Digital Nomad Diaries: Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, and Querétaro
What happens when your best travel friend books Mexico and you're already there.
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Plot twist: my best friend and I see each other more in other countries than we do at home. So when Tara booked Mexico and I was already here, it was a no-brainer. Road trip.
First stop: Guanajuato
Guanajuato is known as the most colorful town in Mexico, and yeah, that checks out. If colorful Mexican architecture is your thing, this place is heaven. The historic town center is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and walking through it feels like someone turned the saturation all the way up.
For our first meal together, we had a phenomenal dinner at Mestizo in the old city center. My pork chop was so pretty that I almost didn’t want to eat it (but I’m glad I did).
The highlight of our time there was the Callejoneadas, a traditional music tour* that happens every night through the streets of the city. Local musicians play, sing, and tell stories as you wind through the historic alleyways. It was all in Spanish, so we didn't catch everything, but honestly it didn't matter. The energy and the music carried the whole thing.
Guanajuato was a short stop, but the right kind of short. Enough to get a real feel for it without rushing.
The main event: San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende was our home base for the week, another UNESCO World Heritage site, where Tara had found the most adorable Airbnb. The contrast with Guanajuato is immediately striking. Where Guanajuato throws every color at you, San Miguel has a strict policy on building colors. Mainly earth tones. Warm, dusty, gorgeous in a completely different way.
Since we're both working remotely, the week had a natural rhythm: work through most of the day (including at my favorite spot, Kibok Coffee), then activities in the late afternoon and evening. A walking tour* of the city's history and culture with our lovely guide José, an afternoon at the El Charco del Ingenio botanical gardens, wine tasting at nearby Dos Búhos vineyard*, and some genuinely great meals scattered throughout. It was one of those weeks where everything just worked.
One last stop: Querétaro
Before heading our separate ways, we squeezed in a stop in Querétaro. Yes, also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Mexico is not messing around with its historic cities.
We did a an amazing day tour* of some of the surrounding Pueblos Mágicos, or magic towns, which is exactly as charming as it sounds. First stop was Tequisquiapan for some breakfast and a quaint stroll along its colorful streets, followed by the more dramatic Bernal with it’s enormous monolith as the town’s backdrop. And along the way, we visited the small family-owned Viña Tx winery and got to taste a few wines along with 13 cheeses! And then made a final stop at the largest wine producer in all of Mexico, Viñedo Sala Vivé. There, we got to tour the underground cellars and see an unbelievable amount of sparking wine in the making.
Quick guide: central Mexico highlights
Guanajuato historic center (must do the Callejoneadas music tour* at night)
San Miguel de Allende for a longer stay, great base for remote work
San Miguel walking tour*
El Charco del Ingenio botanical gardens in San Miguel
Wine tasting tour* at Dos Búhos vineyard
Querétaro and the Pueblos Mágicos day tour*
This is part of my Digital Nomad Diaries series, where I document life on the road as a full-time traveler. If you want to see the video version, check out my central Mexico reel on Instagram and TikTok.
Some links on this page marked with * are affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you purchase at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use. Thank you for supporting Traveling Berri!
