updated 9:26 a.m. ET Oct. 30, 2008

From Mexico to the Mediterranean, Travel + Leisure magazine spotlights 23 up-and-coming seaside retreats where the dollar still goes far — and authentic experiences are well within reach.

Mazatlán, Mexico
Why go now: During the late 19th century, the Pacific Coast town of Mazatlán was a playground for vacationing members of the German, French, and Mexican aristocracy, who took up residence in the Centro Histórico, or Old Town.

Its reputation as an elite hot spot continued through the early 20th century. But in the 60s, the city — just a three-hour flight from L.A. — became a popular port for cruise ships. Soon after, southern California-style strip malls and Señor Frog's restaurants sprouted up along the Zona Dorada, a 12-mile stretch of beach 15 minutes north of the Centro Histórico. And the Neoclassical mansions with 16-foot ceilings and wrought-iron balconies — remnants of Mazatlán's heyday — were abandoned and all but forgotten. Until now, that is.

The details: The 282 acres that make up the Old Town are experiencing a renaissance, with stylish cafes, boutiques, and hotels opening on seemingly every corner. Local Alfredo Gómez Rubio jump-started the revitalization in 1997 with Pedro y Lola (Dinner for two: $40), a Nuevo Mexicano restaurant named after Mexican actor Pedro Infante and ranchera singer Lola Beltran. Housed in a 130-year-old Neoclassical building, the former social club, which hosted prominent dance performances in the 1800s, serves regional dishes such as molcajete (chunks of arrachera beef with grilled nopales, onions, and fresh panela cheese) in a wood-beamed dining room.

Soon after, artists Miguel Ruíz and his Belgian wife, Helene van der Heiden, opened Casa Etnika, an art gallery and crafts shop. Inside, Michoacan silver necklaces hang alongside colorful paintings by local residents. More galleries followed, as did a complete overhaul of the nearby 1874 Teatro Ángela Peralta, an 841-seat Italian Renaissance-style theater with an open-air lobby and triple-tiered balconies — all of which helped put the area back on Mexico's cultural map.

In 2007, Conchita Valades de Boccard created Casa Lucila (Doubles from $185), Old Town's first seaside boutique hotel, built on the site of a 1940s nightclub frequented by John Wayne and Ernest Hemingway. Overlooking Olas Altas beach, the eight contemporary rooms are outfitted with custom-made mahogany doors, Italian ceramic-tiled floors, and local wood furniture. Around the corner, Melville Suites (Doubles from $78) is more traditional: it's a 19th-century former nunnery converted into 20 large suites that are brimming with hand-carved armoires and Mexican antiques.

Jaime Flores was a manager at Denver's historic Broker Restaurant for ten years before returning home last January to help open El Santo y La Panga (Dinner for two $78), Old Town's newest addition. The pint-size seafood joint packs in locals nightly, who come for tuna tostadas with chipotle mayonnaise and avocado. "Mazatlán has turned a corner from what it was 40 years ago," says Flores. "It's an exciting time to be here." -Jeff Spurrier

Brazil, São Miguel Dos Milagres
Why go now: Located between the much more famous Brazilian beaches in Recife and Bahia, São Miguel dos Milagres, a two-hour flight from São Paulo in the state of Alogoas, is off most travelers' radar. The attraction: natural, reef-formed swimming pools, warm emerald waters, and hypnotically tranquil beaches.

"In a sense, there's no tourism — on any given day, maybe a hundred visitors can be found on a beach twenty-five miles long," says Joaquim Gonçalves, the Portuguese owner of two pousadas in the area. That may change in the coming years: Adrian Zecha's Amanresorts has been looking at land near Alogoas's capital, Maceió, and while paulistas (São Paulo residents) make up the majority of the visitors, more than a few French, Italian, and Portuguese travelers are joining the mix. "It's getting the kind of buzz Trancoso did 15 years ago," says Eric Sheets, founder of the luxury travel agency Latin Excursions (latinexcursions.com), who has been sending clients to the region for the past seven months.

