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Zihuatanejo
Mexico
Leave the dreamcatcher tattoos and fedora-wearing influencers in Tulum and, instead, schlep across to this easy-going, Mexican surfing town. Attracting counterculture icons since the 60s - big names such as Andy Warhol, Jack Kerouac and Timothy Leary, who organised an LSD convention at Hotel Catalina - Zihuatanejo has managed to stay relatively under the radar thanks to its hard-to-reach location. Closer to Guatemala than the US, slammed up against mountainous terrain and requiring a layover in Mexico City, Zihua - as it's affectionately known - has kept its sense of grit and lack of pretension. You'll see it in the lunch carts selling tamales, in the throbbing central market and in the fishermen that sell their catch at Paseo del Pescador. It's little wonder that the pristine beaches were the IRL location for Andy and Red to live out their post-prison days in The Shawshank Redemption - post-pandemic, we'll be joining them.