and merchants built grand mansions and helped fund even grander churches. Today much of that opulence remains.

From El Jardín, the tour crosses the street to La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, the most prominent of San Miguel's many churches. A lot of Mexican churches are heavy, dour affairs, each stone cautioning you not to sin. Not La Parroquia.

"The man who designed La Parroquia was not a trained architect," our guide says. "One story is that he was inspired by postcards of European cathedrals." Or maybe by Marvel Comics: La Parroquia is a pink rocket ship shooting into the sky. The guide points to the church bell tower. "There are four bells. Each has a name. St. Michael, for the archangel Michael, is the oldest. But La Luz has the purest sound."

Once on your own, you learn to use La Parroquia both as signpost and clock. From every corner of the city, its rose tower guides you when you've lost your way. The clanging of La Luz and St. Michael marks the hours of the gently passing days.

You learn other lessons too. The most painful is "don't walk and look at the same time." Many of San Miguel's streets date from the 18th century: They're cobblestone, wildly uneven, brutal on the unwary ankle. One local shoe store promotes a San Miguel Shoe for women, allegedly engineered to prevent sprains. But, inevitably, you will walk and look and invariably twist your ankle. You will not care.

Best places to visit

Puerto Vallarta/Sayulita. The spasms of drug violence in areas surrounding Puerto Vallarta do not seem to have affected the beach city itself. Try Hacienda San Angel, a lovely boutique hotel set among bougainvillea-traced villas in the terra-cotta-tiled downtown. Go north to visit beautiful Sayulita, a onetime fishing village colonized by surfers and expats.

Mexico City. A world-class city off too many travelers’ radars. Street crime is more of a problem here than in U.S. cities, but follow a few rules—i.e., never hail a cab from the street; don’t carry a lot of cash or credit cards, and keep them hidden—and you should be fine. A clutch of new boutique hotels (Hotel Brick is one of the latest), along with excellent restaurants (we’ll single out Pujol), are a welcome counterpoint to days immersed in street life. Catch young artists at the Kurimanzutto gallery.

Oaxaca. Still a colonial jewel. The city’s cobbled streets, particularly its main drag, Macedonia Alcalá, are lined with museums, stores, and galleries. Outside the city, the Zapotec archaeological sites of Monte Albán and Mitla are grand and mysterious. Occasional outbreaks of civil unrest (like student protests) are not directed at tourists, but they can make getting around impossible. Check the newspapers.

Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo. You may see caravans of police officers holding guns, as there has been violence here in the past, but very rarely has it targeted tourists. The resort town of Ixtapa has wide beaches, high-rise hotels (like architectural gem Las Brisas Ixtapa), and golf. But for flavor, try Zihua—still a fishing village—where a stroll along the bayside malecón is pure honky-tonk. Forty minutes north is the charming surf town of Troncones.

Los Cabos/Todos Santos. The luxury resorts of the Cabos corridor are the place to spot Hollywood royalty, but the real reason to visit Cabo is to peel off its California veneer and disappear into the extraordinary desert landscape and unspoiled coast. To the east, there’s the Sea of Cortez and the East Cape, known for its diving. On the Pacific side, Todos Santos is a haven for surfers and artists.

San Miguel de Allende. There’s plenty to do in this hill town, like take a cooking class or listen to Cuban music (thisweekinsanmiguelallende.com), and hotels like the Matilda and the Rosewood opened in the past year. There have been isolated attacks on American expats; none has targeted tourists.