The details: Nilo Burgarelli opened the area's first lodge, the Pousada do Toque (Doubles from $327, including dinner and breakfast) in 2000. When he launched, the road hadn't been paved and there was no phone service. His 13-cabana garden retreat serves as an escape for the host of Big Brother Brazil as well as many Brazilian families, who book one of the three private pool cabanas. Set in a lush jungle garden (the sunrise bird chorus is impressive), guest rooms have marble and tile-mosaic bathrooms, ofuro tubs, and rough-hewn local woodwork. But the pousada's restaurant is the real attraction, with dishes like peixe ao molho de camarão — grilled fish topped with a chunky shrimp-and-tomato sauce.

Down a one-mile dirt track five miles north of São Miguel is Goncalves's four-year-old Aldeia Beijupira (Doubles from $287). Beijupira's nine thatched-roof bungalows are surrounded by private gardens of palms and red hibiscus. The stucco rooms are minimal, with polished cement floors and platform beds.

The best way to explore São Miguel's sparsely populated coast is by boat: the pousadas will contract a fisherman to take you out to the reef a half-mile off the beach ($10), where foot-deep tide pools are filled with bath-warm water and tiny scuttling crabs, and ringed by coral lined with scores of purple-back sea urchins.

"We came here for a life-changing experience. Bahia wasn't what we were looking for; it all seemed really developed," says paulista Jessy Greenhut. In March, together with her Israeli husband, Tsachi, she bought the Pousada da Amendoeira (Doubles from $167), named after the huge almond tree that shades its beachfront lounge. Steps from the Pousada do Toque, the Amendoeira has a more modest, earthy vibe, with a pumpkin patch and small cabanas. "A lot of people who come here are really attached to nature," says Greenhut. With a beach like São Miguel's, it's not hard to see why. -Ian Mount

Cyprus, Paphos + Limassol

Why go now: The prime Levantine location and sandy turquoise shores of this tiny island belie its complicated political past. But after decades spent divided between a Turkish-occupied north and Greek-speaking south, Cyprus is unifying, and international attention is now focused on its wildflower-covered hills and crystalline coastline.

Cyprus is changing dramatically around the port town of Paphos, the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite. During the Hellenistic period, Paphos was Cyprus's capital, renowned for its temples and olive groves. Today, UNESCO World Heritage site serves as an entry point to the island's most exclusive resorts, and to tiny nearby crafts towns, like Omodos and Lefkara.

The details: The chic Almyra (Doubles from $242) set the tone for Paphos's resurgence when it debuted in 2004. Designed by one of Karl Lagerfeld's favorite architects, Joëlle Pleot, and Tristan Auer, the centrally located hotel lures Europeans with its whitewashed bungalows and black-bottom pool. Down the coast at the mod-rustic Thalassa Boutique Hotel & Spa (Doubles from $453), the 58 suites — most with butlers and all named after a Greek god or goddess — are perched on a peninsula just above Coral Bay, overlooking 3,400-year-old Mycenaean ruins.

Although equally historic, Limassol, a harbor town on the southern coast, is more focused on its future than its past. Indeed, the marina of this commercial hub, home to the largest shipping port in the Mediterranean, is in the midst of a $265 million makeover. In the Old Town, cobblestoned Agiou Andreou Street houses many stylish shops: You'll find Cavelliesque tunics and blouses from Cypriot designer Pantelis Mitsu at Mitsu Mitsu and handmade gold and enamel jewelry at the Precious Metal Gallery. The island's only microbrewery, Draught Microbrewery Bar & Grill, is located nearby.

On the waterfront is Londa (Doubles from $425), a 68-room seafront retreat designed by the venerable Italian firm Caruzzo Rancati, also responsible for Milan's Gianfranco Ferre flagship. A favorite of British fashion designer Julien Macdonald, the hotel has creamy marble and wood interiors, a mod restaurant, and an alfresco bar with a DJ and dancing. It adds just the right amount of gloss to the increasingly cosmopolitan city. -David Kaufman

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